Ask Dr. Tom
Scarface
One of the adult gobblers we harvested last spring had a scab on the back of his head. I called in the tom, and he acted normal as he came to our setup. He went down with a single shot from a 12-gauge shotgun at 20 yards. Upon looking closely at the bird, I noticed a growth on the back of his head. It looks like a scar or a large scab, approximately 2 inches in diameter. Could the bird have scraped his head on a tree limb? Could it be the result of a gunshot or arrow from last year? Wisconsin has six weeks of turkey hunting, and we harvested this bird on the last day of the No. 4 season, meaning there were five weeks of hunting prior to taking this bird. Could this tom have been shot this year and a scab formed within a few weeks? We have taken quite a few toms and have never seen anything like it.
Richard Lohr
Gobblers Roost
Sheboygan Falls, Wis.
It is easy to imagine a lot of scenarios, such as near misses with a gun or bow; however, I suspect there is a more mundane cause for the gash across this gobbler's head.
Gobblers do their share of posturing and fighting during mating season. Look through www.nwtf.org or Turkey Country magazine, and you will see photos of gobblers with heads entangled, flailing spurs and sharp wing feathers pulled back for a swipe. I suspect this old tom was on the receiving end of a fellow gobbler's aggressive attack, and his wound was almost healed when you ended his reign with your scattergun.
You have a great trophy with a wonderful added facet to your hunting tale. Hope you share it with friends and family around the fire for years to come. — Dr. Tom
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