Turn a tom’s tail feathers into great trophy, conversation piece
A tom turkey carries with him three body parts that most hunters consider trophies in the same realm that a whitetail buck carries an 8-point rack — worth keeping around to remember him by.
A gobbler’s beard, his spurs and his fan are mementos of a great hunt that many hunters would like to show off, especially if there’s a man cave involved.
The fan is the biggest of the three and the one most-easily turned into a trophy. Just take these four steps:
• After using a knife to separate the fan from the rest of the tom’s body, find a board or stiff piece of cardboard that’s larger than the fan. Then, using your hand, spread the gobbler’s fan out to its full majesty.
• Take two small nails and tack them into the board, just above the veins of the gobblers’ outside feathers, to hold the fan open.
• Sprinkle the meaty part of the fan’s base with salt to dry it out. This will take two or three weeks.
• When it’s dry, the fan is ready to be displayed on a plaque.
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