Any advice is appreciated... I live in South-East Texas.

I have a water oak, about 12 feet tall, with a trunk circumference of about 12
inches. It's growth is being hampered by a sweetgum tree growing next to it
that is about 30 feet tall, with a couple of dead branches. My desire is to
remove the sweetgum and allow the oak to grow.

The oak appears to be very healthy this spring, with vigorous growth and bright
green leaves. My concern is that about 5 feet above the ground, where it
begins to branch out, it was inadvertently shot by a neighbor with a small
caliber, high power rifle (.223). This occured about 6 months ago, just before
fall. The wound looks nasty, going through the center of the trunk. When I
pulled on the water oak, I heard the faint sound of wood cracking. The tree
still seems very healthy otherwise, however, and my question is whether or not
I can expect the wound to heal. I definitely want to keep this tree, is there
anything I can do to facilitate the healing?

Is it possible for this to heal and for it to be a healthy tree? Thanks in
advance for responses.

Thanks,
Brad Greig