Looks like some folks have some predator control to do during the off season.

Bummer, had that happen to my sons first deer he shot

The yotes of this world owe you or maybe you owe them! Start packin' a handgun.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/regs/animals/white-tailed-deer

As long as one side is un-branched he is legal.


Special Antler Restrictions

Antler restrictions apply only in certain counties (see County Listings). In these counties, the bag limit is two legal bucks, but only ONE may have an inside spread of 13 inches or greater. In these counties, a legal buck deer is defined as having:
a hardened antler protruding through the skin AND;
at least one unbranched antler; OR
an inside spread measurement between main beams of 13 inches or greater (does not apply to a buck that has an unbranched antler).

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Does age of hunter ever enter the equation at all?[/quote]

Nope.... [/quote]

Yes it does in the 2 week extended season. A youth may take whatever is legal in the extended season that is legal In the regular season. An adult can't. I just mentioned this is not a spike in case it was taken in the extended season which is spikes only, not unbranched on one side like in the normal regular season. Lots of folks don't know that until they read the TPWD fine print. It can be confusing until you see the word SPIKE only for extended when you pull up your own counties regs. One must look up their specific county to know their regs. In mine this is not a legal buck after the first Sunday in Jan. I have no idea when and where this was taken but might save someone a headache down the line if you are hunting the Late Season Spike & Antlerless Only and think unbranched on one side is considered Spike. [/quote]

correct sir! This is one of the most common mistakes, especially after AR's went into effect.

I have never had a coyote beat me to a deer. But I have had to shoo off caracaras in just a few minutes. I even had a caracara land on a coyote before I could pick up my gear and get to him.

The deer in the picture is a buck deer, not a spike buck deer. As others have said, if he was taken during late spike/doe season by anyone other than a youth... he was taken illegally. It seems that many of you are confusing the definition under Special Antler Restrictions of a legal “buck deer” with a “spike buck deer”. The regulations state specifically that a spike “is a buck with no antler having more than one point” and then it goes on to define a legal point as a point of at least 1”.

From the TPWD outdoor annual:
Definitions
A "buck deer" is a deer with a hardened antler protruding through the skin. A "spike buck deer" is a buck with no antler having more than one point. All other deer are antlerless deer. A spike buck must be tagged with a buck deer tag from the hunter's hunting license or applicable permit.

I’d be careful about publicizing this on here because you might find out the hard way that this is not a spike.

Least he didn't do more damage than that. Nice harvest on the spike. I love to be in the woods amongst it all.