Just before dark, here came a single deer. Assuming it was a buck, I put the binocs on him. Yup, it was a buck, with two points on the right and nothing at all on the left. Not a spike. I'm thinking that he wasn't a legal buck. What say you guys?

Not a legal buck, probably broke off his other side. In order to be legal he has to have one side that isn't branched. He has to have a legal point on that side

Ok to take this a step further, what about a buck who has a broken main beam before the brow so there is a small but thick spike and a fully branched other side? I think this counts as a spike right?

I have seen that happen. A deer that is not a spike becomes one after a fight. Looking at the regulations, I would call it a spike. However, I suggest calling the GW in the county you hunt to get a qualified opinion.

It is called an unbranched antlered deer. They removed the term spike from their terminology. It can be a 2 pt on one side and 1 point on other and be legal as an unbranched antlered buck. I guess if it broke off on one side but was still at least 1 inch or more remaining as a single point, it is legal as an unbranched. Kid shot one like that at our place last year.

I never thought about if one side was completely broken off. That would not be legal according to the regs. I wouldn't shoot one anyway.

I'd consider both "legal" the way I would interpret the law. "At least one unbranched antler" no way of saying what was there before it was broke.

I don't think there are one antlered deer in a court room perspective, so the "missing" antler would be unbranched. I don't see anywhere in the regs the antler has to be one inch, just that it breaks the skin. Just like a button buck is a spike and legal buck once the antlers break through the skin.

I've been wrong before though...

Could be. The side broken off will be considered protruding from the skin and it is unbranched so legal possibly even though completely broke off. It sure isn't anterless. It doesn't mention the one side has to be an inch. Just anything off a beam over an inch is a point. They need more pictures for us!!!

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

You might have a hard time depending on the Game Warden.
If it were me I would ask the GW before I took that deer down just to be on the safe side.

My simple way of looking at it. Unbranched is unbranched. A single point/tine/beam that is not branched on at least one side is legal. The rules say nothing about breaks.

This isn't correct. If he only has one antler he would automatically qualify as having an unbranched antler. There is no requirement that he has to have one that isn't unbranched, it can be missing. It matters none that it was or wasn't there before.

I've spoken to the GW in my area as well as on at the Austin headquarters about this very subject. I was concerned about identifying a deer as a spike and then finding out he'd been broken off. Both told me that and unbranched antler is an unbranched anlter. Doesn't matter if it is genetic or broken. They both qualified their statements, saying that a GW can tell if you've knocked a point or 4 off.

I'd be very interested to hear how they could conclude if you knocked the antler off or if it happened in a fight the day before. That seems extremely subjective.

You're over-thinking this. Unbranched is unbranched.

I don't know. Maybe the hammer in your bag? I'm sure they feel like they have to say that.