Texas Hunting Forum

2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year??

Posted By: DQ Kid

2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/12/17 03:19 AM

Had a 2.0-2.5 yo spike come out yesterday afternoon hunt. Looked like 6" or so spikes. I elected to let him walk; what would you have done?
Posted By: Big8

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/12/17 03:34 AM

A spike over 1 1/2 old is shot on my place.
Posted By: QuitShootinYoungBucks

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/12/17 04:04 AM

rifle
Posted By: Erathkid

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/12/17 11:00 AM

I passed on one yesterday. Just didn't feel messing with a dead deer this early in the season. Waiting on my big 10pt.
Posted By: maximus_flavius

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/12/17 01:34 PM

FWIW, the last time I spoke with a TP&WD biologist, he insisted that out off all the spike jaws he inspects every year, all these years, he's never seen a spike over 1.5 years old. He said every spike is under 1.5, period.

What's y'all thoughts?

I'm saving our spike jaws this year to show him (without telling him they are are all spikes), just to test.........
Posted By: Texas Dan

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/12/17 01:43 PM

I take great pride in preparing cow horns for the ice chest.
Posted By: SnakeWrangler

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/12/17 01:45 PM

Originally Posted By: Big8
A spike over 1 1/2 old is shot on my place.
Originally Posted By: QuitShootinYoungBucks
rifle
Posted By: J.G.

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/12/17 02:52 PM

Originally Posted By: Big8
A spike over 1 1/2 old is shot on my place.


This was my understanding, that it is most people's policy.
Posted By: BOBO the Clown

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/12/17 03:38 PM

Originally Posted By: maximus_flavius
FWIW, the last time I spoke with a TP&WD biologist, he insisted that out off all the spike jaws he inspects every year, all these years, he's never seen a spike over 1.5 years old. He said every spike is under 1.5, period.

What's y'all thoughts?

I'm saving our spike jaws this year to show him (without telling him they are are all spikes), just to test.........


Think we should send them all here for third party verification... http://www.deerage.com
Posted By: colt45-90

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/12/17 03:39 PM

elmer elmer
Posted By: therancher

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/12/17 05:59 PM

Originally Posted By: maximus_flavius
FWIW, the last time I spoke with a TP&WD biologist, he insisted that out off all the spike jaws he inspects every year, all these years, he's never seen a spike over 1.5 years old. He said every spike is under 1.5, period.

What's y'all thoughts?

I'm saving our spike jaws this year to show him (without telling him they are are all spikes), just to test.........


That's my experience as well. The only spikes I have are deer that were born late in the year (Sept-Dec) and are not even a year and a half old the next fall.

Spikes over 1.5 are rare as hen's teeth.
Posted By: 603Country

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/12/17 10:12 PM

I can share a personal experience on old spikes. I’ll spare you all the details, but he was a wary old fellow. Scrawny Body, ugly spikes that were somewhat deformed, gray on the muzzle, and had two old healed bullet wounds. An old deer, and very smart. Way past youth. It was on family land and it was decades ago, so I assume an old smart deer could last unseen in many acres for many years in a place like that. Nobody had ever seen him. I have read that if they are real survivors, they can live a long time, and at some point the racks get smaller. If you want to hear the story on that old spike, I will share, but don’t want to waste your time if you don’t want to hear it.

And , just to reinforce that point, we once found a 12point that had gotten his rack jammed in a tangle of saplings. He had starved. Nobody had ever seen that buck before, and he had never been on any of the game cameras. Big deer. Old deer. Smart deer.
Posted By: JCB

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/12/17 10:22 PM

Originally Posted By: therancher


Spikes over 1.5 are rare as hen's teeth.


BINGO!!!

In 20 years I have seen a grand total of ONE! He was a spike at 2 and also 3. Never could catch up with him in person. All I had was game cam pics.
Posted By: Stompy

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/12/17 11:05 PM

Originally Posted By: Big8
A spike over 1 1/2 old is shot on my place.

Same here, we let the 1.5 yr olds walk.
Posted By: Texan Til I Die

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/13/17 06:15 PM

Originally Posted By: JCB
Originally Posted By: therancher


Spikes over 1.5 are rare as hen's teeth.


BINGO!!!

In 20 years I have seen a grand total of ONE! He was a spike at 2 and also 3. Never could catch up with him in person. All I had was game cam pics.
50 years of deer hunting here, and I've seen (and killed) exactly 2. We may have a 3 yo spike on our place this year. If someone gets him, I'll post up some pics.

BTW - Our biologist recommends killing all spikes regardless of age. This is on a place with an average deer density and good buck to doe ratio. Your results may vary.
Posted By: redchevy

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/13/17 07:11 PM

Originally Posted By: maximus_flavius
FWIW, the last time I spoke with a TP&WD biologist, he insisted that out off all the spike jaws he inspects every year, all these years, he's never seen a spike over 1.5 years old. He said every spike is under 1.5, period.

What's y'all thoughts?

I'm saving our spike jaws this year to show him (without telling him they are are all spikes), just to test.........


I don't believe he is right. We have shot a few spikes that were 10 +/- inches long and weight 130 lbs on the hoof. Comparing them to other deer they looked like 2 year olds and by weight they weigh what the 2 year olds weigh.
Posted By: BOBO the Clown

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/13/17 07:21 PM

Originally Posted By: redchevy
Originally Posted By: maximus_flavius
FWIW, the last time I spoke with a TP&WD biologist, he insisted that out off all the spike jaws he inspects every year, all these years, he's never seen a spike over 1.5 years old. He said every spike is under 1.5, period.

What's y'all thoughts?

I'm saving our spike jaws this year to show him (without telling him they are are all spikes), just to test.........


I don't believe he is right. We have shot a few spikes that were 10 +/- inches long and weight 130 lbs on the hoof. Comparing them to other deer they looked like 2 year olds and by weight they weigh what the 2 year olds weigh.



http://www.deerage.com/ Cementum annuli forensic aging.
Posted By: BassBuster1

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/13/17 07:39 PM

I want to kill one frequenting one of my feeders but his spike flattens a bit toward the tip and has the slightest fork at the very tip. From binos and scope he is a spike on one side but I saw a good shot of him on camera which saved his young life Saturday morning.
Posted By: djs303

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/13/17 09:06 PM

rifle
Posted By: redchevy

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/13/17 09:16 PM

Originally Posted By: BOBO the Clown
Originally Posted By: redchevy
Originally Posted By: maximus_flavius
FWIW, the last time I spoke with a TP&WD biologist, he insisted that out off all the spike jaws he inspects every year, all these years, he's never seen a spike over 1.5 years old. He said every spike is under 1.5, period.

What's y'all thoughts?

I'm saving our spike jaws this year to show him (without telling him they are are all spikes), just to test.........


I don't believe he is right. We have shot a few spikes that were 10 +/- inches long and weight 130 lbs on the hoof. Comparing them to other deer they looked like 2 year olds and by weight they weigh what the 2 year olds weigh.



http://www.deerage.com/ Cementum annuli forensic aging.


Would love to send some stuff off, but the wait is too much for me, I loose interest in it. On the ones we have shot they also had the correct 2 cusp 3rd tooth which would indicate they were 2.5 also. I feel like I know how old they were and don't want to invest the time in it. I do still have the jaw off the doe I shot last year that I think was over 10 and may do something with it. A buddy of mine has sent off a few that came back at 8-9 years old and he says her teeth look way worse than those bucks.
Posted By: BOBO the Clown

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/13/17 09:31 PM

Originally Posted By: redchevy
Originally Posted By: BOBO the Clown
Originally Posted By: redchevy
Originally Posted By: maximus_flavius
FWIW, the last time I spoke with a TP&WD biologist, he insisted that out off all the spike jaws he inspects every year, all these years, he's never seen a spike over 1.5 years old. He said every spike is under 1.5, period.

What's y'all thoughts?

I'm saving our spike jaws this year to show him (without telling him they are are all spikes), just to test.........


I don't believe he is right. We have shot a few spikes that were 10 +/- inches long and weight 130 lbs on the hoof. Comparing them to other deer they looked like 2 year olds and by weight they weigh what the 2 year olds weigh.



http://www.deerage.com/ Cementum annuli forensic aging.


Would love to send some stuff off, but the wait is too much for me, I loose interest in it. On the ones we have shot they also had the correct 2 cusp 3rd tooth which would indicate they were 2.5 also. I feel like I know how old they were and don't want to invest the time in it. I do still have the jaw off the doe I shot last year that I think was over 10 and may do something with it. A buddy of mine has sent off a few that came back at 8-9 years old and he says her teeth look way worse than those bucks.


Solves a lot of arguments
Posted By: redchevy

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/13/17 10:06 PM

Originally Posted By: BOBO the Clown

Solves a lot of arguments


Lol, not that we argue over it, but they will make a good stocking stuffer for my brother and dad, I think I'm going to order a few, thanks for the link up
Posted By: Stub

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/14/17 12:16 PM

rifle before they become 4 points at 2.5 and probably no more than a 6 or 7 point when fully mature and you cannot shoot them because of the AR rule hammer
Posted By: maximus_flavius

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/14/17 01:01 PM

Originally Posted By: Stub
rifle before they become 4 points at 2.5 and probably no more than a 6 or 7 point when fully mature and you cannot shoot them because of the AR rule hammer


That's kinda what I'm thinking.

What percentage of spikes at 1.5 EVER make a nice buck?

I would guess that 99% of 2.5 year old spikes never make a decent buck.
Posted By: hook_n_line

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/14/17 01:19 PM

Originally Posted By: maximus_flavius
Originally Posted By: Stub
rifle before they become 4 points at 2.5 and probably no more than a 6 or 7 point when fully mature and you cannot shoot them because of the AR rule hammer


That's kinda what I'm thinking.

What percentage of spikes at 1.5 EVER make a nice buck?

I would guess that 99% of 2.5 year old spikes never make a decent buck.


85% can make nice bucks but less than 1% will make trophies where we hunt so we shoot them if they are 2nd year spikes or have no brows their 2nd year.
Posted By: Buck25-06

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/14/17 01:19 PM

Love old stories but hard to read on phone thanks for sharing . Some hunt meat some hunt horns hunt legal it's all Good!!
Posted By: TxAg

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/14/17 02:13 PM

1.5yo are the only deer you can call 100% accurate with jawbones due to the 3rd cusp on tooth 2. So, pretty cut and dry.

We have killed a couple 2.5yo spikes, it is possible. That said, the vast majority are 1.5yo. Even though TPWD (and many others) say shoot them, I usually let them walk, with a few exceptions. I have seen years where 50% of our 1.5yo age class are spikes. I simply can't see killing half an age class. We finally have our numbers and ratios close to where they need to be, so I'll be curious to see if the incidence of 1.5yo spikes goes down.

Now, anything 2.5 or older: shoot with great prejudice.
Posted By: Stub

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/14/17 02:55 PM

Originally Posted By: TxAg
1.5yo are the only deer you can call 100% accurate with jawbones due to the 3rd cusp on tooth 2. So, pretty cut and dry.

We have killed a couple 2.5yo spikes, it is possible. That said, the vast majority are 1.5yo. Even though TPWD (and many others) say shoot them, I usually let them walk, with a few exceptions. I have seen years where 50% of our 1.5yo age class are spikes. I simply can't see killing half an age class. We finally have our numbers and ratios close to where they need to be, so I'll be curious to see if the incidence of 1.5yo spikes goes down.

Now, anything 2.5 or older: shoot with great prejudice.


Would you let this walk?

Posted By: SingleShot85

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/14/17 03:18 PM

Originally Posted By: Stub
Originally Posted By: TxAg
1.5yo are the only deer you can call 100% accurate with jawbones due to the 3rd cusp on tooth 2. So, pretty cut and dry.

We have killed a couple 2.5yo spikes, it is possible. That said, the vast majority are 1.5yo. Even though TPWD (and many others) say shoot them, I usually let them walk, with a few exceptions. I have seen years where 50% of our 1.5yo age class are spikes. I simply can't see killing half an age class. We finally have our numbers and ratios close to where they need to be, so I'll be curious to see if the incidence of 1.5yo spikes goes down.

Now, anything 2.5 or older: shoot with great prejudice.


Would you let this walk?





if that was the only buck on the place, yes but other wise rifle
Posted By: Texan Til I Die

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/14/17 09:49 PM

Originally Posted By: BassBuster1
I want to kill one frequenting one of my feeders but his spike flattens a bit toward the tip and has the slightest fork at the very tip. From binos and scope he is a spike on one side but I saw a good shot of him on camera which saved his young life Saturday morning.
Are you saying you have a deer that is a spike on one side and a fork horn on the other? Doesn't this meet the definition of a legal buck in your county? I thought all AR counties had gone to the "spike on one side" rule? Recheck your county regs and see what they say.
Posted By: QuitShootinYoungBucks

Re: 2.5 yo Spike - Shoot or Let go One More Year?? - 11/14/17 10:36 PM

Originally Posted By: Texan Til I Die
Originally Posted By: BassBuster1
I want to kill one frequenting one of my feeders but his spike flattens a bit toward the tip and has the slightest fork at the very tip. From binos and scope he is a spike on one side but I saw a good shot of him on camera which saved his young life Saturday morning.
Are you saying you have a deer that is a spike on one side and a fork horn on the other? Doesn't this meet the definition of a legal buck in your county? I thought all AR counties had gone to the "spike on one side" rule? Recheck your county regs and see what they say.


If they fork isn't an inch you can whack him.
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