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