Right, since they don't let them shoot does in East Texas

I shot a buck that we new we had fed for 5 yrs on a lease near
Batesville, yrs. ago...he dressed 126lbs..boned out..Had two
horns, no branches...9in's longs and about 2ins around..

The owner found out we hadn't been shooting spikes, and opened
season, we let the kids have some fun...they killed 9 in one day
on a 200 acre oatpatch..DD

The ranch were I bird hunt south texas, a few years ago the grandson shot a ( I believe) 42 inch spike. They thought it was about 4 years old. They also thought it was a 12 pointer that for some reason had an "off year". I think it won the Los Cadadores that year for spikes.

The spike argument is one that I am not sure about. On our place, it is left up to the hunter. If you are in a management program that dictates that you take the bottom of each age class, then it makes since.

I have only been able to track one deer on our ranch that was a spike at 1.5. He had three white dots down his face and we called him tear-drop. He was a spike, 7 pointer, 8 pointer, 7 pointer and then an awesome 6 pointer. His tines laid straight forward instead of going up. He was always considered inferior and his last year he had the frame of a 140" deer but only 6 points.

Here is a picture of one of the spikes that WestTexasHunter sent me for another thread. Pictures are hard to tell age, but he is a pretty big spike.

There was one over 20" wide w/ 25"+ beams killed a cpl years ago... Pic should be floating around on here somewhere

Here is an older spike

but this is what most folks want to shoot.

deer on the far left.. he's a 5pt, but still a spike on one side

this buck is basically the same way

I shot one near Richland Springs that was still in velvet at the end of December. Spikes were 8". When I saw it I said those are the thickest spikes ever. It was a boy but was missing some of its breeding gear.

I don't see many spikes on my place and they are very young deer with flat bellies. It has been years since we shot a spike. I would shoot one that was a 2.5 or 3.5 older deer, but we haven't seen any. A lot of the 1.5 year old deer on my land are 3s, 4s, 5s, and 6s. We have seen four spikes this season. One has antlers that come straight up and are about 10-12" long. I couldn't get a good look at his body to try to determine age. If he is over 1.5 years old, we will shoot him this year if the opportunity arises.

Why would you even take the chance? I have plenty of bucks on my ranch and would rather put my odds on the 6 pt 1.5 year than a 1.5 yr old spike. Maybe the spike turns out to be something then again maybe it doesn't. I will take my odds with the 6 pt.
Thus, I want the 6 pt alive and breeding and not the spike.

Years ago the Biesenbach bros. and I hunted a lease toward Batesville, Tx..they'd had it for yrs..It had about 1000acres
w/a 200 acre oat field..I finally shot Roi-Tan and old spike..
dressed 126lbs..asked the property owner..he told them to shot
the spikes didn't count against the lease...The kids killed 6
in one day on the oat patch...I still have guys who should know
better try to tell me that spikes grow up into big horned deer..
But if it were a bull in their herd, they'd cut him and sell
him...Can't change'mmm Keep shooting them..Wish the state would
open season on them yr round...DD

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/game_management/deer/antlers_inherited/

Here is an interesting study that pretty much validates your experience. What I mostly learned is that spikes are usually a result of poor nutrition, late birthdate, or both. Some deer will remain spikes but that is rare.

In the past few years I've learned more on the Internet than all my experiences, mentors, and books have taught me in the first 30 years of my life. I'm here to learn and enjoy people who challenge my theories. I don't want to blindly beat the drum for any camp, but I also don't want to be the last guy defending the world is flat because I can see it with my own eyes.

I am with y'all on this. I personally have not seen a spike over 2.5 years old, unless it was only on one side. But I am still conflicted on if a spike will always be an inferior deer or not. I havent been able to track enough personally to say one way or another. I don't shoot them simply because I believe with the stage that our lease is at, spikes are the least of our worries and if they are inferior, we can address them at 3.5.

I shot this 3 1/2 yr old in McCulloch County just before Thanksgiving. I have been watching him for the past 3 yrs, and his body size is about the same as last year.

That is not a 3.5yr old deer

This is a good example!

So, how do you know that you were watching THAT deer for the last three years? Markings? Tags? I have yet to figure out how to track them from 1.5 to 2.5. Antlers seem to make alot of changes and characteristics of the deer change alot too. Just curious.

I will be honest, that does not appear to be a 3.5 year old deer.

here's one that was a main frame spike on one side w/ 2 NT points.

Where is this spike? Looks like a happy snaggle tooth kid to me.

This might explain the reason his body size didn't change this year!

it's the look of a kid that was happy to sleep in and was rudely awakened when the 300wm went off 100yds from camp.