Don't have a picture, but had an argument with a buddy of mine who shot a deer last weekend (spike only). He was bragging about being the only one to shoot one. He showed me a picture and it had no antler on one side but the other side had a forked horn. I told him that unfortunately it wasn't a spike. He said that a spike is anything with 1 or 2 antlers... I say he's wrong, what do you folks say?

If it didn�t have a spike, it ain�t a spike.

A spike is an non branched antler. A single antler with 2 or more points in sure as heck not a spike.

This.

x2

your "buddy" probably in for a treat if he brings it to the processor

This has east Texas written all over it.

You could settle the argument once and for all... hehe.

No thanks....

Right out of the outdoor annual;
During the Special Late Season, harvest is restricted to antlerless deer and unbranched antlered bucks. An unbranched antlered buck is any buck deer with an antler having no more than one point.

Your 'friend' earned himself a visit by not reading the regulations.

Hmmm, now it you want to get technical about it I guess it is possible he did follow the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law. The book also defines a "point" as over 1 inch long. If the fork/point is less than 1 inch it could still be a legal deer, but that is getting kind of off in the weeds.

In an ETX county, I am pretty sure that would be an illegal deer. Not a spike, because you don't know how many points the other antler had before it broke off or fell off.

If its gone it is gone and does not count.

Exactly my point...no pun intended.

I hear banjos.

Funny but not east Tx. Near Wichita Falls

It doesn't have to have both spikes intact to be legal. it just have to have unbranched antlers. I believe it has been discussed before, broke off with no remaining points is technically a spike and broke off flush is in branched.

I believe you are wrong. Broke off flush is no longer an antler, and therefore is no longer an unbranched antler. The one remaining antler would have to be unbranched for it to be a spike. An antler that may have been previously branched, but was broken off to now be an unbranched antler...you may have an argument, but is definitely not in the spirit of the law.

Yes and unbranched in the book as I understand it can have a fork so long as neither side is greater than 1 inch and length and still be considered in the eyes of the law unbranched.

And other areas.

The whole 'spike' thing is what throws folks, spike was removed from the regulations,,, 2 seasons ago.
Effective Sept 1 2016;
�Special Late Antlerless and Spike-buck Season� replaced with a �Special Late Season� for antlerless deer and �unbranched antlered bucks.�

Before that the definition of a spike was and always had been;
A "spike buck deer" is a Buck with no antler having more than one point.
Some folks used the term incorrectly for generations to describe any buck that had any antler with one point.

The regulations changed to branched vs unbranched antler, to help eliminate confusion.
Branched antler has more than one legally defined point, unbranched has only one legally defined point.

It is a very good idea to read at least " whats new for this year " & your county regulations every year.

I had a buddy pass on a buck last weekend because he was knocked off on one side and my buddy didn't know if it was legal. Called the game warden when we went into town, and the GW said he was legal. Said he couldn't base a judgement off what the deer might have looked like had that side not been broken off.

A one antlered buck would be legal as long as the antler remaining is unbranched.
If the remaining antler is branched then it wouldn't be.

Looks like this is going to be one of those vague rules that gets left up to interpretation until it comes before a judge. I asked the game warden flat out, about one specific deer, that had one side branched and the other missing completely. The game warden said he woudn't write a ticket for that.