Why do you say that deer is a two-year old? Given it's December, he shows absolutely no sign of rutting. Neck is very slender, as is body. Rack is extremely spindly, no indication of mass; yearlings frequently lack dogcatchers, as this one does. Yes, his head appears to be a little bigger than usual but that could be the angle. Most every indication suggests this deer is 1.5 years old.

I will sometimes give an opinion but won’t argue with any of them over it. The deer we take are proof that our strategy works and that all that matters to me.

No

An old spike, yes

The op’s picture I would cull or any long horn spikes
The short spikes/small deer we let walk
To each his own

I still have not shot the 3 point that said I’d shoot. Plenty of chances, but I can tell that he’s very young. Last time I saw him, I just couldn’t do it.

Many years ago I shot a spike that was really old. Twisted spikes, gray muzzle, and few teeth. I know we ate him, but don’t remember if he was particularly edible.

Any yearling (1.5) spike or little 4 gets a pass. If a deer appears to be 2 or even 3 years old and isn't an 8, it is not making it out of the yard. You might mis-judge a few, but by and large, you're doing yourself and your herd a favor,

If I have a good representation of 1.5 year old deer I don’t hesitate to take a spike, haven’t shot one this year but may this weekend depending on my FIL and what he does.

I don’t see the point unless you’re doing some intensive management and have plenty of tags to do so.

We have too manage spikes, does, doe fawns, and bucks that fall behind. Sure we may take a few that have potential but the ones that are about to peak are the better for it. It's just good for the land and feed bill. We took employees and friends hunting this year to harvest at least 40 deer. Some got spikes, some got does, doe fawns and a few got over the hill deer. All part of the plan. Everybody had a good time and took venison home. Now the rut is on and with less does to chase the big boys should show themselves so we know what to plan for for next year.

Different age classes of bucks. I can take a mature one each year if they don't run off and hopefully one turns into a giant.


Which would you shoot? Nothing wrong with shooting spikes. All these were born around the same time, one is a runt and one has multiple points.


Too many deer on this corned road with more at the feeder and some down the road behind me.


He will be 6 next year and prime for the harvest.

To follow up on my opening post, I personally wouldn't shoot the deer I put a picture up of. I want to see a 3 year old deer before it gets shot, and if it doesn't show good qualities (tine length, number of points, etc.) then it will be taken out.

I posted this because I like to hear opinions and what others do. I'm very appreciative of some of the posts that folks have put up because they show just how different situations can be that produce different management plans. This would be a prime example:



I won't ever see that many deer in one spot where we hunt in central north Texas, so my management plan can't be like hooks.

That’s it in a nut shell, it’s level 9 of a 10level program. 8 other levels etc that need to be addressed first, but it’s easier to justify shooting a spike in most minds as management, regardless of the actual outcome of it.

TLew, that’s the crux of it. IT DEPENDS. Too many variables and for the vast majority of hunters the answer should be like you and me, and most others on here, NO.

If your overrun with deer it seems like the best plan would be to take does. Out of the 10 or so deer a year we kill on our place i like for the majority of them to be does.

If you are at carrying capacity or above it then you have to manage the numbers. For example if you have a 45% fawn crop this....those new mouths are all above carrying capacity. You would want to take off the same number of 1.5yr or older deer to keep you at carrying capacity. You would want pull the bottom off of every age class of bucks if you are at your desired ratio. The younger your doe herd is the better off you are IMO. There are always more deer in the younger age classes than in the older age classes.

pot meet kettle you old spike killer...you been in the closet to long

Yes, if the spikes are roughly four inches in length or greater.

I will continue shooting them...no matter who it irritates

Definitely does not irritate me. Seems like the thing to do for some folks in some situations, just not the thing to do for everyone in every situation.

me neither

It really does depend. If I hunted an area that had low deer density or a bad buck/doe ratio, I would never shoot a spike except for humane reasons.

We're in an AR county and have very high density. If I let a spike pass, I can't shoot him for 2-3 years until he gets to 13". At that point I have to choose whether to cull a low-end younger 13" buck or only shoot a mature trophy buck. So I let 2020's spike become 2022's problem. With a spike tag, I can take a mature deer this year (if I find one) AND eliminate a buck that is already at the low end of his 1.5yr old class. This is not wanton, I don't shoot the first spike I see. I hunt many times, use game cameras, and find likely deer to remove. I judge them against each other and against the other 1.5 yr-old bucks. If the numbers don't dictate availability, they get a pass. I've also hunted enough (40+ years) and witnessed enough deer, as well as thousands of goats and sheep, be born and raised. Lower-end animals that are stunted due to illness, death of their mother, or questionable genetics almost NEVER catch up to their peers, and if they do, you are usually waiting an extra year or more for them to do so. I'm not going to invest in a loser any longer than I have to.

Now, does this matter on 600 acres, when my neighbor on 240 acres has already killed three bucks this year? Arguably not. But just because my neighbor won't do the right thing doesn't mean that I shouldn't either. If I wasn't following our plan, two of those bucks wouldn't have been there to begin with.

Every saint has a past and every sinner a future...

Still time to take the right path

I don’t shoot them. I don’t get bent out of shape if some do. If I were shooting them though I would target the shortest spikes since they have the least amount of bone on their head. A quick story about what changed my mind:
We had a Snow White yearling spike. He was the only white deer on the 13,000 acre place any of us were aware of. We thought he was cool and all agreed not to kill him. At 6.5 years of age he was a 20 1/2” wide main frame 10 pt that scored in the mid 160’s. That told me you just don’t know till you know. We cull the really bad ones at three but most are given till four. We have strong age classes and a strong track record for producing more big deer on a per acre basis than almost all low fence properties in our region.

To the OP’s question: I judge the posted buck to be 1.5 years old. I would not shoot him unless he is much smaller than your average yearling. Ultimately it is your call. A trend we have seen with young bucks where I hunt is those that produce larger than average bodies early often also produce smaller antlers as a result of more bone going into growing a larger skeletal frame. Some but not all of these bucks really start to bloom at age 4. No way to know which ones it will be till it happens. Culling spikes is playing a game of odds. You will take out more that don’t have the genetics to get big but you will also kill some that have the potential to get to trophy size. Where I hunt it translates to culling a lot of 4 year old 8’s that top out in the 120’s and 130’s and they are a lot more fun to shoot than spikes. It depends on how much patience you and your group of hunters have. Deer are like people. Some are early bloomers and some are late bloomers. If you kill all the spikes, you only leave the early bloomers to hunt as mature deer. If you have enough trophy deer that you are not worried about killing some of the deer that will get big without knowing it then shoot them. If you want to identify all of them, cull at 4.