Spike bucks

[jerseyboy]

This is all good food for thought. I guess i never paid that much attention to it nor have all the info i need to make a more educated comment so i will go with richies verdict. Im not a trophy hunter by anymeans and living in NJ if you see a buck you shoot it for the most part.Im not saying that this is the best thing to do and after seeing some of the better bucks in my area i guess i should be more prone to let the smaller ones grow knowing what they could be one day. Here in NJ we have an abundance of great food for the deer so it would be easy for them to grow into trophy class animals. In fact i just came in from my stand and couldent help thinking while i was out there that its no wonder with all the food sources around that i dont have more deer come by my stand. There so damn hard to predict where they will be going for food its a virtual all you can eat buffet where i live in central NJ. Wouldent it be nice to only have one food plot so you know that they would be coming into it

[Zach Mikita]

Don that's exactly what I discoverd with my buck.  When he approached I thought he was a huge doe, but to my surprise he was a spike.  He weighed 198 field dressed!

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Richie - Thanks for giving a scientific explanation...too often folk's opinions on these topics are based upon wives tales and folklore.  Heck, I had a hunter last week tell me his buck was 5 yrs old because it had 10 points and "we all know they put on 2 points every year."  Wow...I wonder if that guy thinks the world is flat, too.

I've been surprised at some of the differences I've noted in 1 1/2 yr old bucks throughout the Midwest and the only thing I can attribute it to is the management philosophy (more particularly gun season type/timing) and the effect on the rut.  For instance, in Ohio when I was growing up one VERY rarely saw an 18 month old buck that was not at least a 3X4, and most were typical 8 pts.  Rare exceptions were generally large 3X3's with an occasional 5X5 with very small G-4's.  Moving to Indiana, with a much more harsh gun season (2 full weeks, prime rut, more liberal harvest limits) we have many more forks and spikes around than I'm used to from back home (11 yr observation in IN).  The area Dad's farm is in in SE Iowa WAS generally more like Ohio, but has been suffering lately - say last 6-8 yrs - as far as 18 month old bucks go - corresponding with increasing gun "opportunity" including early blackpowder season etc.  This train of thought was really brought home to me this year while hunting northeast Missouri where I saw 18 1.5 yr old spike/fork bucks (maybe a couple repeats, but I'm convinced most were distinct bucks) in 7 days.  They have a 2 week high power rifle season during the rut.  Genetics can't be THAT different across these areas, and all these deer have plenty to eat, similar winters, etc, as the 2 1/2 yr old and older deer from all these places are similar in size.  All I can attribute it to is that heavier gun pressure during the rut must spread the breeding over longer periods resulting in many more "short yearlings" or 12-16 month old "1 1/2 yr olds" vs less gun pressure during the rut leading to more true yearlings, and thus better antler growth on a bigger deer the first year.

I guess to answer the original question, after all that ranting would be IMO unless the spike is 2.5 yrs old or older killing him because he is a spike and "will always be" is a mistake.  A 3.5 yr old or older spike has to be a VERY rare thing in most areas and I would guess would be a genetic oddity.

Ryan

[shakeyslim]

i killed a spike this year / he was mature deer / looked like cow horns , full mass just never beamed out.
 feel i did right thing management wise taking him ( would rather have a young doe). anyway he helps fill the freezer, back on hunt tomorrow!

[rybohunter]

Science has pretty much shown (other than the rare oddity)they are just late born bucks & given time to age, will catch up to thier potential.

[Steve O]

I was just leafing thru my copy of "Buckskin and Bone" that I got in the mail today.  Gene has a phot of a black spike 1 1/2 year old.  He and Barry have been watching that buck for 3 years and he is a trophy now.

[Guru]

That would be "Tyrone"

[Don Stokes]

Zack, that WOULD have been a huge doe! Heck, that's bigger than any buck I've seen around here! Our average mature bucks top out at 160 - 175# on the hoof. My biggest buck, a mature 10 Pt. with a 5" drop tine and several stickers, was no more than 200# live weight.

Richie, I think you're right. The button, spike, forkhorn and 10 pt. that I referenced were all aged at 1 1/2, but our rut has been shown by aging fetuses from spring doe harvests to range from November to March! It peaks around December 15.

Mississippi has changed the regs this year, and in most of the State you can't shoot a buck unless he has a minimum 10" inside spread, or a main beam at least 13" long. I'm excited about the effect this will have on the age structure. It is expected that practically no 1 1/2 year old bucks will meet the minimum, thereby protecting the whole age class with our late rut.