In the past I was under the impression that shooting spikes and letting the racked 1.5 yr bucks walk, was good for improving rack size. I thought that the biggest reason for the difference was genetic. After coming to this forum, I learned of the theory that spikes were often born later in the year and just hadn't caught up yet.

Here's an article that adds a little more fuel to the controversy, suggesting that althought both genetics and environment play a role, genetics may play a bigger one.

http://wildlife.tamu.edu/publication...DPUBS/A043.PDF

If this is true, what are the chances of getting hunters to shoot spikes, and letting young basket racks walk? I'd say somewhere between none and less than none, and it's not something you could regulate.