RE: Mature Spikes?
I was born and raised in WV until I moved to IL in 2003. I have hunted since I was about 6 years old and I am now 28. While hunting in WV the majority of the bucks I seen were spikes that Iestimated to be1.5 years old. It seemed that 75-80% of bucks that I seen were spikes. Now on the other hand I have lived and hunted in IL for 3 seasons now and I have never seen a spike. No kidding, I have beenwaiting and waiting to see a spike outhere and it just hasn'thappened yet. Its kindacrazy really. It seems as though the 1.5 year olds around here grow larger than just spikes. Most 1.5 year old bucks I see now are fork horns or small basket racks. Through these experiences and sightings that I have had I think that it depends mostly on 2 things. 1. being food sources and 2. genetics. With food sources playing the bigger role in antler development atsuch anearly age.