I just go done rereading an article in North American Hunter last night about this very subject. "Should We Shoot Spikes" It states that Of the WILD deer (444 yearlings) that were caught that had spikes or three points usually grew 8 point racks their second year. 4 - 7 pointers usually grew 9 point racks their second year. 8 - 9 pointers usually grew 10 points their second year. These are all yearlings. And even better, there was virtually no difference in size of racks by their third year of age. The study also found that the percentage of small bucks increased considerably during very dry years. It seems that water has a big impact on antler growth. This test was done by the Institute of White Tailed Deer Management and Research in Texas.