Not as rare as you maythink. A lot of it depends on where you are hunting. If the soil is poor or if the nutrition level is low, which can cause bad genetics,then you probably will see more spikes.Now, when I say older spike, I'm not necessarily talking about 3 1/2 plus. A 2 1/2 yr. old buck should not be a spike. On my property, if you see a 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 yr. old spike, he is probably never going to have a nice rack. I know this is not always true.I've killed several 2 1/2 yr. old spikes throughout the years on my place, and today I don't see manyspikes at all, other than the usual 1 1/2 yr. olds. There are always plenty of those.The typical 2 1/2 year old on my property is now a 6,7, or 8 point. I still do occasionally see 2 1/2 yr. old 3 and 4 points, but most of the time they are 1 1/2 year olds. Bottom line is, if you want to shoot a spike, then go for it. Like some of you said, if it's meat you want, it doesn't matter what's on top of the head. If you want more mature bucks, then let the younger spikes walk. Again, I let the 1 1/2 yr. olds walk, butif a 2 1/2 or older spike walks out, he could be in trouble.