ORIGINAL: RackLuster
i hear a lot of people saying you cannot judge a deer by the rack they had when they were 1.5 (spike). i find that hard to believe. typically, a deers rack gets bigger every year until they start to decline around 6'ish years old. why would 1.5 be different?
wouldn't it be reasonable to think that a 1.5 yr old w/ 8 points is going to be bigger at 2.5 then a 1.5 with 2 inch spikes?
what i'm saying is i think a deer's genetics show up before 3.5. i've seen some absolute bruiser 2.5's and some 2.5 spikes. i'd have to say they don't have the same potential.
(this is a serious question, not trying to be a jerk)
Deer aren'tmuch different than people when they are showing their genetic potential...you have kids that shoot up to 6 feet tall when they're 12 (me) and others that may be 5' 5" until 15, then have a growth spurt to where they're as tall or taller than the ones that shotup in height early...you just never know what is going on'for sure'until about 3.5 for bucks.
That's not to say though that those that are showing great antler growth at a young age won't be the biggest-racked bucks at maturity...just that you do not truly know or are able to gauge what any buck will be at maturity as a yearling or a 2-year-old.