While this thread is quite old, Dr. Deer himself had a good article on that subject a few months back, yet after the discussion in this thread on spikes took place.If I recall itcorrectly, they did an extensive study following deer as they maturedand by 5-6 y/o the majority of the spikes yearlings were sporting just as good quality and scoring racks as the 6-8 point yearlings. At 3-4 y/o the spikes weren't quite as big, but let them fully mature and they closed the gap.