Can someone say with certainty that the big spike is 3.5 and not a superior 1.5. Nine out of ten hunters cannot. That is one of the reasons AR's are so faulty as a management practcie. Although age strata is an important management goal, looking at the points only is not how you go about it.

I am retired now, but on most properties I managed, my goal in terms of age strata was to have as many 3.5 bucks as I did 1.5 and 2.5 combined and as many 4.5 and older as I did younger than 3.5. I found, without getting complicated that gave me all I needed.

I worked toward this by simply imposing a simple 8&16 rule. A buck had to have eight points AND 16 inches of inside spread. That is just outside his ears. That would just about protect all my 1.5 bucks and 75% of my 2.5 bucks. Once they reached 3.5, they needed no protection. The occasional buck that was so outstanding but did not have one of the criteria, such as eight points but not 16" of spread, we used common sense. On most property, it worked well. This buck, at 6.5, had eight points and a 14" spread. he scored and even 145 net. Obviously, he was an exception.