read in a recent magazine article that a study over a 10 yeare period showed that most 1.5 year old spikes had actually caught up with other bucks antler growth by the time they got to be 3.5, its for the most part a nutritional thing. They are young, they arent too bright, dont know everything that they can eat yet, and mostly dont even get in on the breeding. Im sure there are exceptions to this rule, and every couple of years we will see an older spike, but most often it is a 1.5 year old. There are lot of variables to good management but shooting any 1.5 year buck is not one of them. my 2 cents