Once a spike...always a spike, is a pure myth. The only properties that may benifit by shooting spikes are CLOSELY monitored inclosures. I say closely because unless you remove all of your breeding aged inferior bucks, and have reached that point of success in your management plan, romovings spikes are not the priority.

Simply, in free-ranging whitetail herds the positive implications of producing an older-aged buck age structure far, far out weigh an supposed inferiority concerns. At the same time, even when studies have shown mature buck inferiority when they were spikes as yearlings, the differences may be 110 P&Y score, to 130 P&Y score...so, even the mature spikes were still larger than many guys shoot in a lifetime.

Some of those sames studies in TX have also shown that with drought conditions or poor habitat conditions exist, as many as 70% of the yearling buck class may have spikes. Harvesting every spike in that situation would virtually eliminate an entire age class. Here in the U.P., spikes make up about 50% of the yearling buck class....are they all inferior? and if not, which ones aren't?

Poor habitat
Lack of moisture
Late births
Poor mother condition/young mother
Harsh previous winter, either before birth, or before 1st birthday
Female suppresion

There are just so many reasons a spike may be a spike, that in free-ranging whitetail populations with high numbers, habitat degredations, poor buck age structure, and skewed sex ratios, and supposed inferiority is almost impossible to identify, and is extremely low on the priority scale...even if on the priority scale at all.