BrutalAttack

Possibly. I would be harvesting spikes as well. By doing so you are selecting for the bucks that have smarter, faster, better quality genetics to breed later.

You don't want inferior bucks to enter the breeding population and possibly remain there for their entire lives because you only shoot 3 point or better for example. You should also consider harvesting does so sex ratio problems don't arise from buck only harvests.

Now this can be taken too far. If not enough spikes are surviving to enter the breeding population then your herd will start to decline in numbers and health.

Of course habitat also plays a huge role in this. For example Ohio has one of the best maybe the best deer herd in the county. They have approx. 80-90% of their yearling bucks taken each year. But that also goes along with an aggressive antlerless harvest.

I don't really know what Criggster is talking about honestly. In my opinion as a biologist he is going down the wrong road. I don't think protecting spikes and possibly genetically inferior bucks is a good idea. I think he is seeing the effects of that by seeing a high number of spikes that should have branched antlers, but possibly due to genetic reasons, do not. So by harvesting large mature bucks he is actually removing the "good" genetics and protecting the "bad".