Poor soil cannot cause bad genetics. Only bad genetics can cause bad genetics.
A deer herd living in habitat that is so poor that bucks remain spikes past thier first year needs a lot of help.

How do you KNOW they were 2.5 year old spikes? Were they teeth aged by a biologist?

I don't shoot spikes or button bucks where i hunt hopely some day they'll turn into nice bucks.

Depends on the situation. If a spike gives me a nice 20 yard broadside shot and its bow season i would definately shoot. Opening day of rifle season, probably not. However if i got skunked during bow season and haven't been seeing a lot of deer, then maybe i would shoot on opening day of rifle season. I guess a lot of it depends on the freezer situation haha.

I wouldn't unless I was for sure that it was bad genetics.

I can't speak for the other guys, but for the two older spikes I have seen shot in the past few years by two different buddies, both were taken to the Michigan check station to recieve there patches and they were aged by the biologist there as 2 1/2 and 3 1/2. We checked the deer as well after they cut to view the teeth and the 3 1/2 was a legit 3 1/2. I don't know if it was bad genetics on the 3 1/2 or poor nutrition, but it was a BIG deer for only being a spike. Knarley looking spikes too, you could tell by the spikes it wasn't a young deer. If I ever see a spike that looks like that 3 1/2 and I have more than one buck tag, he's as good as in the freezer.

The spikes are 1.5 but so are some of the eights and six's. Unless it is a bad year. Research shows the spikes will not get as big as the bucks that are fork horned at 1.5. Shoot every spike you see and your deer heard will improve.

One of my deer last year that I thought was a doe when I shot turned out to be a button buck. Here in Iowa we don't get 'doe' tags, we get 'antlerless' tags. Antlerless is defined as anything without a forked antler. So, even a 7 inch spike would be considered 'antlerless'. That said, they are very well fed here and I haven't seen one with much over about 4" that isn't forked. We have so many, I won't hesitate to take a spike if it's the only one in sight, but if it is next to a doe, goodbye doe.

Last year's Iowa deer harvest:
Does: 75,073
Antlered Bucks: 52,134
Button Bucks: 16,846
Shed Antler Bucks: 2,161

Florida has poorer soils on average compared to most of the other states and I still find it hard to think there are many 2.5 yr old spikes. Geological-speaking our state was under the sea not too long ago which produces poor soils.

I have seen alot of spikes with none of them being characteristics of 2.5 yr old deer and killed my fair share of 2.5 yr old bucks with none of them being spikes. These are just my experiences though, not saying that it couldn't happen periodically

No spikes-no forked horns-no 5.6.7.points -only thing I willKILL is a 8 or better.

Spikes??? spikes are only going to get better in time.That oldsaying, once a spike always a spike, is a crock of sheet.That scence you see on tv where a guy is driving around and stops and looks at a deer and then states-there a nice 4 1/2 year old deer,that to is a crock of sheet-that dude has NO CLUE how old that deer is -until he looks at the jaw,even then its still guess work.

AMEN, Brother! Whack em' and stack em'!