Spikes?
 

Would you shoot a spike?

RE: Spikes?
 

I do not shoot 1 1/2 yr. old spikes. I will, on the other hand, take out an older spike. I don't make a habit out of it though. Nothing wrong with taking a spike every now and then.

RE: Spikes?
 

Almost without fail, spikes in my neck of the woods are 1 1/2 year old deer. I won't shoot young bucks, but like the post above, if it was an older buck, I might be persuaded. :)

RE: Spikes?
 

An obviously older spike, yes!

RE: Spikes?
 

Depends...if bowhunting and an ethical opportunity comes along...yes definitely. when rifle hunting I will tend to hold off a little longer....but the whole point is to put meat on the table...

I know, i know...there are does for the table meat. True. There are times though when you have to shoot what walks by you.

thoughts?

RE: Spikes?
 

I let my daughter shoot a 2 1/2 year old spike last year but we don't shoot young spikes...No
The tricky part is that our county started allowing the shooting of spikes when they started the new antler restrictions, which allows you do shoot two deer now.....I think all the people inmy neck of thewoods will be wearing them out now!!!!!

RE: Spikes?
 

how bigs the spikes? ol

RE: Spikes?
 

If I want to. I havn't shot a spike in years, but I'm not tied to the grow big buck trend that some do. If one of my grandsons wants to shoot one while I'm sitting with themI always explain that a bigger buck might come out later and it might pay to wait, but I won't chastize them about shooting one.

RE: Spikes?
 

We get so many doe tags here that there's no reason to shoot a spike any more. There was a time though, that the only bucks we saw during gun season were spikes and forks. We hunted public land. There were no doe tags then. If you wanted a buck, you had to shoot a spike or fork.

RE: Spikes?
 

if its an older spike yes, but during bow seaosn i let them walk, if you dont shoot one during gun season your neighbor will. you cant eat the antlers anyway

RE: Spikes?
 

I agree with alot of the previous answers.

Young spike I wont shoot, but an older spike is a possiblity.

RE: Spikes?
 

Hello Jenna whats new?

RE: Spikes?
 

I would prefer to shoot a doe than a spike but if I have a tag left and it's the last day he's going down.

RE: Spikes?
 

Older Spike, without hesitation. One of my buddies shot a 3 1/2 spike a few years back. It needed to be taken out of the Gene pool. Otherwise, no. If I havea doe tag, I would much rather take a big doe. If it is a interesting spike, maybe 12 inch spikes, then maybe if it looked to be 2 1/2 or older. Sometimes a big spike ismore interestingthan an average 6 point.

RE: Spikes?
 

I usually let spikes walk but a lot of hunters I know do not, which is perfectly OK.
Hunting in low deer density areasmay not give us the luxury to see deer that often.
We often only see deer a few times a week.

I have let young bucks and does walk early in the seaon only to shake my head as the season comes to an end.
I don't second guess myself about that decision weeks earlier but having venison in the freezer may be more important than tugging on the antlers of that big, old, wise whitetail buck.
At least I think it might be...;)

RE: Spikes?
 

Where it's legal- in a new york minute! In one of my clubs you can only shoot spikes during general gun season, not bow or muzzleloader.

RE: Spikes?
 

I have only shot one. Im not sure how old it was but the spikes were a good 7-9 inches so ifigured it was an older one. And to top if all off, i won 300$ from thebuck pool from it :).But other then that, i dont shoot spikes unless they are older.

RE: Spikes?
 

Seriously guys....OLD spikes? How often do they occur? Can't more than a rare freak instance.

RE: Spikes?
 

Not as rare as you maythink. A lot of it depends on where you are hunting. If the soil is poor or if the nutrition level is low, which can cause bad genetics,then you probably will see more spikes.Now, when I say older spike, I'm not necessarily talking about 3 1/2 plus. A 2 1/2 yr. old buck should not be a spike. On my property, if you see a 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 yr. old spike, he is probably never going to have a nice rack. I know this is not always true.I've killed several 2 1/2 yr. old spikes throughout the years on my place, and today I don't see manyspikes at all, other than the usual 1 1/2 yr. olds. There are always plenty of those.The typical 2 1/2 year old on my property is now a 6,7, or 8 point. I still do occasionally see 2 1/2 yr. old 3 and 4 points, but most of the time they are 1 1/2 year olds. Bottom line is, if you want to shoot a spike, then go for it. Like some of you said, if it's meat you want, it doesn't matter what's on top of the head. If you want more mature bucks, then let the younger spikes walk. Again, I let the 1 1/2 yr. olds walk, butif a 2 1/2 or older spike walks out, he could be in trouble.

RE: Spikes?
 

i'm not holier than thou, if it's legal where i'm hunt'n...i'm drop'n the hammer.

RE: Spikes?
 

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?

RE: Spikes?
 

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

RE: Spikes?
 

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.

RE: Spikes?
 

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

RE: Spikes?
 

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.

RE: Spikes?
 

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.

RE: Spikes?
 

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

RE: Spikes?
 

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

RE: Spikes?
 

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.

RE: Spikes?
 

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

RE: Spikes?
 

I agree.

RE: Spikes?
 

Here in Indiana we have a one buck rule. I would, and do, let spikes walk. However I have no problem with other hunters who want to shoot them.

RE: Spikes?
 

I've put a spike down. i don't think there is anything wrong with it, when it puts the meat on the table. But man, I would prefer a monster though.

RE: Spikes?
 

I would shoot an older spike . They should be culled from the gene pool .

RE: Spikes?
 

i don't, there's been studies that later on 3-5 yrs old they grow beautiful racks!

RE: Spikes?
 

no

RE: Spikes?
 

singhalaya
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RE: Spikes?
 

Most spikes I won't shoot, but when theyreach trophy size I will.............

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l16/texas8point/100_0532.jpg

RE: Spikes?
 

no spikes for me antler restrictions here

RE: Spikes?
 

Bingo. A free roaming spike will never be as good as a 1st year fork horn. Now under a high fence with protein, thats a different story.
But spikes are usually the first ones to get a crack at the does in heat, making more inferior deer.
shoot them all.