Longhorn spike....take him out or let him grow?
 

Got several pics of this spike. I'm wondering if some of the more experienced hunters can tell if this is just a young buck with his first set of horns and might actually grow a decent rack.....

OR

If this buck looks like it might always be just a spike and should be taken out of the herd.


Any input would be appreciated.

i know guys who would let him grow just to have a trophy spike on the wall, and a few who would be pizzed if ya let such a creature continue to exist on their property too..if it was me, it would depend on the circumstances..did i need a lil fridge filler? how many tags left?
beginnin er end of season? so just depends on you. you know if ya want em when he walks out..go with your gut instincts.

I guess my main question is.....do you think this guy will ever be anything more than a spike.

If not, I don't want him breeding.

Shoot him he looks like a young deer but imo looks like hel always be a spike prolly second set of horns.

More than likely he will get better with age. Taking him out of the herd will do nothing to improve genetics unless you have a large tract of land to control or have a high fence.

He's a young deer. Probably born late last year.What ever you decide to do I can guarantee you one thing. You will never know what he will grow into if you shoot him now.

There was a study done by D&D here a few years back with just such a deer. They allowed the spike to grow and by the time he was 5.5 yrs old he had become a 170" deer. I personally know from years of trail cam pics that spikes can turn into really nice deer if allowed to grow up. I guess my question would be do you shoot small 4 or 6 pts? If you do then you might as well go ahead and shoot the spike as well but if you dont and you like to let young deer grow up then dont shoot him because chances are better that he will become something other than a spike rather than stay that way.

I would let him go and use my tag on something bigger.

If you decide that you are going to kill him because you feel he is too inferior to be allowed to exist on your land and he should not be allowed to procreate, how do you know you can find him when you go hunting? Does he always stand broadside in the same spot at the same time every day? Or is he a wild and cunning deer.

This whole cull buck crap annoys me. It ain't hunting. It's farming and then window shopping.

Take what mother nature gives you.

Shooting animals merely to remove them from the gene pool will not benefit you unless you own 2000 acres or more, or you have a high fence.

Also, that is probably his first set of horns, no telling what he could turn into.