What is the outlook for spike bucks? If passed up, do they amount to much of a rack in future year(s). Any thoughts on how big/how quickly they're rack will grow from year to year. I've seen enough little guys on camera, like this 1, and am wondering.

Wait! nobody answer til I get my bowl of Jiffy Pop buttered!

If you shoot a spike, it's guaranteed to never amount to anything more than a spike.

Dr James c kroll did a study in tax as some back
If you go to north American whitetail im sure you will find
Because I will not open that can of worms lol

If This Spike Is Given Sufficient Nutrition, and Manages To Survive For Another 7 Years, and He Carrys The Correct Sequence Of Proper Genetic Material, He Could Become The Next Boone & Crocket Typical 16 Point Trophy Whitetail,

Or Not !!!

w

Thats an 11 pointer.......

Yeah but its a wv 11 pointer...

Well, we're not allowed to shoot them here, so I guess the MS DNR thinks they'll result to something.

https://www.realtree.com/deer-hunting/galleries/photo-gallery-from-buttons-to-booner

This is a pretty good article relating directly to what your asking.

Translation Please...........?

w

sure it will next year it will be a bigger spike maybe even a three pointer or a hood ornament that's why farmers and ranchers get the scrawniest bull they can find they believe those runt calves will eventually be something

I use my phone for my computer.
And i dont always reread what i type i guess i should
I ment texas study and can of worms means there are to many variables such as
Early drop and its his first rack as a yearling
Late drop and its his first rack at 1 1/2
And many more variables
And i have big fingers and touch wrong buttons
My bad

In areas of poor nutrition, spikes are common as 1.5 year old deer. Given time, they will grow. Are they likely to be pope and young, or booners, probably not due to the poor soil and nutrition. But none the less they will absolutely grow to be larger in body size and antlers. Antlers pull from the skeletal system for content as they grow so it slows the growth of the deer for the first 3 years. After that the body is done growing new bone, so more nutrition can be directed to the antlers causing them to jump in size significantly between year 3 and 4. Sadly only a small percentage of the herd ever live long enough for this to happen.

Its genetics!!! My Family has had a zoo since the 1930's. My father kept records for nearly 50 years on the every whitetail buck. Each buck had access to the same amount and type of food. In all those years no spike buck ever matured to more than an 8 point. That is why point restricted units eventually yield big bucks with few points. 1 1/2 year old bucks with 3 or 4 points on an antler get shot, while bucks like the one pictured above get to live and breed sometimes several seasons before they would have enough points to be legally shot. Eventually you deplete the genetics for big bucks with lots of points. Some states have went away from point restrictions as they found this to be true, other states are slow learners. Eric

Seen this pic of a spike , good one too !
Is it a 2 pointer or a 1 pointer western count ?

I believe it's all genetics also but that spike could still turn into 130 in 8th in a few years and that's a nice buck for many people

Would taste great

If spikes never turned into trophy deer we'd never get a good buck because 80% of our 1 1/2 yr old bucks are spikes here in east Tenn. I know of one spike that I've had pics of 4 yrs in a row because of a scar on his hip and he is now a 140" buck which is big for our area. I'm sure the yearlings that have 4 or more points have better potential but the old saying that once a spike always a a spike simply isn't true

Here in Iowa you can use a doe tag on a spike.