i got my first deer last fall on 150 acres of public land with my bow. he had 9 1/2 inch spikes. is this a normal size for a spike? bigger than usual? smaller?

That’s above average for spikes around here.

3 to 6"" is about as big as they get here. But doesn't seem like we have very many around here unless they were born pretty late in the year. Most of our yearlings are at least forked. I wonder if your buck was a year and a half old or 2 1/2?

we figure 1 1/2; the year before we saw people shoot his mama, not something i'd do, especially with the twin 8s in the area

How do you know for sure, a year later, that doe was the mother of the spike?

Only sure way to know age is to look at tooth replacement and wear. There are some good videos on YT...search National Deer Association "aging deer."

we don't know for sure, 2 does were shot 4 fawns between them same spot that i got him

That would be a big spike for here!

have killed 2 spikes with horns over 13", they are still 1.5 year old deer for the most part, a good mast year after a mild winter 1.5 year olds can be basket racked 8 points 10-13 inches wide.

Never went by antlers, we go by body size. How big was the deer?

Sounds like a good one for around here. The Boy got one 2 seasons ago about that size and we all agreed it was a nice buck!

A thread like this isn't very good without pics of your deer.

Holy crap!!
Jbyrd63 taught that fella well how to pose for pics!

Lol

I harvested a , what I call a button buck , that had a body bigger than the ten point I harvested a few years before !
There's so many differences in individuals , take it as you wish.
Those are some strange and awesome spikes !

he was 120LBS, the first shot he gave me was under the tree stand, and there I thought that he was a fawn with nubs. hit it just in front of the shoulder blade, blood dried up after a mile and a half, and a dog walker found him the next day half mile from where we lost the blood.

Swamp Wolf is right! Learn how to age deer by tooth replacement and wear. It is very easy to identify a 1 1/2 old. After that it's a little more difficult.