I heard that a spike buck will allways be a spike buck. Is that true or B.S.?
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Not true.
There are several great publications available to provide you with facts to back it up. Leonard Lee Rue's Deer of North America would be a great start, but periodicals and publications by the North American Deer Foundation, Quality Deer Management Association, a several whitetail deer research facilities also provide great information.
With average nutrition and average genetics in play, a spike buck is usually a 1 1/2 year old deer. This exact same deer with great nutrition and good genetics would have been a small basket 8 or 10 pointer.
If it come within 50 yards of me it will.
In some cases this may be true. NOT ALWAYS. Nutrition is something we can work with. Genetics well, thats another thing. There are the cow horn spikes weve all seen. I have one on camera this season with at least 14-15 inch spikes and id say a 13-14 inch spread. In my opinion and our biologist opinion this deer needs to be taken out. He is not a young deer, and we estimate him at 3 1/2 years old. His body is huge. On the other hand a 1 1/2 yr old spike with 4 inch horns could be a 14 inch deer next yr. This has been proven by Mississippi State. I work for the universities row crop entomology dept. They brought in several yearlings from various northern states. One was a spike his first year, and the next year his rack was an 8. He is now a hefty B&C. Some of the other bucks didnt do as well. They were all fed high protein feed, so this shows that genetics have a great bearing on a deers potential. Also remember the doe has just as much or more to do with it as the sire. On my particular lease we have an area that has a 6 point gene. 75 percent of the bucks we see in this particular are are 6 points. There is one particular buck that is unbelievable. He is 20 plus wide, heavy, and tine length is great. He has a gnarly dark rack, and he is a six point. He has sired lots and this has to be where this six point phase is coming from. Our biologist is trying to persuade us to shoot some of these "inferior deer", but we choose not to. I guess his guess is as good as ours. I personally believe there isnt a way to truly project a deers potential before he reaches it. The key ingredients are genetics, and nutrition, not to leave out the all important AGE. I dont care what genetics or supplements you have without age youre pissing in the wind.
Ask anyone from these forums who has ever visited me about a buck I have named Godzilla. Hes big. We think he will gross just over 200 inches TYPICAL this year. Yep, hes out of 200 plus genetics from both sides. And yes, he was a spike his first year.
Theres two kinds of spikes in my opinion, three really. One spike is a super, SUPER fawn with polished spikes instead of buttons. I dont see that too often.
The second, like Godzilla, is a late dropped fawns second rack, as a yearling. He will likely catch up, but is a season behind until maturity. I see that in captivity often.
The third is the one the biologists describe as a genetically inferior animal, or an animal with less than adequate nutritional levels, like these guys were saying.
I have posted both these references here before, but this is an appropriate palce to repeat them.
Deer Antlers-Regeneration, Function and Evolution by Richard Goss
Antler Development In Cervidae edited by Robert D.Brown
Both books have more answers than you have questions, BUT neither one is CHEAP. IF you can even find a copy.
To add to the initial question. A University of Missippi study found that bucks that were spikes their first year were 80% likely to never be more than 8 pts(it could have been 6pts). It has been a while since I have read it and I don't have the time right now to look it up. It is is one of those books(the Brown one, I believe). Thus, spikes are most likely inferior geneticly, most of the time.
I just found a copy of this book at Spotlight Books in Norfolk, VA. It's $90!
the deer that I like to raise on my property. I have a spike I passed up a week or so ago cause he was a 1 1/2 yr old and had 8" spikes. He will surely be a good deer next year. Some deer grow forks instead of spikes on their first set some grow spikes it depends on several factors, nutrition, genetics etc...