What are spike bucks?

What are spike bucks?

Definition of spike buck : a male deer typically in its second year with unbranched antlers on both sides.

Is a whitetail spike always a spike?

“The ‘once a spike, always a spike’ maxim should be dead, but unfortunately it’s not,” said Lindsay Thomas of the Quality Deer Management Association. “A lot of people believe that a spike will have a spike rack throughout its life, but the research says that’s simply not true.

Should I shoot spike bucks?

You’re going to want the spikes to mature into older age classes to see what they become. If you have an encouraging amount of rainfall, shooting spikes could be beneficial. The high rainfall creates a domino effect of good habitat and nutrition, which will lead to buck growth and less population attrition.

What causes a buck to be a spike?

The most common cause of spikes is poor nutrition. When spikes represent more than 25 percent of yearling bucks, it usually indicates too many deer are present for the available resources. Focusing on spike harvest in these situations is focusing on the wrong issue.

Can Spike bucks get big?

-Given enough time, spikes will grow branched antlers, and after 4.5 years spikes can become decent bucks, but they will never be as big as a branch antlered yearlings if all else is equal.

Are spike bucks inferior?

Spike bucks indicate poor genetics. Spike bucks are typically viewed as genetically inferior in trophy management. When there is a high percentage of spikes in a deer herd, it usually indicates other issues besides genetics.

Are spikes bad genetics?

Spike bucks indicate poor genetics. It could also indicate a skewed sex ratio with does being bred later, resulting in late-born fawns that are bred late the following year. These fawns can be spike bucks as yearlings but can develop very nice antlers if allowed to age and have proper nutrition.

Do all bucks start out as spikes?

The vast majority of bucks that start out as spikes will grow a nice rack of branched antlers if they get enough to eat, have little stress, and can survive enough hunting seasons to become mature. Few yearling bucks with spike antlers are genetically programmed to remain spike bucks at maturity.

Do spike bucks have bad genetics?

Spike bucks indicate poor genetics. Generally, the deer herd is above carrying capacity and the animals are not getting the proper nutrition. It could also indicate a skewed sex ratio with does being bred later, resulting in late-born fawns that are bred late the following year.

How do you tell if a deer is a cull buck?

Ideally, all bucks should be evaluated on an apples to apples basis. For example, if most of the bucks at 3 1/2 years of age on a property have 8+ antler points, then a 3 1/2 year old buck with 6 or fewer antler points would probably be considered a cull buck.