Tazman

I agree that it is a myth that once a spike always a spike. It all depends upon genetics, nutrition and age. A buck that is born late in the spring stands a good chance in some areas of being a spike instead of a 4 point, also due to a dry summer or over population cutting down on their nutrition can create a spike. There are rare instances of 4 1/2 year old spikes, but they are rare.

rcw280

if the genitics are bad it could be possible that every now and then one will be but for the most part they will grow a second year rack now with that being said I have pics of a spike with at least 9 inch spike. and a second with the same size spike on one side and the same on the other side but forks about 1or 2 inch from top. both very ;big bodied deer and good genitics in this area.

KoBear

in NJ we got alotta spikes and i have NEVER seen a deer on the hoof that was a spike two years in a row. while shed huntin last year, i found my FIRST and only ever mature spike antlers!! they were cracked and bleached. they were also 6 inches UNDER THE GROUND.. here is the picture!! to see more pics, go to my website..

j3k2c1

My bet is that was an old deer that had started to shrink back down...but that is my opinion...

loner

without seeing his jawbone,it's hard to age a deer.with no more mass than that buck has, i would be surprised if he was over 11/2 years old.

KoBear

loner... there is no way in hell that is a 1 1/2 year old buck!!

I dunno if you can tell from the picture but the circumference of the beam is 4 5/8" above the pedical. this is definitely a very old buck with bad genetics. the deer dont get alotta mass in this area, so 4 5/8 inches is a good amount for a buck.

JagMagMan

KoBear, them there ain't no sheds, theres a whole lots of skull still attached!

KoBear

i never said they were sheds.

i was lookin for some sheds, and saw a white branch outta the ground. i uprooted a bush and saw another tip stickin out the other side. so, by digging with my 6" buck knife, i found the buck where it died. skull was sooo deteriorated though that it fell apart while i took it outta the ground. it was like looking for a doe for meat and end up shooting a buck. thats the way it goes. and i didnt feel like making a separate category on my website just for this buck. no broken tines either, it was a spike. it looks like it may get a drop of the left in a couple of year, but its dead, so it looks like that aint happening.

JimboHunter1

How wide is that cowhorn rack KoBear?

JagMagMan

I got ya now Kobear! Didn't mean to imply anything!
Last year I saw a rack similar to that one on a large bodied deer. Obviously he was no young buck. As others have said though, there are many factors in spike deer! Late births, nutrition, as well as genetics, I have seen pictures of spikes that grew impressive racks in later years