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  • Hoji

    Bowling-Pin Commando
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    May 28, 2008
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    Mustang Ridge
    Oh, the plan is still to cull trash bucks. We have been shooting spikes and other assorted crap head bucks for 3 years now and it is paying off. This is one of many 2.5 year olds that look similar, we have on the property that are doing great as a result of our efforts.

    Proper deer management does not happen in a season, it takes a few years.
     

    jordanmills

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    Sep 29, 2009
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    Pearland, TX
    Oh, the plan is still to cull trash bucks. We have been shooting spikes and other assorted crap head bucks for 3 years now and it is paying off. This is one of many 2.5 year olds that look similar, we have on the property that are doing great as a result of our efforts.

    Proper deer management does not happen in a season, it takes a few years.

    Nice!
     

    Hoji

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    View attachment 24822 Here is a young 10, and a nice 8 that is a little older. The 8 will probably be coming off as he and the younger 10 share the same territory.

    pics through scope were taken by Chickenwing, who post here very infrequently.
     
    Last edited:

    T-FAST

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    San Antonio, TX
    I am doing the exact same thing this year too. So far shot this older 6pt with 19in spread. Really nice deer for Fredericksburg minus the low pt count. Also shot a spike. This year I am donating all the meat to families in need. My freezer will be full when I shoot an Axis in a week.

    2nk8cih.jpg
     

    Hoji

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    I am doing the exact same thing this year too. So far shot this older 6pt with 19in spread. Really nice deer for Fredericksburg minus the low pt count. Also shot a spike. This year I am donating all the meat to families in need. My freezer will be full when I shoot an Axis in a week.

    2nk8cih.jpg
    Good management there. What do they charge to shoot an Axis in your neck of the woods?
     

    Hoji

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    Hoji, are y'all under high fence? That one in velvet looks like you been injecting them with 'roids. LOL
    Nope. All low fenced. Not even feeding protein. Just keeping the numbers as close to the carrying capacity of the property and getting the crappy deer dead( and maxing tags on does) you can get awesome bucks on low fence property, just takes some work and willingness to burn your tags on less desirable antlers for a few years.
     

    40Arpent

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    We definitely do a lot of tag "burning" and the efforts are paying off, but nothing like that one deer you showed. Not yet, anyway. Unfortunately, their are neighbors who aren't following suit.
     

    Hoji

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    We definitely do a lot of tag "burning" and the efforts are paying off, but nothing like that one deer you showed. Not yet, anyway. Unfortunately, their are neighbors who aren't following suit.
    We are getting quite a few that look like him. Another couple of years and we will be neck deep in them.
     

    Hoji

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    Don't spike bucks grow and potentially turn into larger bucks? Just wondering why you guys are shooting them.

    No. They grow into mutants with mismatched antlers, generally less dense antler growth and pass on those weak genetics. That is another good reason to thin your doe population out, less opportunity for them to breed. The spikes( and older mutant 5 pointers they grow into) will get beaten into submission by a healthy, mature 8point or bigger. If you have an ultra high doe to buck ratio, the trash bucks do not need to fight to breed, and will find easy pickings with does in areas not populated by healthy normal bucks.
     

    The Lox

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    Jun 6, 2010
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    No. They grow into mutants with mismatched antlers, generally less dense antler growth and pass on those weak genetics. That is another good reason to thin your doe population out, less opportunity for them to breed. The spikes( and older mutant 5 pointers they grow into) will get beaten into submission by a healthy, mature 8point or bigger. If you have an ultra high doe to buck ratio, the trash bucks do not need to fight to breed, and will find easy pickings with does in areas not populated by healthy normal bucks.

    Gotcha - So if a deer doesn't have "typical" looking antlers and just has a couple little antlers sticking out, they would be a spike? I guess I thought that it took a male deer a couple years to grow antlers big enough to look typical. Appreciate the education for sure!
     

    T-FAST

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    Spikes just have 2 points, kinda like antelope. There are however some deer that will only develop 3,4,5, or 6 points and won't develop past that. If you look at the pic of the deer I posted here, you can see its a mature, big buck, but after 4+ years it only has 6pts and oddly shaped horns.
     

    JSF

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    Sep 11, 2013
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    Lufkin
    No. They grow into mutants with mismatched antlers, generally less dense antler growth and pass on those weak genetics. That is another good reason to thin your doe population out, less opportunity for them to breed. The spikes( and older mutant 5 pointers they grow into) will get beaten into submission by a healthy, mature 8point or bigger. If you have an ultra high doe to buck ratio, the trash bucks do not need to fight to breed, and will find easy pickings with does in areas not populated by healthy normal bucks.

    the thought of once a spike always a spike died several years ago
     
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    Hoji

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    the thought of once a spike always a spike died several years ago

    Please elucidate. I have worked in wildlife management for years professionally ( and now do it recreationally and some contractually) and the accepted consensus of all of the wildlife biologists I have worked with( USFW, TPWD, County, City,University, and Private Sector)is that spikes do not grow into trophy deer. This corresponds with years of observations I have recorded on several herds of white tail deer through surveys, harvests, and other monitoring.
     

    JSF

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    Lufkin
    Please elucidate. I have worked in wildlife management for years professionally ( and now do it recreationally and some contractually) and the accepted consensus of all of the wildlife biologists I have worked with( USFW, TPWD, County, City,University, and Private Sector)is that spikes do not grow into trophy deer. This corresponds with years of observations I have recorded on several herds of white tail deer through surveys, harvests, and other monitoring.

    Well I don't have your experience in wildlife biology for sure but I do know that I've had several spikes on my lease grow into rather nice deer and they weren't mutants....I also know a guy that raised a buck from a 2 day old fawn and the first year he grew spikes and in his second year he grew a perfect typical 8 pt rack. Gladiator Sunset was one of the biggest whitetails ever raised and at 2.5 he was a spike. Very few hunters that I know of will shoot a spike anymore unless they are sure he is over 2.5 years old and thats VERY rare. While I will give you credit that you must have a lot more education on the subject than myself I am a member of a hunting site with thousands of members and almost all will say that they won't cull young spikes anymore bc they often turn into very normal and productive bucks....surely you've noticed in your studies that finding a spike over 2.5 yrs old is highly rare?
     
    Every Day Man
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