The Great Spike Debate, by Mark Stanley

You can’t sit in any deer camp without the discussion of harvesting spikes coming into a heated debate. Many feel all inferior bucks should be eliminated from a herd while others feel they could mature into a trophy at some point (no pun intended). Let’s look at both sides.

A piece of property with an abundance of deer, and especially bucks, does not have to play the odds. With good herd size and lots of mouths to feed, why take the chance? Spikes should probably be eliminated by year two if they don’t show any signs of additional points. There is no need to harvest in their yearling year as it’s too early to tell what they will become and they may act like they are trying to rut but they are only following instinct and will not succeed. By year two they should start showing signs of their true genetic potential and a better decision can be reached. Sure, there have been bucks followed through their life that blossomed late and eventually became good bucks, but why play the odds if you are on property that has an abundance of deer already.

If you hunt a piece of property that has too few deer, the opposite approach should be taken. In fact, probably no deer should be taken unless an old “cull” buck is seen. Let all bucks grow and multiply in numbers and THEN decide which bucks need to be eliminated. When numbers are bleak, even a spike can keep your interest while hunting and often serve as an extra set of eyes that there are better bucks in area by watching them watch “their” surroundings.

What it all boils down to is this: if you cannot harvest a deer unless it is a buck, it is better to take a 3-4 year old 4 pointer than a 1 ½ year old spike. My best buck I’ve ever taken was a true mainframe 12 point by 2 years old. He was allowed to reproduce his genetics until 7 years old. He sits proudly in my den now gloating over inferior bucks on the same wall. The day I took him, a spike dominated the same clearing until I noticed him staring into the woods for 5-10 minutes. He eased off and eventually my trophy entered. All bucks serve a purpose.