Does it matter if a spike has a certain length, or are spikes all the same?
QUESTION: My hunting lease in East Texas (Saratoga) has a rule that you can’t shoot a spike unless it’s 10 inches long. Will that rule help or hurt our management goals? — Jeffrey W.
ANSWER: The more we learn about whitetails, the more informed and effective our management decisions and efforts become. There was a time when it was thought that all spikes were inferior and should be culled. As quality deer management’s philosophy of protecting yearling bucks became more popular, we subsequently learned that yearling spikes are often the result of fawns being born later than their cohorts, or during times of poor nutrition or drought. Given a year or two they were often able to catch up to, and in some cases exceed, other bucks of the same age.
More recently, with the implementation of mandatory antler restrictions, we’ve learned that different prescriptions must sometimes be applied to different areas. Such was the case for a study conducted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in a six-county area spanning more than 1.3 million acres in the Post Oak Savannah region of Southeast Texas.
Their overriding goals were to improve the age structure of bucks and increase hunting opportunity. Rather than merely establishing minimum point or spread limits, they instituted a slot limit wherein a legal buck must meet at least one of the following criteria: one unbranched antler; a minimum 13-inch inside spread; or at least six points on one side.
The one unbranched antler criterion allowed the removal of cull bucks, which research showed had a positive effect on antler quality in poorer habitats of Texas, like the Post Oak Savannah.
Without knowing more about the habitat on your lease, it’s hard to say if the practice of shooting bucks with spikes of 10 inches or longer will help or hurt. It appears that your area is in the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes region rather than the Post Oak Savannah, and should have better habitat.
It’s possible that whoever developed the rules for your lease heard about the TPWD study and erroneously thought it applied to your area as well. It’s also possible that they consulted with TPWD biologists and found that it does in fact apply to your area. I would suggest you ask the lease holders their reasoning for this rule.
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