Is a spike legal?

Is a spike legal?

Spikes are perfectly legal in most places and a legitimate trophy to take home for steaks, roasts, jerky and sausage.

Can you shoot 2 spikes in Texas?

Response: The short answer to your question is, YES. A hunter can shoot more than one whitetail buck with an inside spread greater than 13 inches in Texas.

What deer can you shoot in Texas?

In these counties, the bag limit is two legal bucks, but only ONE may have an inside spread of 13 inches or greater. In these counties, a legal buck deer is defined as a buck deer with: at least one unbranched antler; OR. an inside spread of 13 inches or greater(does not apply to a buck that has an unbranched antler).

How many spikes can you kill in Texas?

Since that time the regulation has been expanded to more than 100 East Texas counties. The current regulation limits hunters to two bucks per season. One of the bucks must have an inside spread of 13 inches or more, while the second must be a spike or have at least one unbranched antler.

Should you shoot a spike deer?

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.

Is it legal to shoot a spike in Texas?

The statewide harvest data indicates that 95% of all deer with at least 1 unbranched antler have less than a total of 4 points. Therefore, the 6-point and 8-point yearlings are harvested, and the bucks with less antler potential (e.g., spikes) are protected.

Can you shoot a deer with one antler?

It seems to make common sense that by not shooting small antlered deer that these deer will survive to have much larger antlers as they mature. State-mandated ARs commonly require that a legal buck have one antler with at least 3 or 4 points depending on the local potential for antler growth.

Can I shoot a deer on my property in Texas?

Private Land More than 95% of the land in Texas is privately owned or managed. You can hunt on the private land that you own or get permission from the landowner to hunt as a guest or pay the landowner to hunt on that land.

Can you bait deer on private property in Texas?

bait for game animals, nongame animals, and upland game birds, except for Eastern turkey and migratory game birds. (Baiting is unlawful on most public property. Please check specific regulations for that public property.) on private property.

Is a spike a cull buck?

Should spike bucks be culled? It depends, but in most situations with white-tailed deer, the answer is no. The vast majority (usually greater than 95 percent) of spike bucks are yearlings (1-year-old deer) and nearly all yearling spikes grow substantially larger antlers later in life.

What is a legal spike in Texas?

That’s not TPWD’s definition of a spike, it’s a definition of a “legal” deer in an AR county. A spike must have TWO unbranched antlers. So to be legal in the late season it has to have both antlers unbranched.

When did Spike antlered deer become legal in Texas?

In the mid 1920s , a game law was passed in Texas which protected spike antlered deer. The belief then was that spike antlered deer were young deer and would eventually grow into big deer.

Is it legal to shoot white tailed deer in Texas?

White-tailed deer hunting in Texas is a big deal, so it should come as no surprise that hunters get real passionate about their hunting down in the Lone Star State. One of the longest, on-going debates continues to be the shooting and/or culling of spike bucks.

What was the Spike Buck harvest in Texas?

Understanding Spike Buck Harvest by Bill Armstrong Kerr Wildlife Management Area I. Introduction, Background, and Definitions In the mid 1920s , a game law was passed in Texas which protected spike antlered deer. The belief then was that spike antlered deer were young deer and would eventually grow into big deer.

Is it a good idea to shoot a spike deer?

If a land manager wants more mature bucks or has a low buck to doe ratio, then shooting any buck may be a bad idea. Trying to kill every spike in some years may remove a whole age class or cohort of deer off a property. It may be better to cull bucks in later years when you can see another set of antlers and gather additional “data.”