The best hunter's will tell you to learn deer behavior, and this is a fairly rare situation to catch on film! In one experiment it measured the antlers of 144 whitetail deer that had been bred and raised in large pens. Does and bucks from similar age classes yield similar amounts of venison. He exhibited typical yearling buck behavior when he grew his first set of antlers, in that he shied away from older bucks when encounters took place in prime feeding areas. Now, spikes rarely get the honor of being … Spike bucks have genetically small antlers and should be culled if the goal is growing big bucks. Each had identical nutrition. Button bucks are often the first to enter a field or feeding area. And that includes all yearlings – even spikes. I hunt a lease where there are no spikes, as the spike genes were killed out several years ago. You need those bucks to grow older. Given time, a spike yearling can grow into a buck that will give a lot of hunters uncontrollable shivers. The same was true for young females. Buck at 1 1/2 years old–Spike. We are located in the Hilll Country. In the area the buck lived there was a number of 2 and 3-year-old bucks and a few 4-year-olds. No protein feeding either. And the buck-doe ratio is 1 to 1. Last year I saw a decent physical sized buck about this same time in the season with 2-1/2 to 3" spikes that I would have considered a 1-1/2 year old. If more than one fawn is present in a group, the larger of the fawns is likely to be a button buck. Spike bucks don’t always remain spikes, but when they do, they can achieve some pretty impressive sizes. Over the weekend, my co-worker also saw a buck with 2 - 3" spikes, but he said it as a yearling, meaning born this year. And at maturity, a spike-antlered yearling will be a nice buck. The Facts Texas A&M University has done several studies on the topic, and is the authority on the matter. In fact, some doe fawns were heavier than some yearling bucks (85 pounds vs. 73 pounds, respectively). This is why QDMA teaches that the most reasonable, successful and easy starting point for QDM is to protect most or all yearling bucks. May make the … Some small male fawns didn’t even grow antler pedicles, whereas a relatively high proportion of the yearling bucks carried short spike antlers less … In bowseason a button buck should definately be considered a buck and tagged as such. Since a cull buck in an area is relative to other bucks at the same age class, accurately aging bucks on the hoof becomes of great importance. Obviously, a … We generally see trophy bucks when our bucks reach maturity. Button bucks are more likely to be by themselves than other antlerless deer. A button buck’s head is flat on top between the ears, while a doe’s head is more rounded. Culling: Selective Hunting, Management. Hunters see and kill bucks with bigger antlers and bodies. 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