I'm gonna need to draw myself a couple sketches to properly understand/remember this!Fair points you make but it takes considerable time and observation on a deer farm here or a European game park to learn what deer will grow good heads and thats with following the same deer from birth for it's life. Learning through observation of wild deer is a whole level harder, so good on the OP for asking.
What conclusions have been learned on farms ? With spikers there is a direct positive correlation with body size and later antler size - so leave the big well grown solid spikers and shoot the small ones. Plane spikes that are thick and heavy with good length and spread - leave. Heavy spikes with pearling or little brow tines - leave. Sometimes a medium sized spiker has great spikes not just the biggest. Sometimes a big spiker has thin pencil spikes and can be shot with reasonable confidence - unless they are very thick at the base with a big pedicle. Late ones like the OP's will never amount to anything even with good genetics, they have missed the important period at three - four months old when pedicle growth takes place by not being at that age at the right time of year - they are out of sync with the change in photo period before winter. The OP's 2yr old stag was probably a small spiker a year ago and will never catch up - Bang !. If he had well placed brows and Beys of good length and a good shape I would leave him as good tops will come later. A really good young stag will be a miniature version of himself in five or six years and can carry 12 points at two. This is for wild deer. Some farm bred two year olds would give the NZ wild deer records a hiding https://www.deernz.org/assets/DINZ/D...EB-cropped.pdf Link has spikers and 2,3 year olds at 4 -500 SCI plus mature up to 900 inches SCI
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