This sound can attract both cows & spikes first as opposed to mature bulls. This sound does not require a special call, it can be done with a single reed mouth diaphragm or most external reed cow calls with a bit of practice. One of these sounds is a separated calf chirp as you yourself mentioned. At times social cow sounds will work but you can up your odds using sounds that require attention or aid from other elk instead of just social sounds. If using 'blind type setups' in these feeding areas or transition areas where elk travel to & from, yet elk aren't coming your way now you can introduce selective sounds to draw them over. While sitting spots as these I would keep calling down to a minimum using light chirps & mews with no bugling. hunts as spikes, cows & other elk can frequent them. Look for meadows or parks big & small for such activity.Īctive water sources or even wallows are a great time to sit during Aug. Then again the last 2 hours of daylight or evening. If sign is near feeding areas your best time would be first light to 1 1/2 hour after light. (glassing) Too, getting into areas where fresh sign is around will enhance your odds. If your spike hunt falls during the phases of the 'rut' now calling can be a huge advantage once elk are located by sound or sight. Calling can work at that time but isn't your best bet, glassing & covering ground in variuos ways is. Late Fall & into Winter is not a profitable time to sit water in most areas for obvious reasons. A single elk track would not be best at this time as rare is the case Spikes are alone at that time, look for several elk or larger groups & your odds will increase a spike is in the group. Cruising off road for elk sign (tracks) can be a plus. I'd focus mostly on glassing & looking for groups of elk, snow for tracking these herds would be a plus. Males shed their antlers when all females have been bred, from late December to February.If I were the one who was interested in Spikes the 1st thing I'd do is look at the time of year I'd be hunting them & go from there! Late Oct. They can have bony protrusions up to a half inch in length, but that is very rare, and they are not the same as spikes. They have skin-covered nobs on their heads. Spiked bucks are different from 'button bucks' or 'nubbin' bucks', which are male fawns and are generally about 6 to 9 months of age during their first winter.

The length and branching of antlers are determined by nutrition, age, and genetics. The spikes can be quite long or very short. Males without branching antlers are often termed 'spikehorn', 'spiked bucks', 'spike bucks', or simply 'spikes/spikers'. White-tailed deer's horizontally slit pupils allow for good night vision and color vision during the day. A population of white-tailed deer in New York is entirely white (except for areas like their noses and toes) - not albino - in color. An indication of a deer age is the length of the snout and the color of the coat, with older deer tending to have longer snouts and grayer coats. It raises its tail when it is alarmed to warn the predator that it has been detected. The deer can be recognized by the characteristic white underside to its tail. The coat of the White-tailed deer is a reddish-brown in the spring and summer and turns to a grey-brown throughout the fall and winter.

Do spike deer stay spikes