I would go for the best shot, but perfer the larger of the two, then I would track the smaller, Who is to say he would not make it.

Blueline

I'd shoot the spike first and if big'un did not run off and gave me a shot I'd get him too.
                               -Hillbilly

Lots of variables regarding the spike.  Is the hit mortal, how does he look- ie: will he make it, etc.  How old is the wound, could he be infected....I'd finish him off he looked really bad, but I'd be focused on the good one more.  If I only had one tag- I'm holding out for the better one.  The little one won't go to waste around my place, coyotes would clean him up in a night.

Well now that is a dilema if I have ever heard one. I would probly want to shoot the biger one. Though I cannot say what I would do for sure until I was there.

i would shoot at the trophy.. i would probably miss anyway, but i would rather miss a trophy than miss a spike..lol

The bigger buck of a lifetime for sure, mother nature has a way of cleaning up our mistakes. Not that it wouldn't bother me but I wouldn't pass the buck of a lifetime for the wounded spike. Now if you were talking the spike or an average six or eight point then this may play out differently. I'm sure there are folks that would take the spike regardless and I would applaud that decision but my honest opinion is I should take the "Buck of a Lifetime" and worry about the spike later. And if given the opportunity I would take him out as well even though it is not legal to shoot two bucks here in Kansas. My gut would tell me it's better to shoot him and feed the coyotes than let him suffer. But I would have to be certain in my mind he had little to no chance of survival, cause as we all know these critters have an uncanny way of dealing with injuries and living long lives.

spike

What Killdeer and John Scifres said. I would cuss a little more than Killdeer!!!  ron w

I would shoot the spike. animals shood not suffer so i would put it out fo its mistery

Big one

Ron W, I wouldn't bet on that! I grew up on naval bases with a lot of sailors, shoveled **** for ten years, got downsized out of a cushy job and now I am a postal worker. My vocabulary runs the gamut!   :D

My code runs that any shot on a wounded animal is a good shot, the more the better, as the suffering must end. We, as humans, have put this animal into the state that it is in, and we as humans have a responsibility to end it. That is my code. Your mileage may vary.

Killdeer~%$##*&^%(*^(@)&*)^&*(!!!)

Interesting... Killy saved me having to speculate on that point!  

Let's up the anty a bit...here in PA, like some other states, spikes are only legal for kids under sixteen...

Now what?  If I shot an illegal for me, though clearly wounded spike in some areas, depending on the Deputy Game Protector, I could talk till I was burple in the face and I'd still get my license yanked and a heafty fine!

I'm not sure what I'd do in our situation here about "spikes." I know what I want to do, but I've seen otherwise well-meaning folks doing the right thing, get busted for it, pay heafty fines and lose their license for up to 3 years here in PA!

Being that I would be concentrating so hard on the spike, I in all likelyhood would not even see the trophy so the spike would go down     The trophy can live for another year, and then maybe he will give me another opportunity.

I'd shoot'em both if possible a deer with an arrow in it is bad for bowhunting.