Do you think trophy bucks actually breed anymore? To old by the time they have the best antlers generally speaking.
You are right, except here, most deer never make it to 5, or even 4, and are still considered trophies. Every once in a while an old deer is killed, but it is not the norm. Things are slowly changing, but very slow. A decent set of antlers has maybe one season to pass his genes, and for several years spikes were off limits, even if they were several years old. I watched one, that the spikes got so big they looked like a big main beam. I know that I saw him for 4 years before He disappeared. Finally a rule change so that those under 16 could kill any deer, and He was gone. I don't know if He was killed or not. We have another problem gene that is slowly going away, but you do still see, where one side is normal and the other is abnormal. I have killed lots of these over the years and wish there was a way to know their mothers. Shooting inferior bucks never hurts the herd, and may help. I do it to fill my buck tags, and feel like I am helping. We don't have enough deer so that I want to kill does, even though that is a hard sell to the neighbors. They have bought into the G&F idea that the whole zone needs does removed. Some places does, but not here. miles
