IMHO, it depends on how you define "a success" and whether the herd has been reduced in the area where one hunts.

If one defines success based on the promises ALT made regrading doubling the number of 2.5+ buck and doubling the number of 8 pts, then statewide AR's have been a dismal failure since it only increased the number of 2.5+ buck harvested by 18%. But, if one defines success as increasing the percentage of 2.5+ buck in a stable herd, then in areas where the herd hasn't been reduced , then AR's will always be a success.

I hunt an area where the herd has been sugnificantly been reduced and in our area AR's have done absolutely nothing to increase the number of 2.5+ buck and we are seeing fewer 1.5 and 2.5+ buck. Also, many counties in 2 G are harvesting fewer 2.5+ buck than they did in the early 1990's and the total buck harvest have beem reduced by almost 2/3. For example the buck harvest in Elk dropped from 3,255 in 1994 to 1,200 in 2004. There will be similar reductions in the buck harvest in other WMU's as the herd is reduced to the OWDD goals.