In our group we go by the face, not the rack. You can easily tell the difference between a 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old deer by looking at it's face and body.
I really didn't care about the debate over AR until this year and figured it was a personel or group's decision. The hunting group that borders us shoots anything that moves,which I considered their choice, but this year a member of their group shot TWO spikes within 30 seconds of each other onthe property line and then stated it was the only bucks he saw all year(do you see the idiots logic here?) I had seen both bucks several times during the year and let them walk. I should have reported him for shooting two bucks.
The arguement for shooting a small buck because they "need meat" is bull, there are far more does than bucks that could be harvested, and the last time I checked they tasted the same.