That estimated 40% success rate for compound bow hunters INCLUDES ANTLERLESS DEER. If you factored in all the doe that were shot over the duration of our contest (0 of which are included in our "success rate") - you'd see a lot higher success rate. Our 16% success rate is for antlered deer only. I'm sure we also have a few guys not reporting, also.
Not to mention that state DNR's don't give a rip about anything other than how many deer were killed per hunter. They usually do keep track of buck vs doe harvest, but they don't concern themselves with how an individual defines 'success' or how many they pass before they find one they want, or any of that other nebulous stuff. Just how many deer are killed and how many hunters it took to do it.