I read an article in what I believe was Deer and Deer Hunting a while ago. The author described how the AR's have historically not worked. He used examples all the way back to the mid 1900's with Mule deer and onto present day examples.

I personally shoot a deer based on age, not the amount of points on his rack. It would be a shame IMO to let a stud 3.5 yr. old 6 or 7 pointer walk by because he was not a legal buck. Also, harvesting a doe for every buck to me is nearly as important as passing on younger bucks. I do remember my dad starting me out when I was a young kid and I was so excited to shoot those first few small bucks. I would hate to see a young hunter deprived of that thrill by seeing a young buck walking by and not being able to take the shot. I hunted hard for my first buck and it took me until my 4th season at the age of 14 to harvest that first 3 pointer. My dad never tried to force me to pass on smaller bucks as he did, but overtime I have turned my focus to trying to harvest wallhangers. I don't kill a buck every year, but I still put meat in the freezer with a few does each season.

I am interested in hearing some opinions too. Illinois does not have AR's, but I have heard grumbles from hunters about needing some.