Yeah but you gotta think about something guys......(and don't get me wrong....I agree with you all on MOST everything you've said).....

If we didn't kill so many of them during the rut......there would be more of them around the next year. Maybe those 1.5yr olds and occasional 2.5yr olds we see now would be 3.5 and maybe even 4.5 yr olds during that time of year......IF the sheer numbers of them were up.

How would it affect the herd dynamica to have that many more bucks around......in lieu of so many of them being killed during that time every year???

Something to think about, huh?