Bluebird, the reason Dr. Gary Alt chose the AR plan with extensive deer management permits was because the buck to doe ratio in Pennsylvania was so out of whack.
The B/D ratio in PA prior to ARs was approx. 1:2.0 and I have the data to prove it.
Mississippi habitat has a much longer growing season and its soil is lush with the vitamins and nutrients that generate much better antler development. Therefore highgrading absolutely comes earlier down there. Not sure if you would consider this a link but Dr. Demarais and I discussed this a few weeks ago in Chattanooga , Tennessee at the QDMA convention.
The 4 pt. restriction in Miss. protected 70% of their 1.5 buck and around 50% of their 2.5+ buck. Antler development is much slower in Miss. than in PA. because their doe are bred later than the doe in PA. Our yearling buck are 1.5 years old while the yearling buck in Miss. are 1.3 years old and therefore a higher majority are spikes.