I've got to go with Dopler on this argument. Over and over I hear guys (on these hunting forums and in person)talk about not ever getting the "big one", or hoping they get a shot at a "big boy" this year, yet they can't seem to pass up the small ones because their ego says they aren't a good hunter if they don't tag a buck each year. It's like wanting a bigger check each week, but you won't work any overtime. In three different states and in three different groups that I've hunted with, over a few years of me explaining and explaining they have finally started passing on the small ones. It was really tough on some of them to man-up and do it, but now they are all shouting thank-you's my direction because they are bagging a few really nice bucks each season and everyone gets pretty pumped up when they see rubs on trees the size of their leg, something they have never ever seen before. Plus the herd overall is in better shape because they now ENJOY shooting does, something else that they never wanted to do. And now neighboringhunters are joining in!Two years fellas, that's all it takes to make a difference and I absolutely promise that you will look forward to hunting more than ever. It's like playing the lottery but the odds are 100:1 vs 1,000,000:1.
Ask all those hunters in Pennsylvania who always cried about "no big bucks here" how they like having big bucks since the state changed their harvest laws.