The changes in sample size over the past decade isn't relevant. What is relevant is the change from 2003 to 2007 ,which is when the breeding rates declined as a result of HR. If even a few WMUs had even a 10% decrease it would far outweigh the negative effect od reduced sample size in areas with higher breeding rates.
Are you now trying to say that lower deer numbers resulted in a reduced breeding rate for the adult does? Why would that be when all adult does should be bred if you have a suitable buck/doe ratio? How about explaining just how that works for us.
I seems to me that you are simply grasping for straws to support your conjecture.
Now you are just being silly . We set record buck harvests in 2000 and 2001.
And since then we have had lower deer numbers and lower harvests.
Besides we were talking about record book bucks. Besides if you take those couple of years out of the recent years you end up with an even higher rate of record book increases during the years since antler restrictions.
R.S. Bodenhorn