BarnesX: allowing them to get a few years under them couldn't have hurt, either,
Exactly. And good habitat with low hunter density will do that. Sure, antler restrictions help, but they're not enough in the high hunter density areas. Out in the mid-west, they have a lot of land with much fewer hunters.
We hunt in the middle of nowhere in PA. There's lots of private land and huge tracks of state land with limited access. You won't see another hunter if you get off the highway just a little. There's always been slammers coming out of those areas. The guys just have to work their asses off for them. They're not hunting the edge of an alfalfa field. We're talking about 1000 acre swamps and overgrown clearcuts.