"Thats the problem, they now have to be hunted. And thats not going over to big with some people. As I said before, the hunting is like when I started in the early 70s and better than when my dad and uncles hunted the big woods in the 40s. "
Wow, gee, and we are complaining??? what on earth were we thinking when we could just look back only 70 years and find worse hunting? LMAO. Do you guys ever listen to yourselves??
"Or 80k hunters better learn the skills and disipline to harvest those 2.5 yr+ bucks."
Lmao. There arent 80K more to be had when we are already harvesting 80-90% of them. LOL. 
"Given the choice of killing a 10" four, six or eight point almost every year like we did in the "good old days" of high deer numbers...or having the chance for an 18" or better buck now and then, as are fairly common today,"
No more common than previously. More common is some areas? Maybe. But less common in others. Thats what 50+% reduction does for you. I still dont shoot "barely legal" ar bucks, even though Im in a 4 point area. Would do absolutely nothing for me. I "padded my states" with dink bucks many moons ago in Pa and other states like WV. I didnt shoot bucks that wouldnt far exceed ar base requirements for years... before ar either and I had to "hunt for them" then just as I do now. Only now they are fewer and further between for not much good reason. I support ar, but not the extent of ridiculous hr that has greatly muffled ars effects in many areas of the state
"Have already passed on a few post-AR bucks that were as nice or better, than any I killed in the 70s, 80s and 90s."
And by contrast my biggest bucks and those I hunt with, ALL of the largest were taken in the 80's and 90's. We still take bucks, and some decent ones. But in this area the number of truly "good" bucks is NOT up by any stretch, and thats definately not something to be excited about, it isnt as if we were blessed with a ton of big buck to begin with. LOL