I' m one of those guys who doesn' t have access to the great trophy spots, but still holds out for mature deer to harvest--and bucks have to be 8 points or better with a very nice rack in order to make MY grade. I didn' t even shoot a buck last year because all of the bucks with-in range were too small for MY personal standards.

Some hunters don' t have the access, the experience,the equipment, or the skill needed to wait for Mr. Big to come by--especially when he might not even exist in their hunting area. I' m not going to denigrate their deer which they may value very highly. Some hunters try very hard, but it' s just not going to happen for them--just like many novice athletes.

My son was told on his first hunt to not shoot baby deer. He spent the entire first evening with a fawn under him which he just watched. His first kill was a nice 8 point which just made P&Y.

I wish everyone would pass the younger deer and let ' em grow, but I can' t tell someone who worked very hard and ended the season with a small deer that his deer was insignificant and not a trophy because it' s score wasn' t high enough.