in areas of the east, that have high deer populations, and they are managed for revenue, the buck/doe ratio is so far out of kilter that the more mature bucks are breeding so many does they just wear themselves down too much, here 4.5 year old bucks are about the best you'll see, only a couple ever live to make they're 6th fall, we have somewhere around 40 deer psm, we have the carrying capacity of 18. you guys from il, mo, wi, mi, and such places claim the bucks aren't mature, they are as mature as they will get the way the heard has been managed. your average bucks are trophies of a lifetime in the east. in tx some bucks that live in areas with plenty of food , and supplemented in the fall, a buck/doe ratio of 1-2 they will live 12-13 years, that never happens here, many 4.5 year old bucks are found dead in dec/jan many are found in fields of standing corn to worn down to even get up to feed.
every excess doe in the woods takes food away from another deer, so too many deer leads to a shorter lifespan for the buck population due to food shortages and to much rutting activity.
that's my take on it, my opinion worth what ya paid for it.
RR