Originally Posted by brucelanthier

Logic would say that it would make sense to develop mature deer, male and female, but there are never any age restrictions, just antler point restrictions so I would say yes, to accommodate trophy hunters they restrict what other hunters can shoot.

It is no more necessary to shoot a 6.5 year old buck than it is to shoot a 1.5 year old buck. A person should be able to shoot whatever age range they want unless there are solid management reasons for an age restriction.

I agree with the reasonableness of passing on stronger health genetics but that would mean managing age of bucks and does.

Yes, I agree, if there are any restrictions then they should be related to age. Unfortunately they are always related to rack size to aid trophy hunters and restricting non-trophy hunters.