Well Zim, I have around 10 years and around 20 more states on you. Old man packed me all over the country for elk, moose, whitetail, mule deer, and pretty much everything edible on 4 legs in this grand old country. Yes the deer numbers are lower in some states but as mrbb stated, it has much more to do with urban encroachment than anything at all to do with hunting tools. And I have a little news for you. I am the owner of a smokeless muzzleloader that I am deadly accurate with up to 350 yards so tell me how that is different from me going out with my 06? There are dedicated slug guns such as the Savage 212/220 that many are deadly accurate with out to 200 yards. Most ranges here are from 50-150 yards. Most the deer I've taken here were under 50 yards. As I said earlier, the only reason I myself would use a cartridge rifle here would be bad weather. And my smokeless would pretty much solve that issue since it's a closed system. The use of cartridge rifles will not just magically make more hunters appear in the woods. The sky is not falling.