The bottom line is you have to hold off shooting small bucks in order to get big ones. Shooting does helps to improve the out-of-whack buck/doe ratio and puts meat on the table while prolonging the bucks life. However, getting other hunters on board in your hunting area is where the problems begin. My neighbor finally gave in this year and, after holding out to the last 10 minutes of the season for a buck, shot a big doe. However, there is a bunch of redneck brothers on the neighboring farm who shoot everything that is brown. They don't care about the law at all and are belligerent with anyone who confronts them (like me). They take shots at every deer they see and wound a number of them. They're the ones that give all hunters a bad name and ruin any effort to improve the herd.