Yes, antler restrictions will create bigger bucks..which is great, but is a small part of the story. in PA, Gary Alt wants us to shoot fewer bucks (ie by eliminating the category of buck that made up 80% of all kills) and replace this with more doe harvests (now legal during the buck season). This will:

1.create a better male/female ratio
resulting in less post rut buck mortality
resulting in ealier birthing of fawns and a healthier herd

2. Put a more meaningful dent in the deer population as taking does has a multiple effect vs taking bucks.
This will improve habitat dramatically, ensuring a healthier herd

Where I am in Wayne County PA, our deer herd has become unmanageably large and is eating their way through the forests. We hardly have any young trees of consequence, and this is killing (or has already killed) the woods for a whole range of animals. If Alt didn't do something, I don't see how things could have continued without the deer getting even smaller and weaker (they are already midgets) and ruining things for themselves and other animals.

Just my feeling, but big bucks and quality deer must have something to do with the quality of the habitat they live in....and after years of big deer numbers, my small bunch of woods are looking pretty decimated...