BTW, the 5.5yr old 8pt I killed weighed 112lbs soaking wet. He was a pine barrens deer, and had never seen an ear of corn or a soybean in his life. My point is that QDM is not 170" deer, it's whatever is a mature buck in your area. I don't think 7.5 or 8.5 yrrs old is necessary either, as long as the dominant bucks are breeding each year, that's the key. As long as there's enough mature bucks in an area to have a balanced ratio, and stiff competition for does, you're OK. The dominant bucks will do the breeding, and their genetics won't improve over the next few years anyway. Hopefully their sons will take their place, and be dominant for their age classes. At least that's howw I understand it.
And nothing wrong with a little filet and release David.