It always has bugged me that a "buck" isn't considered a buck unless the antler was broken through the hairline.

A buck has antlers and male sex organs. It's easy to determine that it's a buck. And if you shoot one even by mistake, it should be counted as a buck within the 3-buck limit. There should be no minimum-inch requirement. If it has male sex organs and knobs, antlers through the hairline or a 39-point rack, it's a buck.

The issue is that "mistake" part. Danny Deerhunter shoots a knobhead and then says, "Crap, I don't wanna check that as my buck." So he doesn't check it. Or he leaves it in the woods and says he missed. Or he sticks it in the truck under a tarp and heads home.

If getting an appropriate buck age structure is the key, a buck should be a buck and a doe a doe.