They will no longer be ADDING genes to the herd.

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This is about MATH.
So many of you guys cannot see the forest from the trees.

Genetics is about MATH.
It is a MATH issue/MATH problem.

You have less of something that is a MINUS.
More of something is a PLUS.

High grading is FACT.
Ipso facto low grading is a FACT.

If everyone low graded every year and otherwise did not shoot a buck until it was at least 4 years old the overall antler genetics of the State
would improve over time.

What we have had the last 50 years is people doing the exact opposite.
That is why there are so many scabby inferior antler traits in the Alabama gene pool.

At a glance, the prospect of selective culling appears clever. A buck whose antlers aren’t “wall worthy” should be removed. After all, the reason a buck presents poor antler quality must be at the hands of imperfect genetics, right? This will tidy up the gene pool, paving the way for bucks with superior antler attributes to do the breeding.

However, we’re talking about wild, free-range deer, and in those populations, the only entity that culling can eliminate or modify is balance.

The truth is that there is nothing precise surrounding the methodology behind selective culling to improve genetically driven antler potential. More is unknown than there is absolute, and there is a plethora of studies that explain why it’s an impossible feat.

Dr. Steve Ditchkoff, Professor at the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University, says that using genetics and management in the same sentence is misleading because 99.9% of the land we manage for deer has no impact on genetics. Only different genetics can be achieved.

“It’s easy to believe that we are influencing genetics through selective harvest, but there are many factors that wildlife managers fail to consider,” said Ditchkoff. “You cannot affect genetics as a hunter, and you cannot influence genetics through selective culling in wild deer populations.”

“Sometimes, folks tend to take information they’ve seen and heard, and make up their own set of rules. The problem with this is that sometimes TV personalities give a lack of understanding to the perceptions they put out to the public,” added Ditchkoff.