The proper term is called "high grading" a herd. Been happening for the past 70 yrs in Bama. The other issue to contemplate is that at least 50% of a yearling buck's genetic makeup, comes from the mother. So with wide open, season long doe killing, you're also wiping out a significant portion of the other side of the gene pool that had previously been somewhat/patially protected and passed on, back in the days before it was legal to kill does all season long. I think that long term, the free for all doe killing will eventually be recognized as very detrimental to both deer genetics and population.
Growing up in SC, we could kill all the bucks we wanted but does were limited to certain dates. We almost never shot them. And people naturally enedd5uo more selective on their bucks.
I saw more bucks and bigger bucks than I do in Alabama. I recognize that the herd building efforts decades ago affect the size, but still.... more bigger bucks
