well to add a little more
in PA the antler restriction did more than just allow bucks to age, it allowed Older healither bucks to breed, thus why many 4-5-6 pointers you see now, are just bigger 4-5-6 pointers than in past yrs, having/allowing older bucks to breed, makes for healthier off spring, making allowing for better first racks
WV I think and sorry if others don't feel so, they have the 2-3 bucks a yr deal, to control herd numbers, as they have a LOT of deer, just shooting more doe, won't solve the probelm in whole(would sure be cool to have a higher buck to doe ratio however LOL)
so till they get numbers down to more managiable level, they have the high harvest option, just look into how many deer vehicle collisions WV has, it shows there is a true safety factor, about too many deer, they have
just ause a state has a one or two buck or"X" amount of bucks allowed per yr, doesn't always show the best picture, there are many states where you can kill like a bucka day for months, be it any deer a day too.
and they have been like that for yrs and yrs and yrs, and they still have a lot of deer
QDM's biggest factor should always be what the land can provide for , in deer numbers,
and this needs in my opinion to be adressed a LOT better in smaller zone, units, or what ever you want to call them
the way we mamage deer now, is, doing the job, but can sure be done a ton better
said it many times here, a mile down the road, can be a huge difference in land quality, and deer numbers
when you look to manage numbers, in area's as big as counties or zones, its a hard nut to crack , just too many factors to make every unit/zone or?? done well
a healthy herd should be the goal, of deer managment, not the size of the bucks, but overall herd health
and that means age structure of all age's
and that typically means if done right, big bucks will be a lot more of the herd, than just having lots of 1.5 yr old deer come hunting season

as for hunter's age's
in my area, its a pretty good mix of old timers, and many in the 25-40 yr old age's
far too many of the older of both these age class's, are outlaws, to a point, they all tend to feel they HAVE to kill a buck, and its GOD given right to do so, and Many feel that means, at any means needed to do so!
meat hunters, I wish would stick to doe's, they would be doing all hunters a favor, as well as the deer herd
just shooting a buck, to say you shot a buck is a sad reason to hunt
I am NOT saying hunters should be trophy buck hunters, any buck can be a trophy, I agree here
but to keep a healthy herd, placing an antler restriction, helps to help more to keep a herd healthy, and just make BIG bucks
so since we cannot rely on self control many times, they work best with the AR's
also, lets not forget, when PA started the AR(antler restriction)
it was like a 25 dollar fine IF you got caught, pretty sure its still only a 25 dollar fine now too!
many folks seen that as, well a roll of the dice, and still shoot any buck they want
wish the fine was a lot higher!, that would maybe have helped spped up the improvements we gained here in PA!