And you forgot, they only take one or two a year if they are successful at all. The percentage of tags filled that are bought each season are actually quite low.
Rather, deer hunters seek out the bucks that have the largest rack.
I agree there is a lot of emphasis put on trophy hunting. But trophy sized racks are VERY hard to come by and I sure wouldn't pass it up just because it's big, if it came my way. Usually by the time a deer has gotten to trophy size it has had a few years to spread its genes around. Also, many guides charge a lot more money to put you onto a trophy rack vs a management rack. I could never afford either, and the vast majority of hunters can't. Maybe once in their lives they will go on a guided hunt where the emphasis is on trophy racks. Many people that set up deer cameras on trails shoot pictures of bucks at night walking by with giant racks that otherwise are never seen by ANYONE anywhere in the area. So they *are* out there even if you don't see them. They are not stupid. I had a huge deer under me in the dark that has been glimpsed a very few times by the landowner as having 20 plus points and is nicknamed "the hereford." But every deer I know of that has been taken out of there in the last three years has been a doe.
First, hunting can impact the social structure of a herd because hunters kill the mature males of a herd and create a disproportionate ratio of females to males.
Yes this is called buck/doe ratio and the higher it is the more large bucks will be in the given area.
It is not uncommon to find a herd that has no bucks over the age of three.
This is true. But of what importance is that to non hunters?
Second, genetically inferior bucks may be left to propagate the species, thereby weakening the overall health of the herd.
I can't think of anyone that would pass up a goofy or weak-racked buck if it offered a shot. One thing we do like to do (at least until season is winding down) is to wait until a mature animal presents a shot, letting the younger ones go so they *will* have a chance to reproduce and contribute their genes to the pool. In addition, you get more meat off a mature buck than a mature doe. Substantially more. Bucks in the north can weigh close to 300 lbs where you won't find a doe weighing more than 180-200 tops. (I may even be overestimating the doe weight).
Because hunters largely want to shoot only bucks, hunting may cause artificial inflation of deer populations. When these populations reach levels that available habitat cannot support, increased disease and starvation may be the result.
Do you realize that in some places when the winters have been extremely bad, the DNR will severely limit the number and type of tags to compensate? People who live in that area are out of luck unless they want to travel to hunt.