The thing is, decreasing buck tags will only save bucks. What we need is something to save does and fawns. We cant grow a deer herd with more bucks. They dont give birth to fawns. We need to find ways to help the does and fawns survive. Better range conditions, winter and summer. Something to prevent deer getting hit on roads by the 1000's.
We can eliminate the deer hunt for 3 years. What will that do? Have bigger bucks for the next year or 2, maybe 3. Then all the top ends bucks will be gone, and we will be back to right now. Without more does and fawn survival, we dont have CRAP!!!!
Cutting tags and point restrictions will only save bucks. Ask any biologist what you need to grow that deer herd and I bet they will say more does not bucks!
Dont get me wrong, I want bigger and better bucks. I want to hunt the Henries in my backyard in Orem. I want to hunt the Paunsagaunt here IN Orem Utah every year and see 200" bucks. But without the does and Fawns, we wont have a deer herd!!!
I live in Orem. Have hunted the Wasatch all my life and I am 60.
There are plenty of good bucks up there. Here is the thing, they have increased the number of trails greatly and dumbed the harder ones down. This has resulted in far more people.
This has chased the bigger deer into more marginal habitat, there are simply too many people, not hunters just people.
For me to find the deer, and I chase good bucks most years, I have to avoid any and all trails, at all costs. You have to find the typically very rough terrain where people don't go. At all...ever. There you will find your bucks.
I chased 2 very nice bucks last year, 1 huge typical and one crazy big non-typical. The access was brutal enough that I couldn't hike in and out everyday, had to go every couple of days. I saw the bucks most days. No I didn't kill one last year, but as long as there are that caliber of bucks to chase with no people, it is all good with me.
It's the people and the bikes that need to go. Then the deer would be fine. IMHO. You have to work harder now than at any time in the past, not because of a lack of deer, but because...too damn many people. Look for higher, farther, steeper and just plain darn more difficult to access terrain. The deer have moved from where they have traditionally been, but they are there still.