but I have to wonder sometimes that for all those passing up "younger" deer with racks having great potential.....just how many of them do you meet again when their racks have reached their potential?

No one has said anything about the last ?,if limits dont matter.why have em?

Limits are important when the resource is limited. Once the resource is no longer limited, limits are basically meaningless. Several high-density deer herd states either have had or still have virtually no limit on the number of a deer a hunter can kill. These areas haven't run out of deer yet.

Mike, I honestly have no problem with passing up "younger" bucks with great potential in the hopes of killing that buck another year down the road. It's just my own set of personal goals that I follow for hunting. From what I've seen you post on this site, you seem to have similar goals?

Now the percentage is fairly low, but I've killed 2 bucks in TN that I passed as 3 year olds, and later killed them both as a 4 and 5 year old. I also passed a buck in Illinois in 2008 that was a 140" 2 year old (first one I've seen) because I knew what he could become. I shot that buck last year (not knowing it was him until later), and he grew into a 170" buck. Unfortunately I shot and lost him during archery season, and my neighbor ended up killing him during gun season.

But in reality, it gets back to expectations and what your own personal goals are as a hunter.

FH, as for your other question about limits, I don't know why we have them. J/K

How many of these "no limit" states,are "big buck"states?

None. But their lack of "big buck state" status has nothing to do with buck age structure or limits. You could implement a 1 buck limit in South Carolina and Alabama for the next 100 years and they would never become big buck states. They are not big buck states because the habitat won't produce that many big-antlered bucks. In fact, I've seen properties in these states with the best buck age structure of anywhere in the nation outside of TX. Yet even these properties with incredible buck age structures produce few if any truly big bucks.

Habitat produces big bucks, not bag limits. The 1 buck bag limit states are also the big agricultural states. Great habitat produces big bucks, not 1 buck bag limits.