i would think your spot on. Not too many bucks around my land make it to 3 1/2 years with the long archery season, special hunts, local hunting pressure etc. My first buck off my property in the fall of 2019 might have been 3 1/2 or perhaps even 4 1/2 years old. A 12pt with drop tine.
Our bow season now runs 10/1 to 12/21(?). Of course, there's gun, crossbow, and muzzleloader mixed in there too.
State also added a Holiday Hunt for 12/26-1/1 for an extended bow and muzzleloader.
As a kid, the normal buck taken was 18 months, small 6-point, and 110lbs dressed. (The stories made them 165lbs....) We hunted to put meat in the freezer. Antlers, points, didn't matter.
We lived 30 minutes from Syracuse, NY, and had a lot of State Land nearby. Drew a lot of and them and hunters from NYC and NJ.
Hunting pressure has fallen greatly. I don't hunt anymore, but love venison.
Where I live now is more rural, has more State Land. I see very few hunters anymore, but do see some VERY respectable bucks being taken. I think more are in tune to quality management of the herd.
That said, I'll take those 110 pound bucks over an 160 pounder at 3.5 years of age any day....those young ones taste so good.......
