Very few above average antlered bucks will survive to 4 1/2 in most areas we hunt in TN.
As a mature buck hunter, that means I'm defining "trophy" antlers more by their uniqueness (like side kickers, non-typical tines, etc.) rather than "score" or the number of mainframe tines.
Most mainframe 10-pointers are hunter-killed when those bucks hit 2 1/2 or 3 1/2.
This means most bucks surviving to maturity are going to be mainframe 8 or 9 points, along with any bucks born with 7 or fewer mainframe tines.
Basically, the bucks surviving to maturity in TN are the bucks no one wanted to kill.
Or found it easy to give a pass because they had small antlers, or 7 or fewer mainframe tines at 2 1/2 & 3 1/2. Even if they don't have 9 or more points, those with either very wide or very tall racks seldom survive past 3 1/2.
About the only exception to the above is regarding areas where deer are not hunted, or hunted relatively little (at least legally), compared to most areas of TN.
Personally, I think it's a real shame, but the highest scoring mature bucks tend to be suburban "pets", protected because they're more like "pets" than wild, free-roaming deer.
Word gets out about a particular high-scoring buck, living mainly in a subdivision, then someone pays big money to kill it in someone's back yard. It can be more or less like just walking out into a farmer's pasture and sticking an arrow in his prized bull.
That said, suburban deer herds do need to be controlled, but they are not controlled by those who only take out the most prized trophy bucks. It's the killing of both sexes that controls deer herds, and that harvesting needs to be focusing on female deer if herd control (and/or eating venison) is the goal.
