Earn-a-buck rules four of the past five years have dramatically thinned the whitetail numbers in Kewaunee and Door counties.

It's not that there aren't any deer, it's just that there are far fewer than hunters got used to seeing during the record and near-record kill years from the mid-1990s to 2007.

One of the bright spots of what many believed to be earn-a-buck overkill has been that more bucks have survived, with some growing the kind of headgear that makes headlines.

The Quality Deer Management mentality of letting young bucks walk certainly has played a big role for many hunters in the past decade. But even in areas where many hunters shoot the first legal buck they see, it could easily be argued that there are more 3½-year-old and older bucks than before.

It's rare to talk to a diehard hunter who hasn't seen or heard of a "monster" buck roaming within a mile or two of a favorite stand.

Archers, who sometimes get a bad rap from gun-only hunters who say that "bow hunters are shooting all the big bucks", see far more mature, heavy-beamed bucks than they shoot.

Checks of the Wisconsin Buck & Bear Club, Pope & Young Club and Boone & Crockett Club record books prove that gun hunters tag far more giant bucks than archers do.

Still, there's no doubt that bow hunters who spend enough time on stand in quality habitat this time of year have a great opportunity to see and occasionally get a shot at a mature trophy buck with mating on his mind.

In fact, a pair of 170-inch-plus bucks were shot less than five miles apart north of Algoma recently. That's something I can't ever remember happening before — back-to-back and so close together — at least in this neck of the woods.

Scott Kolstad was the lucky hunter in southern Door County, dropping a tall 13-pointer that dressed out at 220 pounds and had a neck that measured 37 inches around. Meanwhile, another Algoma hunter tagged a 22-inch wide 11-point, 200-pounder in northern Kewaunee County.

Those were easily the biggest at Algoma BP, where registrations — like most places in the state — have been slowed by all the wet weather and wind in recent weeks.

Center Court in Kewaunee has been seeing an increase in the number of bucks, but nothing bigger than 8-pointers.

Lee's Sports in Luxemburg has had some nice 8- and 10-pointers, but the biggest of the week was a double brow-tined 12-pointer shot by Gerry Dart.

Comment on park

Anyone can check out and comment on a draft concept plan for Kewaunee County's newest park, the Besserdich property in the town of West Kewaunee. Visit www.kewauneeco.org/rec. Click on the map icon for a copy of the map, then the text to go to the online survey.

Take the Pledge

Those who "Take the Pledge" and promise to introduce newcomers to boating and fishing will be eligible to win prizes in a pledge drive announced by the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation. Learn more at www.anglerslegacy.org.

Kevin Naze is a freelance outdoors writer. E-mail him at wildtimes@wizunwired.net or call (920) 883-9792.