Normally when harvest numbers fall the number of trophy class bucks taken also declines. However it appears that West Virginia is actually see a reverse trend where total harvest is falling but the trophy bucks harvested are increasing. The Gazette-Mail [2] has a write up on the 2010 season.

West Virginia's deer harvest plummeted in 2010, but the state's take of trophy bucks didn't. Although hunters killed 31 percent fewer whitetails overall, the number of bucks taken to wildlife officials for antler scoring increased 12 percent. Twenty-six of the state's 55 counties ended up producing at least one Big Buck Club trophy, a dramatic increase from 2009's total of 18 counties.