Here's my take on self-imposed limits. The first and only time I have taken less than my limit, when the opportunity was present was 16 years ago. I was hunting sage grouse and the numbers were down by half from the previous year in the area I was hunting. The game proclaimation stated that you could take two birds. I chose to take only one. The area has since been closed to hunting sage grouse. In this rare case I was ahead of the game warden in assessing the vulnerbility of that certian population.
But in most cases I think that people who use self-imposed limits are not looking out for the welfare of the game, but instead want the accolades of their fellow hunters. Some hunters I have met have introduced themselves like this, " Hi I'm Mr. Hunter, I don't take my limit because I'm morally superior to you, excuse me, I have to pat myself on the back."
If a game animal is rare, or threatened, I could see self- imposed limits. But when there are a billion chuckars, I think a self-imposed limit is just a way to put yourself above others.
