Once upon a time, Adams County, PA was Pheasant Heaven. No trick at all to limit out in short order on truly wild birds, plus there were some quail and rabbits were plentiful. Been pretty slim pickings since the late 70s or early 80s; planted birds, no quail, not many rabbits.
Changing land use and farming practices, the protection of predators, and maybe the return of turkeys are all factors, I think. Now you need a Pheasant stamp to hunt them, and apparently you can shoot hens too since it’s all put and take. Glad I got to experience the good old days.
I hear you. I was next door in York County, and a good bit in Northumberland County. Hunting in central/western Maryland was mostly for quail. When they lifted the bounties on foxes and hawks, and the farmers bought into no-till farming, new generations of pesticides, and eradication of fence rows, the quail disappeared.
Hunting was so bountiful that it never crossed our gang's minds to shoot skeet or trap instead, except as a novelty. The guys I knew who were dedicated trap shooters were none of them hunters. Sporting Clays didn't exist back then.
Then there were the live pigeon shoots and the guys who were plugged into that sport. A whole 'nother world was that.
