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.
Have spent some time in the eastern U.S. hunting various states, and one of the factors that has to have affected wild gamebird populations is the abundance of whitetails in many areas. One of my good friends, a custom gunsmith, has been part owner of 800 acres in West Virginia for many years. There's some fairly level ground along a creek, but most is pretty up and down, like a lot of West By God, with plenty of timber.
Back when he and his friends first bought the place as a hunting-fishing family get away, he says the ruffed grouse hunting was pretty darn good. The timber is still here, but most of the ground cover gets eaten by deer--and they hunt the deer pretty hard. I have seen plenty of deer on the place, in fact it's hard not to, but cannot remember seeing a ruffed grouse in all of my visits.
