We are not near ames but in Weakley Co. Back in the 70s and early 80s it was not uncommon to see 40-50 deer on our farm. . . . . . This was of course when shotguns only were allowed here and before the doe slaughter. There was a lot of shooting but not much hitting back then with the bird guns. . . . . . Go deer hunting for 2-3 hours and then go back home and get the bird dog and hunt quail the rest of the day if you did not have a buck to process.
THAT was exactly my experience for most of the 1970's in Weakley!
Wasn't even an open deer season in Obion County & many others in West TN.
Believe it was 1971 when I killed my first buck with my 20 ga Remington Model 11 using slugs thru my "bird" barrel. I had another "full choke" barrel for squirrels & ducks.
As far as "not hitting much" went, things changed dramatically for me in 1976 when I got my Browning Sweet 16 with a full set of barrels (cylinder, improved cylinder, modified, full,
AND a
"Buck Special").
With my "Buck Special" barrel, I increased my high-probability range from about 45 yds to 110 yds. And going to the Brenneke slugs made it even better. I killed one buck with it at @ 150 yds.
Did a lot of barrel changing back in those days, sometimes 3 times a day, as there were no screw-in choke tubes.
Back then, opening day of deer season was a bigger deal than it is today. But the opening day of squirrel season was a bigger deal for more hunters than the deer opening. And seemed nearly everybody had a "bird" dog, whether it would hunt or not.
Things sure have changed, and not all for the better.
After the physical "check in" began, checked in many a deer at "Sammy's Bait Shop" near where you live.