Not only did they use them for recreation, they often hunted for food. Technically illegal out of season, but national forest rangers tend to look the other way if you're hunting for sustenance, since those same poachers often would blow the whistle on more serious issues. (Illegal waste dumping, marijuana grows that abuse the forest with chemicals, meth labs that might explode and start fires, etc)

Plus as a practical matter, if someone takes one shot at a deer then moves regardless of success, it's pretty much impossible to pinpoint where the shot came from.