I just thought I'd throw in my 2-bits on adjusting the buck. First off, thanks to Dave for the starting point.

I didn't have a phillips to bend, but I did find that I could get to the screws from the underside of the playfield with #0 Phillips screw driver.

#0 Phillips screwdriver from the underside

Through trial and error, I realized that mine needed to be adjusted so that the center post is almost touching the surrounding metal at the rear. Here is a picture. It looks a little closer than it ended up being because if you push on the post, the spring evens it out a little. I'd say it is about half to three quarters of a millimetre (whatever that is in imperial) away from the post at the rear. It's close!

Post adjusted. It is very close to the surrounding metal. Less than =<1mm

Here is a shot of what the nuts look like. I had to loosen the rear ones until they were flush with the ends of the screws. I also had to loosen off the front ones a tad so that the spring was able to push the platform up.

Rear nuts loosened until flush with screws. Be sure that the platform raises up: you'll likely have to loosen the front ones about half a rotation.

I used some electrical tape and another bolt to repeatedly test the unit. This meant that I didn't have to put the nuts back on until I was happy with the sensitivity. The tape kept the screws from dragging on the playfield. I'd suggest starting where mine worked and tighten the bolts until you get it to your liking instead of the other way around.

My test unit with electrical tape and spare bolt.

In the end, all you need is the #0 phillips, a ratchet-driver and something to force the screws away from the playfield. I used a little nail puller to give the screws some pressure so that I could work with them.

The tools I used.

Knowing what I know now, this 2-hour+ adjustment would take 20 minutes tops! The buck now registers all relatively light hits, but, to my surprise, it still won't drop with really light shots, which is exactly what I wanted! If you're not a good shot with your single ball buckshot, you really shouldn't drop a deer, now, should you?

Why do you have it all apart in the first place??

Agreed. It gets quicker as you repaeat the process though!

I don't have that game anymore (miss it, but it needs code!), but I think that looks normal. The wear is from the spring, I think. How was the wire originally connected? If there is a zone of the screw that doesn't require the threads, I'd hit it with some flux and see if it will take some solder. It probably won't, but it won't hurt to try. You could also consider one these or a similar strategy:

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double post