98 SEPTEMBER 2019 WWW.SHOOTINGGAZETTE.CO.UK
FortheopportunitytopurchaseBrynParry
original cartoons visit brynparrystudios.comARE
EXTREME
PARTRIDGES
A PASSING
FANCY?
No,I certainly hope not anyway
ByBen Samuelson
T
hereareplentyof fadsin shootingbutthere’s
absolutelynowaywhatI wouldargueis the
finestformofshootingavailabletoustoday
is oneof them.If youwereaskingmeaboutthelatest
turbo-charged, platimum-coated cartridges that are
only£1,000a slab,somesillysortofwaterproofcoat
made from Herdwick wool coated inwax harvested
from the earsof Andeangoat herdersor, evenmore
ridiculously, over-under shotguns, I’d have to agree
theyarea passingfancyandeveryonewillhavemoved
on by nextseason.But wonderful,soaring partridges
launchedfromthechalkcliffsof theCotswolds?
I’ve written before about how I prefer them to
partridge ofthehedge-hopping variety,but I thinkI
actuallypreferthemtoprettymucheveryotherform
of shooting.I likehighpheasantshooting,butI worry
aboutthenumberof prickedbirds,whichdoesn’tseem
to besuchanissuewithpartridge.Thisis purelybased
onpersonalexperienceratherthananyscientific study,
andso haspreciselynostatisticalintegrity,butpartridge
seemtoeitherbemissedentirely,orpickedcleanlyat
theendofthedrive.And,quitemiraculously,I seem
to contributemoreto thelatterwithextreme partridge
thanI domostothertypesof shooting.
There’sjustsomethingaboutthemthatcausesmeto
swingat therightspeedandactuallyjudgetheamount
of leadthat’srequiredcorrectly.Is it becauseyoutendto
havea bitof timeto seethemcoming,butnotso much
thatyoustart wavingyour gunaround? Is it because
they’reactuallyslowerthanpheasants?Is it becausemy
huntinginstinctsareparticularlykeenwhenit comesto
partridgebecausethey’remyfavouritegamebirdto eat
(wrappedin ourownAbbeysteadpancettaandserved
withbreadsauce,in caseyou’rewondering)?
Whateverit is, extreme partridges are very far from
being a fad. I hope.
The great debate
Yes,I preferbirdsI can hit
cleanly,thank you
ByGiles CatchpoleHowdidtheextremepartridgecomeabout?
As commercial pheasant shooting became
established there was a need somehow to
calibratecompetingshootseachfromother.Sincelow
pheasants were easy to shootand therefore not very
excitingit was decidedhighpheasants mustthemost
exciting quarry. Shoots able to offer high pheasants
thereforebecamego-todestinationsand sinceit is no
moredifficult to hefta lotof partridgesoffthe same
escarpmentsin Septemberas pheasantslaterin theyear
(andpermitshighbirdshootsto extendtheirseasonby
a coupleofmonthsandto makemoremoney)these
shootsboughtin a lotof partridges as well and sold them
ashighpartridges.
Givenpartridgesaresmallerthanpheasants it must
followtheyaremoredifficultto shootandearlyseason
highpartridges must beevenmore excitingto shoot
thanhighpheasantsandthustheextremepartridgewas
born.No,notborn:created.Bymarketing.Partridges
areeasierto killthanpheasantsbecausetheyaresmaller
and don’tfly so quick.However, theyfly in coveys
whichconfusesinexperiencedGuns.Especiallyif those
Gunshavetheirnosespressedagainsta bitof a hedge.
However,coveysof partridgesfizzingaboutat hedge
heightpastinexperiencedGunsflailingabouttryingto
drawa beadonthemis clearlya recipefordisasterfor
everyoneinvolved – except for the partridges – and
is thereforediscouraged;and safer– andduller- high
partridgesarepromotedas preferable.I beatona once
notedpartridgemanorwheresportingcoveysroutinely
flashpastwaitingGuns.Fewvisitorsseemableto deal
withthemsatisfactorily.Occasionallya teamof elderly
Gunsarrivesandhasa ballpottingsportingpartridges
overeachothers’headsin thewayit usedto bedone.
Letthosewhowantshoothighpheasantsandextreme
partridgestaketheirpleasurewheretheycanandwhile
theywantto.I’llshoot sporting birds at the wild shoots
they overlook.