PARTRIDGE SHOOTING 
Owing to the lateness of the season they were so strong on the wing 
that they never seemed to get tired, and few indeed were the “ sitters ” 
one got in a day’s driving at Holkham. 
When beats are once mapped out, it is advisable to stick closely to them, 
never mind how tempting it may be to follow a big lot that have broken 
out just over the boundary hedge. It is fairer to the keeper of the next 
beat not to poach in any way on his domain, and if by any chance one or 
two big lots do escape unshot at from a large area of ground, they will 
make a real good healthy stock for next season, and one need not mind 
pitching into those that remain pretty severely. 
If a host finds that his stock is thinner than he thought, it is easy to save 
them either by letting the drivers walk through the roots and other covert 
quickly, when many birds will be walked over or get up and go back, 
or else to take care that they are not flanked in too severely, in which case 
many will break out to the flanks, unshot at. 
When driving late in the season, roots are generally scarce, and what 
there are have little or no “ top ” on them, and therefore afford little 
cover. When this is the case a good rough fallow is the best place for 
breaking up big lots and eventually providing a good drive. 
For the first drive of the day it is often the custom to walk in a good deal 
of land before the arrival of the guns, in the hope of providing a good 
start. In a case like this, two things must be borne in mind, if the weather 
be wet the partridges will be wanting to be out of the roots almost as soon 
as they have been driven in ; therefore this driving in should only be done 
at the last possible moment. As the first drive should always be, if possible, 
down wind, some of the fields that lay down wind of the first field should 
be walked in, and the birds there will fly straight back to their original 
ground and give a lead to any other coveys that may have been put in 
from the up -wind end of the field. In order to keep birds in the roots 
“stops ’’ are sometimes placed to prevent them running out. Of course 
these stops must be some distance back from the actual field. 
Directly the guns have taken up their stands, the host can give the signal 
to start the drivers by blowing one or two notes on the little horns that 
are supplied for this purpose. If there is a gale of wind, or the drivers are 
a long way off, it is advisable to precede the horn by a very quick double 
shot, some one of the driving party is sure to hear this and pass the word 
along to the head man. 
Half the fun of shooting small game is the possession of a good retriever. 
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