Spanish Guns, Spanish Birds, English Shoot

These are not just any game birds - these are Spanish red-legged partridge and we're in Suffolk to discover why they are over here and if they are any better than the French red-legged partridge we know and love. In fact the day has an all together continental feel, even though the shoot is congregating in an East Anglian car park. We're going to hearing about tips and techniques and highs and lows of british driven shooting with gun importer and Edward King. My loader put some Channel lipstick into my gun. It is just effective against partridge the way I shoot. His company, Anglo Spanish Importers, supplies the UK with AYAs and Rizzinis. Quite a nice little gun, English with colour hardly self opener, nice bit of wood. Let's see what it does. Edward is also going to be our translator for the day. The Spanish company that's supplied the shoot with 8000 16 week old poults want to see what the guns think. It's an interesting concept, but we need to see these birds fly. I had an interesting conversation with Patchi who has very kindly reared them and donated them. Many of the partridges for today. He has a very strong philosophy of reintroducing a partridge which will actually naturalise itself into the area and breed. He has very high hopes for next spring and the breeding success which of course is something we all need to be looking at I think for the future of shooting because it is very easy to just rear and shoot, but from an ecological point of view we need to be looking at what we leave behind as a legacy and if we can have a resident and reproducing partridge species here it can only be good for shooting generally. Great drive that opened up - nice little pile of cartridges as well. I noticed the Hull company cartridges are very effective with this kind of shooting. Good clean shells. The drive is indeed fast and furious and any bird that is beyond Edwards reach is clearly one of the Spanish variety. I think without a doubt the side by side on this drive was great, because, good girl, get back up there, just the shear handling characteristics. It is a nice light gun, shortish barrels. Very easy to move around, very quick. Good girl, bring it on, bring it on. Bring it on, good girl, good girl. Now go on get back. You wouldn't believe that that dog two seasons ago was gun shy and couldn't retrieve. Steady, well that is the last we will see of her. So we know which are which the imported birds are marked with a small blue tag but up close it is easy to see the difference - Edward gets boss man Patchi to talk us through it. Patchi here is explaining that one of the big differences between, visual differences between the two birds, as far as the plumage is concerned is that the white and black and brown stripes, bars on these feathers here is much more distinct and definite on the Spanish bird than on the English bird where the colours bleed into eachother slightly more so you get less definition on these lateral feathers and the colours of the leg is a purer red and that is despite the fact that these have actually been released for longer than the visiting birds. Patchi and his family are the largest breeders of partridge in Spain and are looking at expanding their markets - Javier runs shoots back in Spain and has been instrumental in getting the birds over here. He thinks they're going to be a shrewd investment. They are grand daughters let's say of wild partridge captured in Spain so they kept a lot of the instincts of surviving and eating in the fields and that has to be good for flying, for getting along with the preditors, or getting aware of them. So I think for them it is going to be easy to get along with this English ground and we are already have two days advice that they are flying very well and they seem to be impressed with the quality of birds. With the first drive firing everyone up Edward shows us how to speed load a side by side. Another little trick is the famous spare cartridges in the left hand, just there like that. They are not in the way because they are incredibly useful when you have fired your first two shots to pop them in to the chambers and it just gives you that bit of edge and speed. It takes a bit of getting used to but after a while you don't even notice they are there. The only thing not to do is after lunch have a cigar in the same place as that doesn't fit into a 20 bore chamber. He is so English for a Spaniard It's about fast fingers and not butter fingers which is why he's sporting a very smart pair of gloves as he wouldn't want them melting on hot barrels. There is nothing worse even if you are not on a big day, nothing worse than getting the drive of your dreams and you have drawn a peg and are in the right place, at the right time and birds are screaming over you and it is all falling into place, then all of a sudden your barrels get so hot you can't keep shooting and that is an absolute tragedy on any day. Well done. Well done. Well done. Good girl. At the end of the drive Maple works well. This once gun shy dog suddenly finding her feet last season. Time for sausage and a sloegasm - what a combination With just drives left Edward gives our Spanish friend a go with the spanish AYA while edward takes out the Over and under rizzini. This new model is a development really of the old model. It has got a game sealing engraving. So you have grouse on this side, I will just turn it over for you there. Rather elegant little partridges. On the other side selected walnut which is nicely oil finished to a decent lustre and of course the RB is finished all in wood without a heel plate. Things are about to happen now so I am going to get cracking. So which gun is the best for this kind of shooting? When you are shooting partridges in this kind of environment which is very quick, upon you before you really know it you need to be quick. You need a gun that is light and very quick to point. So we will see how this one is compared to the AYA side by side this morning. Are you going to be honest with me? I will be honest with everyone. Honesty is my middle name. Honesty is always the best policy - which is what we want from the shoots gamekeeper - he's the person who has been monitoring these spanish birds more than anyone and ultimately he'll decide if they're going to be worth bringing in next season. They are a different bird in the way that they react. They definitely fly better and they are wilder and whether from my point of view I will be able to do anything with them later on in the season time will tell. Everything else, the way they were transported, the way they arrived, everything else has been second to none I have got to say from my experience. The last drive should be a good un - Once again the spaniards are flying high..Patchi's wife is confident the birds will do well - alot of it is due to Spanish flare and passion. We have the capacity of breeding four million birds that is our main business and it is a family business and it was started 30 years ago. So it is a passion. If you don't really like what you do then it is difficult to do it really well. So a cracking day on the partridge. The Spanish birds and guns performed beautifully. For more information on the AYA and the Rizzini visit Edwards website a-s-i.co.uk