Greys’ anatomy
British driven partridge shooting took over from walked-up sport that occurred in the 1700s, with the biggest bags being obtained from the 1850s onwards. These were predominately English partridges because, though the redlegs were introduced around 1770 by Lord Hertford and Lord Rendlesham to Suffolk, that bird’s popularity didn’t take hold until the 1950s.
Most estates waited until around October before starting their English partridge shoots to allow the wild young birds to mature. Partridge shooting relied on wild birds having broods, much like grouse shooting. Though methods such as the ‘Euston system’ were adopted to increase productivity, they were still reliant on the weather, habitat, predator control and the abundance of insects.
During the Edwardian period, greys were the mainstay of
