Why better hedges make better shoots
Every hedge that my business partner, Richard Gould, and I lay, coppice or cut, is done with wild game in mind, even if the farm on which we work doesn’t shoot. It’s a pragmatic ideology — if it suits grey partridges, it suits all lowland wildlife.
Richard was a headkeeper and his mantra is that a pheasant only becomes a good one if it has spotted the Guns. Partridges, particularly greys, are the total opposite.
“The secret in presenting grey partridges well,” says Richard, “is to remember that a wild covey is a family unit. When they are driven with the wind, rather than harried, they fly together in the direction of safety. If they think that is over a hedge to their front, they fly confidently, not knowing what lies behind it.”
The grey’s fame as a sporting bird is
