Caldecote Farm Shoot, Bedfordshire

The pre-shoot instructions were fairly typical until Guns were told not to be afraid to take a memorable shot at a grey partridge – or, if lucky enough, a left-and-right.

Across the countryside French, or redleg, partridges duck in and out of hedgerows but our native Perdix perdix, the grey partridge, is a much rarer sight. In long-term decline, 88% have been lost in the UK since the 1960s and 94% in Europe since 1990. Thankfully, there is an ongoing effort to restore the species and its habitat. The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) began its Grey Partridge Count in the 1930s and is the lead partner for the government’s Species Action Plan, part of the Biodiversity Action Plan launched in 1994, while notable farms and estates work diligently to re-establish the bird’s security.

Few Guns have had the opportunity to experience greys jinking over a hedge, and to shoot at one of their rare bastions would make any sportsman’s heart flutter. The shoot at Caldecote is a family affair, a grey partridge manor on an 800-acre farm set in the Bedfordshire countryside. It is run over three parcels of land owned by