doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com St. Partridge Day

Tucked into my maternal Grandfather’s copy of the 1906 edition of the “Art of Shooting by “ Charles Lancaster” ( in fact Mr. Thorn) is this faded photograph with St. Partridge Day 1925 written on the back.

His shooting books were given to me by his son, my Uncle John, who is the schoolboy on the left as you look at the picture stood next to his father.

The tall gentleman in breeches and leggings seems to be holding a leg of mutton case under his arm.

I have not otherwise seen the term St. Partridge Day, but it is clearly a reference to the opening of the season on 1st September.

Good Hunting to all those fortunate enough to be out today!

Well then, Happy St. Partridge Day, Parabola.

"The Illustrated London News", Sept. 3, 1859, The First Of September - Partridge Shooting

The artist has drawn the ram rods and ramrod pipes under the barrels, so his models were still using muzzle loaders and not pinfires

Well spotted!

The date is in the lower left corner. can anyone make out the year? I can't. It's Sept. 3, ????

Can't read it, but Drew tells us it's Sept. 3, 1859.

Parabola;

Thank you for sharing this wonderful memory of your ancestors.

Stephen Howell

Are they hunting partridge in turnips? That's exactly what the flora looks to be.

Very probably. J.K. Stanford in Partridge Shooting 1963 recalls “interminable waits in mangolds or turnips with one or two half-broken dogs that were trying to find two or three partridges that were down in front of the line”.

He quotes another author, Almere Maxwell 1911 referring to the “dreary monotony of interminable turnip fields” when walking up partridges.

Thanks, Parabola. Very interesting that partridge would choose to hide/feed in turnip fields, unless that's the only cover around.

Turnip fields in September would provide cover, probably not too
wet at that time of the year and at least in those days an abundance of insects to feed on?
As you say it’s a matter of where the birds choose to be.

Good Hunting to all who are fortunate enough to be out today, whether it is in Georgia, Norfolk, Sussex or wherever.

The modus operandi was to walk up the stubble fields and other open ground but always in the direction that after flushing the covey would fly towards the cover, predominantly turnips. With the birds now collected in cover the group of guns would line out and walk slowly through the turnips, usually across the drills rather than with them. Setters or pointers would have been the main dogs used then.

There’s a covey of Grey’s here in the yard.
I will try to get a photo tomorrow morning.

Happy Saint Partridge day! Y’all

The photograph with which I started this thread, tucked into the front of my grandfather’s 1906 Edition of The Art of Shooting, has St. Partridge Day 1925 written on the back.

The above image is one of the many instructional illustrations in that book (the Shotkam of its time?).

Happy St.Partridge day to all fortunate enough to be out in pursuit of game today on either side of the pond.

Saint Partridge Day sounds pretty good to me. I believe Ted here coined the phrase "Grousemas", but for the opener "St. Partridge Day" works just fine as well. In 2023, "St. Partridge Day" for me will be September 16th in Minnesota.

Steve Voss was calling it grousemas within hours of Al Gore creating the internet.
Ask him, I think he is Bluestem here.

St. Partridge Day falls on a Sunday this year, so I trust no Partridge were shot on this side of the pond today, even in self defence.

One hopes it was not a Sunday in 1827, when Col. Hawker bagged 102 with his own muzzle loading gun.

Anyway, good shooting to all out shooting from tomorrow onwards, whether in Norfolk, Hampshire, Georgia or elsewhere!

The First of September in 1827 fell on a Saturday, so the good Colonel was obeying the law, and was no doubt able to give thanks the day after at Matins.

You rang?
Some gray’s
They squawk when they launch like a rusty door hinge
[img]https://i.imgur.com/YlKVBwo.mp4[/img]

Passed on my dove shoot this early AM as they were (and are) mostly not present this fine early Fall day (too-cold these past few nights). The club called yesterday to give me the rather damning prognosis and I actually considered the news a small blessing. The amount of materials (frozen and otherwise) that my bride is burdening me with on my 2-day sojourn across the Great Plains is becoming rather significant. It's not that you can't find some of this stuff up in Nowhere, Minnesota, it's the time, trouble and nearly-staggering cost of acquiring it all there, so...anyway. Since this year is my/our biggest planned-for stay-time yet up there yet, I'm fully accommodating the process (way better than normal, I am truly mellowing with age, finally.)

It all begins in the early AM tomorrow.

No, I am me here. Bluestemis another Flatwater alum. The termGrousmas was coined by the late and lame ted Wingshooter16.

Mikes death was a real shock.

It was, for sure.

I started this thread 4 years ago with this photograph and :-

“Tucked into my maternal Grandfather’s copy of the 1906 edition of the “Art of Shooting by “ Charles Lancaster” ( in fact Mr. Thorn) is this faded photograph with St. Partridge Day 1925 written on the back.

His shooting books were given to me by his son, my Uncle John, who is the schoolboy on the left as you look at the picture stood next to his father.

The tall gentleman in breeches and leggings seems to be holding a leg of mutton case under his arm.

I have not otherwise seen the term St. Partridge Day, but it is clearly a reference to the opening of the season on 1st September.

Good Hunting to all those fortunate enough to be out today!”

Today is the Centenary of that photograph being taken, so I thought I would add a little about my Uncle John (1910 to 1995).

He grew up to be an Estate Agent, joined the Territorial Army and was Commissioned in the Royal Artillery in 1936. His Gunners Officer’s sword therefore bears the Royal Cypher EVIIIR.

He went to France with his unit, 229 (Eastbourne) Battery as part of 58 Field Regiment R.A. where they fought the Blitzkreig until they had to be evacuated at Dunkirk.

He was posted to India, and fought in Burma as a Gunner as part of 14th Army, losing the sight in one eye.

I lent him George MacDonald Fraser’s “Quartered Safe Out Here” and when he returned it he commented that he had worked out the artillery fire plan for the taking of Meiktila.

Sadly, we never got to go shooting together although I remember him saying to me once he would love to go snipe shooting in Ireland. Perhaps he had shot snipe in India.

Anyway, have a good dove season in your side of the pond, and Happy St. Partridge Day to you all!

Thank you Parabola. Happy St. Partridge Day to you too. Even though the dove are few, I will be in the field this afternoon. I will be using the little 20 gauge sxs that my father gifted me 53 years ago.

I was not fortunate enough to be out shooting today, the first day of our Partridge season, but I hope all those lucky enough to be out today in the pursuit of game on either side of the pond have had a good day out and a safe and happy return,

We are a few weeks out, here, Adrian. Temp is near 90F, if the season was open, I wouldn’t go. The dog is 13, and I’m not spry enough to carry her out of the woods, although, I have done it with a different dog, in a different time in my life.

Best wishes and regards to those that open the season today.

Best,
Ted