In the U.S. we used to have beaters, too. That was before Roundup killed all of the weeds and grasshoppers and other bugs in the Iowa cornfields. That led to the demise of the Iowa pheasant populations. Before Roundup, the corn fields used to have weeds in the rows of corn, good cover, and then bugs for good food. Often we would ask the young sons to walk along. The corn was at least 6 feet high and they could not see, and of course didn’t have guns. I often went along with beaters because at 6’5” I could see above the corn and often got easy shots. The “blockers would get lots of shooting, similar to the “guns” in Britain. Good times with lots of wild game. That is no more.
