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.