Home Gear Five of the best early-season partridge cartridges

Five of the best early-season partridge cartridges

Fast, low-flying autumn partridges demand a light, quick load with plenty of pellets in the pattern, not the heavy stuff left over from last January's cock day. Selena Barr picks five worth loading for the first driven day of the year

The partridge season opens on 1 September, and for most of us that means the first driven day of the year: a warm morning, a stubble field, and a covey of redlegs coming low and fast over a hedge you cannot see past. It is unforgiving shooting, and it rarely rewards the Gun who turns up with the heavy stuff left over from last January’s cock day. Early partridge are small, thinly feathered and usually taken at sensible range, so what you want is a light, quick load with plenty of pellets in the pattern. Here are five worth loading.

These five are drawn from the makers’ own published specifications and from Shooting Times’ knowledge of the market, rather than from a side-by-side pattern-plate test. Prices are RRP at the time of publication and may have changed since.

Five of the best early-season partridge cartridges

Gamebore Black Gold Dark Storm Game with Quad Seal

Gamebore Black Gold Dark Storm Game cartridges with Quad Seal fibre wad — Shot produced in Britain’s only remaining working shot tower

Gamebore loads Dark Storm at Kingston upon Hull and fills it with Diamond Shot, which the company says is drawn from the only working shot tower left in Britain, graded five times over and then polished. A shot tower makes pellets the old way, letting molten lead fall far enough to pull itself round before it cools. The other component developed in-house is the Quad Seal, a fibre wad carrying four sealing rings rather than the usual single one, which Gamebore credits with reducing recoil and increasing striking energy at the same time. Being fibre, it leaves no plastic in the stubble.

Specification	Detail
Case	70mm (2¾in) high-density polymer, nickel head
Loads	28, 30, 32, 34 and 36 grams
Shot sizes	4, 5 and 6; the 6 in the 28, 30 and 32-gram loads only
Shot	Diamond Shot lead
Wad	Fibre Quad Seal
Velocity	1,525fps at 28 grams, easing to 1,460fps at 36
Proof	Standard nitro; no choke restriction
Early-season pick	28 grams of 6
Price (RRP)	£148 per 250
Info	gamebore.com

Eley Zenith Copper Plated

The distinguishing feature of Zenith is copper-plated lead shot. Eley electroplates copper onto each pellet, and the company’s reasoning is that copper is the harder metal, so the shot deforms less as it is driven up the barrel and through the choke, which should hold the pattern together further downrange. Whether you can see the difference on your own pattern plate is worth finding out, and the principle is sound and widely shared across the trade. Eley Hawk works out of Birmingham, and the Eley name has been on cartridges since 1828. Two things stand out in the specification. The quoted velocity is the same figure for every load in the range, so changing weight mid-season need not change your lead. And Eley lists Zenith in a seven, which among these five is the only seven in a full-length case.

Specification	Detail
Case	70mm (2¾in), 16mm brass head
Loads	28, 30, 32, 34 and 36 grams
Shot sizes	4 to 7, varying by load; the 7 in the 28 grams only
Shot	Copper-plated lead
Wad	Fibre
Velocity	1,356fps, identical across every load
Proof	Standard nitro; no choke restriction
Early-season pick	28 grams of 6 or 7
Price (RRP)	£153 per 250
Info	eleyhawkltd.com

Hull Cartridge The Partridge Cartridge

Naming a cartridge after its quarry makes this one an easy choice. What matters rather more than the label is that Hull has revised the specification behind it. The company’s stated aim is a dense pattern held out at long range, on the reasoning that a smaller, faster bird is better served by pattern quality than by pellet weight, and to that end the shot is hardened and nickel-plated and the tolerances on its sphericity are tightly controlled. The wad is biodegradable fibre sitting over a powder card. Hull describes the lighter of its two loadings as a light, fast cartridge suited to the early-season bird, which is about as plain a statement of intent as a cartridge box is ever likely to carry.

Specification	Detail
Case	70mm (2¾in), 12mm brass head
Loads	28 and 32 grams
Shot sizes	6.5 in the 28 grams, 5.5 in the 32
Shot	Nickel-plated hardened lead
Wad	Biodegradable fibre over a powder card
Velocity	1,450fps at 28 grams, 1,410fps at 32
Proof	Standard nitro; no choke restriction
Early-season pick	28 grams of 6.5
Price (RRP)	£146 per 250
Info	hullcartridge.co.uk

RC Professional Game, from Shooting Star

RC Professional Game cartridges in a 2½in case built for English chambers — Cartridges built for English chambers by an Italian manufacturer

The odd one out in this five, and interesting for that. RC is an Italian maker whose UK distributor, Shooting Star of Saxmundham, credits the brand with 19 Olympic medals. Professional Game is its Anglo-Italian hybrid: a true two-and-a-half-inch case built for English chambers rather than continental ones, which makes it one of the few loads here that a light side-by-side will take without argument. It is one of only two cartridges among these five offering a seven in a short case, and on a walked-up September day behind dogs that is a combination worth knowing.

Specification	Detail
Case	65mm (2½in), 12mm head
Loads	28 and 30 grams
Shot sizes	5, 6 and 7
Shot	Tempered lead
Wad	Fibre
Velocity	403 m/s (1,322fps) at 28 grams, 400 m/s (1,312fps) at 30 (V1, CIP, at one metre)
Proof	Standard nitro; no choke restriction
Early-season pick	28 grams of 7
Price (RRP)	£131 per 250
Info	shootingstarcc.co.uk

Lyalvale Express Supreme Game

The traditionalist’s choice here, and the one most likely to fit the gun you already own. Supreme Game is a true two-and-a-half-inch cartridge, so it will go into almost any English game gun without a second thought, and Lyalvale builds it with a fibre wad sitting over a fully biodegradable card obturator, which leaves no plastic behind in the stubble either. The company calls this its flagship range and says it has twice taken Best Game Cartridge at the Shooting Industry Awards. For a September morning the lightest of the loadings is the one to reach for.

Specification	Detail
Case	65mm (2½in), 16mm head
Loads	28, 30 and 32 grams; also 34 grams in a 70mm case
Shot sizes	5, 6 and 7; the 7 in the lighter loads
Shot	Lead, formulated for game
Wad	Fibre, over a fully biodegradable card obturator
Velocity	1,400fps
Proof	Standard nitro; no choke restriction
Early-season pick	28 grams of 6
Price (RRP)	£137 per 250
Info	lyalvaleexpress.com

How the five compare

Cartridge	Price (RRP)	Best for
Gamebore Black Gold Dark Storm	£148 per 250	The fastest of the five, at 1,525fps in the 28 grams, for birds taking you by surprise off a hedge.
Eley Zenith Copper Plated	£153 per 250	Anyone who changes load weight through the season and wants their lead to stay the same.
Hull The Partridge Cartridge	£146 per 250	Pattern quality at longer range, with a 6.5 shot size aimed squarely at the redleg.
RC Professional Game	£131 per 250	A light English side-by-side, and walked-up days where a seven in a short case suits.
Lyalvale Express Supreme Game	£137 per 250	The traditional English game gun, and anyone who wants no plastic left in the stubble.

Lead has three seasons left

Every cartridge here is lead, and lead now has just three seasons to run: the restrictions take effect on 1 April 2029. The UK REACH restriction prohibits not only the sale of lead shot but also its use, so a stock bought before that date cannot simply be shot off afterwards.

Every one of these makers now offers non-lead loads, and most have spent years developing them. The more shooters who buy and test those cartridges now, the faster supply, pricing and pattern performance will settle. Shoot a slab of steel or bismuth at a pattern plate alongside the lead you already trust, so you will know what it does before the first covey comes over the hedge.

Frequently asked questions

What shot size is best for early-season partridge?

A six or a seven. Early partridge are small, thinly feathered and usually taken at sensible range, so pattern density matters more than pellet weight. Four of the five cartridges here offer a six in their lightest loading, and Eley Zenith and RC Professional Game both list a seven.

What load weight should I use for partridge in September?

Twenty-eight grams. Every maker in this guide offers 28 grams as its lightest game load, and every one of them names it as the early-season pick. Heavier loads are for later in the season, when birds are stronger and the ranges longer.

Which of these cartridges will fit an English game gun?

RC Professional Game and Lyalvale Express Supreme Game are both built on a true two-and-a-half-inch (65mm) case, so they will go into almost any English game gun without a second thought. The Gamebore, Eley and Hull loads listed here are 70mm (2¾in) cases.

When does the partridge season start in the UK?

The partridge season opens on 1 September in England, Scotland and Wales, and runs to 1 February.

When is lead shot banned in the UK?

The restrictions take effect on 1 April 2029. UK REACH prohibits not only the sale of lead shot but also its use, so a stock bought before that date cannot simply be shot off afterwards.

Which of these cartridges leaves no plastic in the field?

All five use a fibre wad. Gamebore’s Quad Seal is fibre, Eley Zenith is fibre, Hull uses biodegradable fibre over a powder card, RC uses fibre, and Lyalvale sits a fibre wad over a fully biodegradable card obturator.

About the author

Selena Barr

Originally cutting her teeth as Shooting Times news editor two decades ago, her career in sporting journalism has taken her all over the world turning field adventures into reports that focus on conservation and sustainability.

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Five of the best early-season partridge cartridges

Five of the best early-season partridge cartridges