Which is faster – a partridge or a pheasant?

Shooting advice
JOHN BIDWELL
This one’s a real golden oldie and has been around since shooting birds on the wing with a gun first became popular way back when.

And the answer is still the same… A partridge’s rapid, whirring, wing beat and small body size certainly gives the impression of greater speed but the bigger, heavier, pheasant is actually the faster by quite a margin – which means both birds need different lead requirements.

In short, the pheasant needs more than his smaller cousin.

To do the partridge justice and avoid missing in front I suggest you cut back the lead by 1/3 or even a 1/2 of what you’re serving up for the pheasant and see what happens.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the result.

Half the fun of shooting a ‘mixed drive’ is in being able to make instant (and correct) adjustments when you’re faced with a partridge and pheasant in the air at the same time, and heading in your direction.

To pull off a clean right and left in these circumstances is very satisfying indeed.