So we're here back in beautiful Cenicientos, and today we're going to be shooting driven
Partridge.
I've been to Spain a few times shooting partridge, this is the second time I've been out driven
shooting and as you can see its an entirely different landscape to what we're used to
for driven partridge or pheasant back in the UK.
It's all about the quality of bird, you'll hear a few phrases today "a good Spanish bird"
which mat not necessarily be high in the air but it is sweeping, its fast, its turning,
its a very sporting bird.
I could never imagine myself sitting out in the bright morning sunshine on an early season
Partridge day in the UK, its just simply stunning.
Partridge shooting in Spain has been a huge tradition for centuries.
What we try to do here is to keep the tradition how it used to be when there was wild partridge.
Its a little bit different to what I'm used to back in the UK, I've shot here before so
I kind of understand how it works, there are slight nuances, although its quite familiar
in the way you line out and that the beaters bring the birds towards you, other than that
its very different.
The topography is completely different, obviously the weather is dry and its sunny.
its the type of birds that come that are a little different to what I'm used to.
You can usually see a bird coming from maybe 200 to 300 hundred yards away, you can get
yourself ready and you have plenty of time and even though the birds tall, you can still
get yourself set and ready to shoot it, where as here, you have absolutely no idea where
its coming from.
Sometimes they'll come from in very similar to a driven pheasant, get above you, get your
barrels up and then suddenly it turns to the right and then without even any word of a
warning you get a couple that break on your left.
So I have to say its probably the most exciting style of driven hunting I have ever done,
and even the birds that are low, comparatively, or aren't as quite as quick as the one I shot
before, but they're incredibly challenging, and they call them Spanish birds as opposed
to English birds, of course they're the same species of Red Legged Partridge that you'd
shoot in the UK, but the way they're presented is entirely different.
Its definitely lived up to the expectations, although just when I think i've got it, it
completely changes.
The Loaders, they help maintain rhythm, its probably the fastest way of loading.
The loader will take care of everything, so that combination of the loader and you, its
a team, that helps you out so you don't loose rhythm and get behind the birds.
Back home, sometimes Clare, my wife, will come and join me and hold my cartridge bag
or let me know when I've missed a bird, but here you have an assistant that helps you
all the time and they not only load for you if you're double gunning or stuff cartridges
if you're shooting a single, they also keep track of the number of birds you've shot,
they also keep an eye on the number of shells that you've shot, so it actually makes you
really comfortable from start to finish, and even when you get to the peg, and you're shooting,
they help to pick the birds you've shot and they make everything really comfortable and
relaxed for you.
That's a huge positive of shooting here in Spain is that level of service that I'm not
usually used to.
Where we are, the surroundings mean that you can do more things than shooting, you can
spend a day or you could come with your wife and the ladies can go during the day to Madrid
or stay at the villa.
There are lots of things to do around here, its not just shooting, you can come for the
culture, the tradition, the people.
For me, shooting whether it be in the UK or here in Spain, a very important part of it
is the social side of things, the hospitality, mixing, interacting and communicating with
the people you've shot with.
A lot of the time shooting in the UK, I'm shooting with people I know, but occasionally
I will shoot with people that I don't.
What brings you together is a shared passion, a shared interest.
You can come from all walks of life, here its almost identical.
The people themselves are all similar, they all share the same passion for hunting, for
shooting, for outdoor sports.
They recognise the importance of sustainability, the holistic approach to game management of
putting food back in to the food chain.
So when you start spending time with people, that do share very similar values, its very
easy to get on, here in particular, the food is great, the wine is fantastic and everything
is very similar to back home, although I drink Sloe Gin and Champagne back at home and here
I drink Sweet Cherry and Red Wines, once again its a minor difference to an otherwise very
similar experience.