The thrill of the Chase

Tony Jackson attends a driven partridge shoot near Salisbury where the team spirit is strong among Guns, pickers-up and beaters alike

If you would care to test yourself against heart-stopping quality driven partridges then I suggest you consider the renowned Chase shoot, hard by the village of Sixpenny Handley on the Dorsetwiltshire borders. A bold claim, you may think, but one I can justify following a day’s sport laid on by shoot organiser Robert Burleigh.

This was a syndicate day so when I reveal that three of the Guns — Dave Williams, Jim Nutland and Neil Middleditch — have been members of the shoot from day one, 34 years ago, you will begin to sense not just the loyalty, but as I quickly discovered, their pride and pleasure in being a part of such a successful and thoroughly sporting shoot.

The eight syndicate Guns, the team of local beaters and four pickers-up assembled at Robert’s home near Sixpenny Handley well before 9am for the 15-minute journey to the first two drives of the day, the well-named Secret Valley drives. Weather-wise it was an ideal day for shooting; no glaring sun to blind the Guns nor deter the birds, but a layering of light cloud, an occasional peep of blue and a moderate westerly wind. Shoot: Date:

Bag: the base of one bank to face the steep slope in front, while the four pickers-up ranged themselves on the bank behind the gun line.

The team of nine beaters brought forward acres of maize cover crop grown in blocks on the high ground. I stood with Dave, while his small black Labrador bitch, Whisper, sat unmoving as partridges began to stream high across the valley to a staccato rattle of shots up and down the line. A beater, cracking a red flag, slowly walked just below the crest of the facing bank in line with the advancing, but unseen, beaters.

Highest and best

The Guns, all experienced Shots, were highly selective, picking only the highest and best birds and leaving any which were moderate to decent — and this was to be the form throughout the day. At the end of this drive Dave turned to me as his dog collected several birds round his stand and said: “The nice thing about this shoot is that Guns are always happy to ignore a really good partridge, in order to finish off a pricked bird from another Gun. We’re a team and that’s the way to treat the sport.” SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 13

Paul Barrow on the second drive, Secret Valley Two, named for its river of grass