Partridge: what kind of game?
Partridge hunting is an exciting activity, and the meat of this bird is considered quite valuable prey.
The partridge is a small bird, its largest weight is just over half a kilogram. Typically, the partridge has a gray plumage color, with a reddish color on its head. Distinguished by a brown spot on the abdomen. The bird leads a terrestrial lifestyle, flies rarely, but runs quite deftly. It makes noise during takeoff and flight, which can be clearly heard in the video.
In addition to the fact that the partridge is a ground bird, it is useful for the hunter to know the following details of its lifestyle:
- The partridge's main places of spending time are grass and bushes;
- this is not a migratory, that is, a sedentary bird, migrations are possible due to the expansion of numbers and a decrease in the amount of food, which is not associated with seasonal phenomena, with the exception of very cold winters;
- in summer, partridges are active at dawn - in the evening and in the morning, and rest during the day; in winter, the bird feeds during the day, making short flights across the territory;
- these are “family” birds, sociable, live in flocks, spend the night together;
- in early April-May, birds make nests, lay eggs, and both parents take care of the nest and offspring.
All these details are captured on video, which is useful for a novice hunter to watch.
In total, there are more than three dozen species of partridges; they are found in Europe, Asia, and America at different latitudes. Partridges live on the territory of Russia - the most common partridges here are common gray and arctic, distinguished by their winter white plumage. The third species, which is also quite common, is the stone partridge, or chukar.
Partridge hunting
This type of hunting is considered quite simple, so it is suitable for beginner hunters. A variety of videos on this topic will help them. At the same time, for partridge hunting to be successful, you need to have certain knowledge.
Need to know: The hunting season for this game varies somewhat in different places, but is usually allowed from July to November, for tundra - a little later. Partridge hunting in winter and summer has certain differences.
The most suitable places to hunt are grain fields after harvesting, clover crops, and areas of farmland with thickets of weeds. Partridges are especially fond of buckwheat and millet crops.
Partridge is hunted with a dog, from the approach, a drive, with a decoy, with a gun or pneumatic weapon, and with various traps. All these hunting methods can be learned from video.
- When hunting with a gun, shot No. 5-6 is suitable for partridge.
- When shooting, you need to aim at a specific bird, and not at a group in general - this way you can injure several individuals, but not catch any.
Partridges do not fly quickly; they spend short periods of time in the air, about two minutes on average. Therefore, it is not difficult to shoot them. True, birds can make turns in flight, but some experience will be enough and you will be able to predict their movements. You can get an idea of the flight of birds through videos.
Shooting while hunting partridges
Partridge hunting requires patience from the hunter, as the partridges rise at once, with great noise. Many, seeing a dozen birds flying up in front of them, simply shoot “at the herd.” In fact, it is necessary to target one specific partridge, then the result is better. Therefore, the main task when hunting partridge is to split the brood into separate pairs or triplets of birds. As a rule, a herd of partridges disintegrates after the second rise. Shooting gray partridges is not particularly difficult. The flight of birds is fast but straightforward. The brood, as a rule, rises in an open place, so it is possible to release the bird at the desired distance, calmly aim and fire
After shooting, it is very important to monitor not the falling birds, but where the rest will fly. The further success of partridge hunting will depend on this
Partridge hunting from the approach
In the conditions of a nourishing autumn, partridges sometimes eat so much that they hardly even fly in case of danger. In addition, in such years they reproduce well. This is a convenient time for approach hunting. The time for it is autumn or winter. Usually in the morning the flock comes out to feed, and this is where the hunter needs to hurry. They go around the flock and shoot at one bird on the ground. The rest fly up, here you have to be ready to shoot at the game in the air.
Helpful Hint: In the absence of a dog, binoculars will help to detect flocks and individual birds.
Hunting for white partridge: features
The partridge hunting season opens at the end of summer in the southern regions of our country, and at the beginning of winter in the northern regions. Birds are quite strongly attached to bushy vegetation, so you should look for them in small thickets, where they sit in groups of 5-10.
Hunting for this species of partridge has been known for several centuries, since the bird's meat has unique taste qualities. Birds can often be found in grain fields, since at this time of year they go there to feed.
To shoot a particular white partridge, you should know a number of behavioral characteristics of this bird. For example, if birds sense approaching danger, the leader of the flock should be the first to react. He will try to divert all the attention of a person or dog to himself, leading the hunter in the opposite direction from the young animals. You can recognize the leader by a loud cry, reminiscent of the laughter that a white partridge makes during takeoff. The bird has a good mind, so it will use various shelters when escaping in order to avoid being hit by shot. Also, do not forget that the white partridge is one of the most cunning creatures of the animal world. If the prey has taken refuge behind a tree, this does not mean that it will actually sit there. As soon as the hunter begins to avoid the obstacle, the bird can quickly fly up, so catching it will not be so easy.
Partridge hunting with pneumatics
Partridge is one of the few game species that can be taken with an air gun. Plus, it doesn’t require special permissions.
Partridge hunting with pneumatics is carried out in the same way as a regular one: you need to find the bird, but it is advisable to let it get closer to you. The optimal distance for shooting is about 20 meters, since pneumatics have less destructive power.
Helpful advice: The caliber of bullets for such weapons when hunting partridge is 4.5, 5.5 mm. It is better to choose flathead bullets. An optical sight will also help, preferably with a magnification of 3.5.
How to get closer to a bird if there is no dog to catch it and you are hunting alone? A decoy will help here. By making sounds similar to quails, you can lull their vigilance and get close. And sometimes the quails themselves rush to the call.
When hunting with pneumatics, this technique is also suitable. It is used in the southern parts of Europe. A kite becomes an assistant here, an interesting video confirms this. The snake is made by repeating the image of a bird of prey, which quails are very afraid of. When the kite rises up, the birds press themselves to the ground and remain motionless. Here you can get them.
Hunting for gray partridge
Have you thought about the timing of this event? The ptarmigan hunting season opens in early August, when the hatched chicks have already reached the size of adults, and closes in December. Early morning is considered the best time of day to catch birds. However, you shouldn't leave too early. The sun must not only have time to rise, but also dry the dew on the grass. At this time of day, birds prefer to go feeding. In practice, two types of partridge hunting have proven themselves well - with a dog or from the approach. Read on to find out what each of them is.
Partridge hunting with traps
Hunters have learned to use traps a long time ago, and their skill is progressing. It is excellent to hunt partridge with a trap in winter: the grass does not interfere, and tracks are visible in the snow. Birds' favorite paths often stretch along the edges, near bushes, and near trees. In winter, partridges like to feed on buds. You can use this addiction: take birch and willow branches with you, stick them in the snow and set a snare nearby.
Usually, a snow mound with a passage is made in front of the snare; the branches located in front attract birds. You need to check the snares often, and don’t forget to tie them to some kind of stick, tree, bush, so that the prey does not leave with the trap.
There is quail hunting in the form of unusual, somewhat amusing ways of using improvised traps.
- “Cup”: a 250 ml white plastic glass is tied to a support and some grain, berries, and buds are placed in it. You can understand how to do this correctly from the video. Oddly enough, partridges that climb up there upside down get stuck. They cannot get out on their own and become easy prey for the hunter.
- “The hole”: you can also watch the video on how to do it correctly. The point is that a hole is made in the snow. A great way is to use a plastic bottle of hot water. We press the snow down with the bottom, it melts, and a hole appears. Surprisingly, once a partridge gets into it, it cannot get out. Of course, the snow must be deep enough - at least 10 cm, and to lure them, they throw food into the hole.
Hunters usually adhere to the rule of not killing all the adult birds in a flock, so that the young do not die without the older ones. This helps maintain the bird population in the area. If possible, it is advisable not to kill the dominant male if he can be identified. He is the leader of the pack, who cares about preserving the community.
If you follow simple rules and have a good knowledge of the characteristics of the bird, you can hunt partridges effectively and with great pleasure.
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About winter partridge hunting
In winter, the main food of gray partridges are tree buds and grass seeds. When food becomes insufficient, birds move closer to human habitation: here they have the opportunity to find food near granaries and livestock farms. The birds spend the night in bushes near the feeding area.
You can determine whether there is a bird near a populated area by the characteristic tracks in the snow that partridges leave in places where they search for food and spend the night. Birds live in flocks, in winter they feed throughout the daylight hours, and when they find food in any place, they visit several times, which allows hunters to track game and even lure it to where it is hunted.
Comments
- Zhenya 10/17/2016 at 23:03 Partridge meat is very tasty and anyone who knows how to hunt them will confirm this.
And it is rightly said that you should go partridge hunting, preferably with a dog. You certainly won’t return without a catch. Answer - Alex 10/18/2016 at 14:11
That's for sure! A dog can smell a partridge from a great distance. But we have to admit that this bird is cautious, especially one that has already been frightened. It happens that 80-100 meters away they already sense the approach of danger and fly away.Answer
Sergey 10/18/2016 at 14:40
That's right, partridges are sensitive birds, so you need to hit them with the first shot, after which they fly away. And if you find a herd in the bushes, you don’t need to destroy it all, let the rest breed and multiply so that you have enough for the next hunt.
Answer
Alex 10/18/2016 at 15:06
You're right. There is no need to be greedy in this matter. When hunting, if we catch 9 pieces between three people, then I consider this not a bad result, after which we can “call it a day.” I once noticed that as autumn approaches, there are more of them, so now is the time to hunt.
Answer
This year I hunted partridges for the first time: I went with a friend and his dog. This is really not a difficult task, especially when the dog is trained to pick up birds. They are easy to shoot - they fly really slowly.
Answer
For me, this hunting is like a sport. Firstly, you walk at least 10 km each time, and secondly, you breathe fresh air. Interested to know who cooks what from partridge? My wife makes pickle out of them. Overall it goes great with vodka.
Answer
- Marat 10/18/2016 at 20:40
The most delicious meat is from female partridges. My wife bakes them in the oven as a whole carcass, stuffing the belly with apples and carrots. By the way, partridge cooks quickly, about an hour.
Answer
No, in our family we don’t prepare first courses from partridges. I don't like the taste. But what a delight - baked partridge with vegetables in portioned pots. The stew with potatoes is also very tasty, even at the holiday table it goes with a bang.
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I was interested in the method of hunting with a kite. How effective is it? Who actually tried it and what was the result? All my life, starting from early childhood, together with my father, I hunted partridges, but they never practiced using a kite.
Answer
Pneumatics for hunting can only be used in the fall, since in winter, at sub-zero temperatures, the pneumatic mechanism does not work stably and you can easily miss the prey.
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It is much more convenient to hunt with a dog, but it still depends on how trained the dog is. Therefore, it is better to train your own. It would be very interesting to try the trap, especially in winter.
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Somehow the point was completely missed that hunting for “cups” (completely incorrectly described, by the way), for “holes” (which for some reason was called “pits” and also incorrectly described), with snares, nooses and with pneumatic guns is poaching , unless there is a special fishing permit. But fishing is no longer hunting.
PS Tasty at the beginning of winter, when the maximum weight has been gained since the fall.
Answer
Hunting partridge with a hunting pneumatic is prohibited, and you can’t hunt anything with a sport rifle at all. The author is either faulty or doesn’t understand anything about hunting and just read too much on the Internet.
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It’s forbidden, it’s forbidden, but what if tomorrow they forbid you to breathe? You can hunt game on your own land by any means IMHO, but a ban on hunting or the purchase of any licenses is unnatural. Who should I pay when hunting in the nearest forest? Why on earth? Marasmus.
Answer
In the first photo the hazel grouse is a male, not a partridge.
Answer
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