The guns (what shooters are called in the UK) are on their allotted pegs, shotguns at the ready. Their loaders are at the sides, clasping the number two gun of their pair. Below the side of the steep valley clothed in fern, bracken, and tall Scotch pine, a palpable sense of anticipation runs along the line of guns as they hear the approach of the beaters. They stiffen as one when that first call of “Over” is shouted by the shoot captain. . . .– Chris Batha

Such is the height and speed when a pheasant as it hit, folds, and falls to the ground.  In “Driven to Perfection,” author Chris Batha takes his annual trip to Bettws Hall in the Welsh Borders, famous for some of the finest driven pheasant and partridge shooting in the United Kingdom.

The full feature “Driven to Perfection” is published in the December-January 2016 issue.

Photo by: Jonathan McGee