Francesco Pusterla is one of those young menwhose invitations are hard to refuse, a passionate hunter and dog handler who stands for the future of this ancient tradition of hunting with bird dogs. When we arrive in Val Borbera in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy,at the end of November. A thick fog envelops us at dusk as we make preparations for the next day's hunt by the flickering fire of the fireplace. We will spend two days hunting, with our dogs — specifically, pointing dogs — searching for woodcock, among other species. However, our host assures us that we will definitely have a good chance of coming across pheasants, grey partridges or red-legged partridges in the hills of his hunting ground. The latter belong to the pheasant family and can be found not only in the Iberian Peninsula but also in the high altitudes of southern France and in northern Italy. We are in an area that consists of fairly rugged, wooded hills interspersed with meadows and pastures. It usually gets quite cold at night and the temperatures sometimes drop a few degrees below freezing, while during the day it is usually just warm enough to make the extensive paths through the terrain more pleasant for us and, above all, less strenuous for the dogs. In addition to the dogs of our young hunting master Pusterla, who breeds and trains Epagneul Breton and English Pointers, my English Setters were also given a chance. We used the different breeds alternately in order to get a better idea of the different working methods and their different levels of training and thus ultimately to be able to use them in a more targeted manner.
Baschieri & Pellagri has several types of shotgun shells in its range for hunting game birds
For the hunt, I had various types of cartridges from Baschieri & Pellagri with me, including tried-and-tested ones such as the B&P Mygra Beccaccia and Privilege, but also the increasingly popular B&P One Steel due to the current EU lead ban policy. We used two different guns and calibers: the host carried a 12-gauge shotgun from Benelli's 828 U series and I carried a 20-gauge from F.A.I.R. As I usually do on such occasions, I also gave Francesco Pusterla some Baschieri & Pellagri cartridges so that he could try them out and then give his opinion on their performance — but more on that later.
This trip was an opportunity for us to confirm the positive impression of the Baschieri cartridges we had already used during the hunting season. The Privilege line in 12 and 20 gauge proved to be a guarantee of consistent performance, as the same cartridge I used to hunt wood pigeons and pheasants at the beginning of the autumn in fairly mild temperatures also delivered reliable hits at medium and long range on pheasants and red grouse that we shot in the ice-covered countryside in temperatures as low as -4°C. These cartridges, loaded with Gordon hulls and bio-degradable Green Core wad, maintain a high residual velocity, which translates into a powerful impact energy on the game and guarantees an immediate and safe kill. The Privilege line is available with 30-, 32- and 34-gram lead shot loads as well as 28- and 32-gram steel shot loads and fulfils the requirements of hunters who hunt stationary game and medium-sized game birds such as ducks and geese in general in various scenarios. The cartridges available in shot sizes from number 6 to number 3 are also suitable for use on smaller game.
The day's hunting began in the forest and after hours of searching, opportunities to succeed in the densest woodcock habitats proved to be extremely scarce. The dogs indicated on some pastureland that a few passing animals must have been here before the night frost arrived, but we only managed to catch sight of one very elusive woodcock, which then twice moved far away from the dog in front without giving us the chance to take a shot. Clearly, the ice that had formed overnight had significantly contributed to the fact that the woodcocks our host had seen in the preceding days were now elsewhere.
Undeterred, and trusting in the presence of some resident birds, we began to explore the open areas and meadows near the woods. Fortunately, the opportunities were not long in coming, as the dogs managed to track down red grouse and pheasant on the top of a hill and at the edge of some ditches. Whereupon our sure hits alternated with the dogs quickly retrieving the shot game birds. At the end of our trip, we were satisfied with the hunt — this was mainly due to the good field work of the dogs, but also to the beauty of this landscape with the different game species found in it, even if the hunter has to put up with long and tiring marches here in order to be able to shoot comparatively little game.
Baschieri & Pellagri Privilege and One Steel cartridges
The One Steel line was launched on the market in 2024 to give hunters the opportunity to use a high-performance cartridge with a good price-performance ratio that is available in various common shot sizes in areas where lead shot is no longer permitted under EU regulations. This cartridge is available in a variety of common shot sizes and is compatible with both steel-shot proofed shotguns and conventional shotguns that can accept steel shot up to a certain size. There are five different loads in the Baschieri & Pellagri One Steel cartridge line, but in this case our host used the cartridge with 28 grams and shot number 7. However, the available shot numbers range from 9.5 to 5, indicating the cartridge's broad applicability to small and medium-sized game.
During our hunting days, we achieved positive results with this ammunition when hunting with pointing dogs for both pheasants and partridges. The cartridges stood out not only for their terminal ballistics, i.e. their stopping power and kill effect, but also for their softness on the shoulder and low muzzle rise when fired, which is important for hunters who use light guns and short barrels for hunting in woods and fields.
Further information on the cartridges presented here and other types from the manufacturer can also be found on the Baschieri & Pellagri homepage.
