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xvigauge

Hungarian Partridge Skins

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Just wondering if there is a current shortage of Hungarian partridge full skins? Our local fly shop has been out of them for seven months. They said their suppliers are out of them. I have found some on line but they are priced almost twice what our local shop sells them for when they have them. If our local shop still can't get them after a few weeks, I'll just go ahead, bite the bullet, and order a more expensive one. I think one full skin will last me the rest of my life anyway.

Joe

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Local Cabela's/Bass Pro had one a couple days ago~40$ iirc.Saw a couple on ebay; but if you are finding online dealers back-ordered, then there is a shortage right now.

If you are finding just a big price difference, it is possible that your local shop either has a local supply or had that skin a long time?

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Bobmarriotts has halves for $17, wholes for $33. Their phone service can be decent sometimes.

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Thanks for all the responses guys. Our local fly shop also sells little packets of loose part. feathers. These are fine except that there are a lot of junk feathers in the packets that are totally unusable. I will make a decision pretty soon.

Joe

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xv buy a skin as it's a bird worth having and you will have a use for it for as long as you tie. The packaged feather are mostly junk as you know and are time thiefs as you have to spend a lot of time going through useless feathers to find one that work. You might want to goggle a rod & gun club in your area and if you have one stop by . Hunter's season is now open and these guys are a good source for local feathers. Give it a try. I was given 4 drakes wood duck skins this fall.

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In East Europe ( Hungary, Romania and other countries ) the partridge is protected . The price for one skin can be 60-70usd so at 30-40usd is a bargain!. Buy it at this price!

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Whenever I get packaged feathers, I take them all out and sort through them. Small baggies can be used to separate sizes and quality. The trash feathers get their barbules cut from the stem and put in the dubbing bin. You can mix it with squirrel, rabbit, CDC, etc.

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...Also, you don't need to use Hungarian Partridge. Ruffed Grouse, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Bob White Quail, Asian Partridge, hen pheasant (Ring Neck) all work about as well. The patterning is a bit different, but wound on a hook has similar effect. Don't get hung up on using a specific material, as there are many substitutes.

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Many of those less than perfect grouse (and others) feathers can be used as beard or DeFeo style wet hackle; the stems can be tails on nymphs.

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I don't know about the shortage, but when it's time to refill my supply, I call the local bird preserve for upland birds. These areas are all around, and many have partridges. Other common birds they have to hunt are quail, chukars, and pheasants. Involves a little dirty work on your end, but the prices tend to reasonable. Just another option...

 

Tim

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