You said they were attracted by the carcass, and no they wouldn't be Hungarian Partridge (at least severely unlikely), that would be more than a bit odd. Forgive those of us who chuckle, we are glad to see you out, the tone is just curious as most of this is so familiar to many here it's amusing remembering there's people in the city who still don't know what a raven is or what their call sounds like, it's unmistakable. The post struck me very much as an "Into the Wild" take on this, but it's just a good day bush, not even deep bush or wild, walking after small game. The wonder in your tone, and adventure in simple things is something I see in kids, and I suppose that's a good thing.
I would suspect the little grey bird wasn't partridge, but likely a Whiskey Jack as another suggested, not a game bird for most. Also, body shooting a bird is not by any means a reason to toss it to rott. I was perplexed by that move and wonder where on earth you learned that. If we all subscribed to that, we'd be throwing away almost half the ducks shot in Canada. All it requires is just that you know what you're doing when cleaning. But, you're learning, hopefully you stay open to constructive criticism.
Better do some homework on what species are out there, and you'll learn quickly, your HP9 leaves a lot to be desired. Also, you don't need to drop one gun, quickly mount the other and drop to a knee to tactical scan in the bush when you hear a noise. It happens a lot. Some of us work in the bush, and we wouldn't get anything done if we spun around and armed ourselves at every crunch and crash. We can tell you haven't been out much, good on you for getting out, but do a little more homework on species and lighten up; it's just the real world out there. But I can't rag on you too much, I get twitchy when I have to go to the city.
