Firing pistols fall under section 19 of the Firearms Act 1968. The British Association for Shooting & Conservation known as the BASC have lots of very useful information on the safe and legal use of starting pistols We defiantly recommend reading this before buying or using a firing pistol. You will need to be very careful about when and where you can use the starting pistol. You should have permission to use it on private land and I would recommend you get that in writing. I would not advise you to use a starting pistol in a public place. You are likely to attract the wrong attention and could earn yourself a visit from the police. As it might be that a concerned member of the public has called it in. possible panicking unnecessary. We have attached a useful link to the BASC website to help you find the document. www.basc.org.uk

There are a number of Starting Pistols available on the market. We use three different types at Seadogs Training for experienced dogs and when we are teaching group classes at our Training Centre in Suffolk. We use the BRUNI P4 Magazine 10 shot Blank Firing Pistol. Please note that this produces a louder noise than other blank firing pistols and I would not recommend this for Novice dogs and those that you are introducing to shots. Its semi Automatic which is brilliant when expecting dog to drop to shot only as there is no warning noise of clicks before the bang. It takes 8 mm blanks and cost around £15.00 for 50 blanks. The pistol itself would cost around £100. Another option would be the BRUNI .22 Blank Starting Pistol 8 shot Revolver style Pistol which is approximately £30. We tend to use the .22 short blanks in training novice dogs. And while this is not a loud as the P4 we would still recommend wearing ear protection. The third option and my Starting pistol of choice would be the ROHM German made magazine capable of 6 shot semi automatic that advances each shot quickly is approximately £70. We have a few spare magazines for teaching group classes. All the firing pistols we have recommended comply too the latest Firearms Regulations. Please note – to purchase, own or operate a blank firing pistol you are required by law to be 18 years old or over.  If you have a black pistol this will need to be painted orange before you venture out with it for training. Otherwise it would be illegal. 

PPE – Personal Protective Equipment we strongly recommend that if you are using blank firing pistols or in range of someone else using one you should wear ear defenders and if you’re the one using it you should wear both ear defenders as well as safety glasses.

Just because we have introduced the dog to a firing pistol, it doesn’t mean the dog will cope with the shots form a shot gun. I would recommend some distance training between the dog and the shotgun being fired. This would be covered in more advanced training.