|
Talk of training always brings up the subject of making a bang or two for a young Gundog. At some point in the training of a young dog, it will have to be introduced to gunfire. About the neatest and most convenient way of doing that is to have one of the small, pocket-sized training pistols. The three shown here have a timespan of around 40 years but the design has stood the test of time. In descending order is the latest dog'n'field German made pistol which is just about the smallest and lightest of the three, albeit with little difference overall. It has a safety catch and a 'no-fire' magazine ejection lever which also incorporates a rod to push out any tight fired blank cases from the magazine. Very neat and can fit very easily in your pocket. Quality made from a basic casting and machined to finish. Small plastic grips complete a very nice little pistol. All three are of special good safe training design, with the gas vented through a small hole in the top, so they cannot be confused or used for anything else except making a noise. |
Dog'n'field has recently serviced a Pistol of this make, that is 25 years old, for Flintwood Gundogs. All it needed was a good clean and oiling, and the removal of small feathers and dirt that had accumulated over the last 25 years, from being in a professional's 'training Game bag' for all that time. It is a BMW of training Pistols.
|
|
The next one down is quite an old Czech made pistol which has seen a lot of service with me. It is the heaviest out of the three and has pressed metal grips. It is made from a heavy steel casting as the basis and machined to finish with good quality of internal components and springs. It has a small round window with numerical indication of the number of fired shots and a small rod on the rear magazine trapdoor to eject any tight fired blanks. It has no means of ejecting the magazine if all shots have not been fired so any rounds will have to stay in the magazine until next required. The final pistol is the real gem of the three. It was made in England by Webley and is to the highest quality of their firearms manufacture. It is the biggest of the three although still very much pocket sized. The split/onepiece grips are of a full design and also incorporate a small thumb rest. The rod for any tight fired blank is neatly incorporated into the front of the trigger guard with an integral locking button after the rod is swung out forward. A beautiful little old English made tool for training. |
by Dave Watts - Nortonhill Gundogs