Gun Dog Forum

what is the best to get also what are the prices?

New England Firearms is the best blank pistol to get IMO. Lion Country has them for $150.

You can find blank guns from $20 to $200. I use one that shoots 209 primers, They seem to be the cheapest to buy and are loud. I got mine from Lion Country for about $70 at the time. I also have a cheapo that shoots 22 crimps, I use it for pups at first and I think I only paid $20 for it. 22 crimps are getting to be high priced IMO. If I had to go with one gun overall I would get one that shoots 209 primers.

Chad

Check the hunt test regs to make sure what kind of blanks you are allowed to shoot. I believe that .22 crimps are not allowed, but .22 or .32 blanks are allowed. I'm not sure about 209 primers.

Karen is right that the NEF is the best. But do you need the "best"? How many hunt tests per year do you think you'll be doing? How many dogs? Something as inexpensive as a $20 starter pistol might do the trick.

The NEF or the ALFA guns are what I'd look into, you are talking $150 to $170 for them, respectively. If they are beyond your budget, the $70 209 primer gun has worked OK for me. It doesn't look like it would hold up to heavy use though. I've had mine drop out of my holster a couple of times and been lucky to find it both times--if I had to do it again, an ALFA with the blaze orange handle and ring for a lanyard would be what I'd get. I don't know if they've fixed it, but those NEF's used to lose the removable pins awfully easily and good luck finding one of them in the long grass!

To keep from losing your gun, just take some nylon cord or a long bootlace and tie it together through the trigger gaurd or some guns have a eyelet at the base of the handle. Then run the loop through your belt loop or somthing on your vest and then place the gun through the loop and pull it tight. You will never lose your gun that way, if it falls it's still hooked to you. Comes in handy when training also, if you need both hands you can just let it hang from you waist.

Chad

Traditons 209 is also a great gun. nice wieght. and affordable at $70

My experience with cheap guns was not good got that $25 on from lions country in the fall it broke this spring and was used only a little. Broke at my HT 2 weeks ago. Luckily someone I knew in my NAVHDA club was there and lent me his NEF and I used it the past 2 JH Legs. I ordered the NEF from lcsupply. com waiting to receive it. What a nicer gun. I did consider the $70 ones. But for me, I'll use the NEF all summer so I bought the best one. Looked at the alpha but 9 shots in the .22 NEF seemed nicer less often to reload.


Joe

I'm a great fan of the .22 NEF, but it's one weakness is a too-light cylinder pin release button spring that may, if bumped, let the pin and cylinder fall out and be lost. So I'd suggest anyone purchasing the .22 NEF also get the "pistol pin protector" shown on this page: http://search.store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/n ... submit.y=8

Given that inexpensive addition, and the lanyard others have mentioned, your great grand children should be able to train with it, too.