Alarm gun

Alarm guns are usually replicas of real pistols and revolvers which, unlike real firearms, do not fire projectiles but various types of irritant gas and cartridge ammunition. They have a so-called "gas barrel" with locks or equivalent devices that prevent projectiles from being fired.

Alarm guns can also fire pyrotechnic ammunition. This includes, for example, flare signals or so-called bird scare cartridges (signal cartridges with a flash-bang set, which require an ammunition purchase license in Germany and are therefore not freely available for sale).

Functional principle

Scare ammunition produces a very loud bang. When irritant gas ammunition is fired, gas shoots out of the barrel with a bang, which is intended to stop the attacker in a similar way to a pepper spray. A distinction is made between CN (chloroacetophenone), CS (chlorobenzylidene malodinitrile) and pepper irritant gas cartridges (nonivamide), a synthetic counterpart to the natural oleoresin capsicum used in pepper spray. The range and mode of action depend on the caliber and cartridge filling.

All alarm guns have a so-called barrel lock, which is intended to create the necessary back pressure for the movement of the breech in self-loaders. This lock is also intended to prevent bullets from being "preloaded" and live cartridges from being fired from these weapons. As a rule, alarm firearms are largely made of die-cast zinc and often have a break point that makes it almost impossible to illegally convert these weapons to fire live ammunition.

Firing cartridges at close range at people can cause serious injuries. The pressure created when firing is so high that a shot placed on the head, for example, can have fatal consequences.

Caliber

The following calibers are or were commonly used for blank-firing pistols and revolvers:

• .22 long bang (No more weapons are produced in this caliber, except for the Röhm RG 600).
• .315 bang
• .320 short bang
• .35 short bang (No more weapons are produced in this caliber.)
• .45 short bang (No more weapons are produced in this caliber.)
• 2 mm Berloque
• 6 mm Flobert Knall (unsuitable for self-defense, although also available as an irritant cartridge)
• 8 mm Knall (weapons with this caliber are no longer approved in Germany)
• 9 mm P.A.Knall (color coding: green = bang, yellow = irritant gas, red/brown = pepper)
• 9 mm R Bang (.380 R)

Legal situation

In Germany, legal alarm guns can be identified by the test seal of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and the calibre stamped on the breech. Alarm weapons without the PTB seal are considered to be live firearms and therefore require a permit; their unauthorized possession is punishable by law. Since April 1, 2003, a small firearms license has been required to carry alarm weapons outside of one's own home, business premises or pacified property. However, the mere possession, acquisition and transportation of these weapons is permitted from the age of 18. Shooting with a blank-firing pistol is only permitted on pacified property if no noise nuisance is caused, despite the existence of a small firearms license. PTB pistols and revolvers are subject to the German Weapons Act. In general, shooting always requires a permit. However, there are exceptions:

Exceptions according to § 12 para. 4 WaffG-neu:

(a) self-defense, state of emergency

b) with signal weapons during emergency and rescue exercises

c) with firearms from which only cartridge ammunition can be fired

(1) by participants in theatrical performances and performances to be treated as such,

(2) to drive away birds on farms

d) on pacified property - with the permission of the holder of domestic authority - with firearms from which only cartridge ammunition can be fired,

e) with alarm or signal weapons to give the start or end signal on behalf of the organizer at sporting events, if optical or acoustic signaling is required.

The widespread shooting on New Year's Eve is no different from other situations. It is only permitted on your own pacified property or on another property with the permission of the holder of the domestic authority (see above). However, the pyrotechnic ammunition often used may not leave the property. However, transportation to the firing location is not subject to permission, provided that the weapon is transported in a locked condition when not ready to fire.

According to the prevailing opinion, agricultural operations within the meaning of Section 12 Para. 4 lit. c No. 2 WaffG also include the fields and meadows belonging to the operations, as there will generally be a need to drive away birds here in particular. According to a decision by the public prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe in 2012, shooting is also permitted in these cases if, in addition to birds, other animals are to be driven away at the same time, for example if a farmer shoots a scare gun in his field to drive away hares and pheasants. Shooting, on the other hand, would not be permitted if in an individual case only hares (and not pheasants at the same time) were to be driven away.

Source: Wikipedia