Anyone carrying a Byrna?

[vito]

I hear these things constantly being advertised so I went to their website to learn a bit more. At $380 for the lowest priced model it certainly is not saving any money compared to a lower priced firearm. The item looks very gun like, and the "ammo" is pretty damn expensive at $5 a projectile. I would bet that most people buying this item never or rarely have done any practice with it when firing it is $5 a pop. I guess if you are so against inflicting permanent harm or death, even upon someone who is intent on ending your life or well being, then maybe this thing is worthwhile. Or if you cannot legally carry a firearm but still want something better than a knife or club with which to try to defend yourself.

Most of us, I assume, fire at least several hundred rounds from our EDC to reach the point of feeling competent in both the reliability of our gun as well as our ability to use it effectively. I truly cannot imagine anyone firing anywhere near that many projectiles before counting on this "launcher" to protect them from an attacker.

I'm curious to hear from anyone here on the forum who has experience with the Byrna.

 

[blume357]

The safety team at my church has one that I purchased a few months ago.... we tried it out a while back and it will probably stop most attackers that aren't O.Ding on pcp or such.... I guess the advantage is you can technically carry it in places you can't carry a firearm.... on a technical note the first trigger pull is pretty long and heavy. I really need to take it out and shoot it some more... so far no one at my 'fellowship' that is trained on it... there are four of us... has volunteered to carry it.

the one I bought is orange and now I wish I had gotten a standard black one... as for size and feel... think Glock 17.
Here's a picture of the kit:

 

[vito]

I wonder how effective it would be against someone wearing several clothing layers such as during cold weather.

 

[s4s4u]

I just have to at that nonsense

 

[vito]

I just have to at that nonsense

Care to elaborate?

 

[Bullthrower338]

They should come with no sights and all corners rounded really well so when the attacker shoves that thing up your butt it will hurt less! Gonna stick with my real guns.

 

[RC44Mag]

Canada, it figures

 

[crstrode]

Pull a Byrna out to "defend" yourself, and the adversary may kill you dead with a real gun; and they will have a solid self defense argument.

Color it soot-black instead of orange, and there will be zero doubt of innocence.

 

[s4s4u]

Care to elaborate?

Elaborate? Seems pretty damn obvious to me

The item looks very gun like, and the "ammo" is pretty damn expensive at $5 a projectile. I would bet that most people buying this item never or rarely have done any practice with it when firing it is $5 a pop.

Most of us, I assume, fire at least several hundred rounds from our EDC to reach the point of feeling competent in both the reliability of our gun as well as our ability to use it effectively. I truly cannot imagine anyone firing anywhere near that many projectiles before counting on this "launcher" to protect them from an attacker.

 

[Busterswoodshop]

I think they are just like any other " gun gimmick " .
There is always those that will buy them though.

When you point something at someone that looks like a gun , it should be shooting real bullets.
I would never trust this in a real life threatening incident.

 

[gnappi]

The old expression... "Never take a knife to a gun fight" comes to mind

 

[gnappi]

I was in a gun shop once and an older gal came in wanting to buy a stun gun. The owner pulled one off a shelf, pressed the trigger so she could see and hear that it was indeed alive, handed it to her, puffed his chest out to her and said "go ahead hit me with it" You could hear a pin drop... Again he said "go ahead hit me with it" she declined and he asked her if she couldn't do it to a willing subject how could she do it to a burgler?

Well she pushed it in his chest, pulled the actuator and while it was crackling, Bob grabbed her by the throat and shouted "I SUGGEST YOU STOP THAT"!

When she did he put a stainless S&W Chief's mod 60 on the counter and said "Might I suggest this as personal protection"? and she bought it.

 

[irishjack]

One thing all the radio commercials I hear on this gadget don't mention is that Byrna will not ship ship them to NYC, Yonkers or San Francisco. This fact is sort of buried on their website under a tab marked "restrictions". There are also some jurisdictions that ban certain types of the ammo they sell. In short, don't believe everything Sean Hannity and Glen Beck tell you on the radio. These guys are just reading off a script provided by the sponsor. I would be interested in hearing what a real self defense expert like Massad Ayoob has to say about these devices. Vito also makes a good point in that the cost of the rounds would tend to discourage practice.

 

[Sam Summey]

The safety team at my church has one that I purchased a few months ago.... we tried it out a while back and it will probably stop most attackers that aren't O.Ding on pcp or such.... I guess the advantage is you can technically carry it in places you can't carry a firearm.... on a technical note the first trigger pull is pretty long and heavy. I really need to take it out and shoot it some more... so far no one at my 'fellowship' that is trained on it... there are four of us... has volunteered to carry it.

the one I bought is orange and now I wish I had gotten a standard black one... as for size and feel... think Glock 17.
Here's a picture of the kit:

View attachment 79726

Orange is a good color to keep you alive, black could possibly get you killed because it looks too much like a real firearm. Think in terms of LEO show up after a confrontation, you greet the LEO with Byrna in hand, LEO mistakes it for real firearm and caps you.

 

[Jim Walsh]

Toy firearms and objects which resemble firearms get people killed. There are numerous examples easily found with an internet search.

 

[Hvymax]

Care to elaborate?

You pretty much wouldn't get away unchallenged anywhere you couldn't comfortably carry a FULL SIZE gun!!!

 

[Hvymax]

A can of Bear Spray would be more effective!!!

 

[vito]

A can of Bear Spray would be more effective!!!

Might be hard to conceal a bear spray can. And I imagine the range for the Byrna is a bit longer than a can of bear spray. I will still stick to carrying a real firearm.

 

[Busterswoodshop]

One thing all the radio commercials I hear on this gadget don't mention is that Byrna will not ship ship them to NYC, Yonkers or San Francisco. This fact is sort of buried on their website under a tab marked "restrictions". There are also some jurisdictions that ban certain types of the ammo they sell. In short, don't believe everything Sean Hannity and Glen Beck tell you on the radio. These guys are just reading off a script provided by the sponsor. I would be interested in hearing what a real self defense expert like Massad Ayoob has to say about these devices. Vito also makes a good point in that the cost of the rounds would tend to discourage practice.

Hannity and Beck are paid to promote stuff. This is just that , stuff.
Hannity say's he carries both this and a real gun at all times.
How does he decide which one to pull out ?

 

[Hvymax]

It probably conceals as well as Bob's Blackhawk!!!

 

[blume357]

One of the key features that intrigued me about the Byrna was that the CO2 cartridge is not punctured until you take the first shot. From my limited experience with it I would say about 15 maybe 20 ft is the maximum distance you would want to use the pistol.

 

[bowzette]

I will stick with my Glock (four flavors to choose from), hickory walking cane (18 months training thus far) and clinch pick knife (my anti-grappling "tool"). I don't want to be shot for carrying a toy Glock. I've seen the video of the idiot who tried to rob a Mexican Restaurant in Houston a year ago with a toy gun and it didn't work out well for him. Must have newly arrived in Texas from New York.

 

[el caminero]

I will stick with my Glock (four flavors to choose from), hickory walking cane (18 months training thus far) and clinch pick knife (my anti-grappling "tool"). I don't want to be shot for carrying a toy Glock. I've seen the video of the idiot who tried to rob a Mexican Restaurant in Houston a year ago with a toy gun and it didn't work out well for him. Must have newly arrived in Texas from New York.

Sounds iike that idiot was on what he wanted to buy another dose of

 

[Fiddler33]

$5 is so crazy for one round. Isn’t it just a paintball more or less? Can’t imagine the cost being so high, unless they are made in some guys garage by hand. Seems the only people who would buy these are people who abhor real firearms.

 

[Cholo]

They wouldn't even buy it because it looks like a gun, you know the same shape LOL

 

[vito]

As a resident of IL, my concealed carry license is not recognizd in certain states. This might be a "better than a sharp stick" option if visiting one of those states.

 

[Jim Walsh]

Hannity and Beck are paid to promote stuff. This is just that , stuff.
Hannity say's he carries both this and a real gun at all times.
How does he decide which one to pull out ?

Hannity has a body guard (or two, or three) so if he, in fact, carries a concealed weapon it wouldn’t be his first line of defense. He is wealthy and controversial which attracts the dregs of society.

 

[The.Tumbleweed]

I think they are just like any other " gun gimmick " .
There is always those that will buy them though.

When you point something at someone that looks like a gun , it should be shooting real bullets.
I would never trust this in a real life threatening incident.

I'd rather pull the pin on a big can of bear spray. They know it won't kill them, but they darned sure aren't wanting to get hit with it.

 

[The.Tumbleweed]

I was in a gun shop once and an older gal came in wanting to buy a stun gun. The owner pulled one off a shelf, pressed the trigger so she could see and hear that it was indeed alive, handed it to her, puffed his chest out to her and said "go ahead hit me with it" You could hear a pin drop... Again he said "go ahead hit me with it" she declined and he asked her if she couldn't do it to a willing subject how could she do it to a burgler?

Well she pushed it in his chest, pulled the actuator and while it was crackling, Bob grabbed her by the throat and shouted "I SUGGEST YOU STOP THAT"!

When she did he put a stainless S&W Chief's mod 60 on the counter and said "Might I suggest this as personal protection"? and she bought it.

I used to do a similar thing for people that thought their stun guns were the cat's ass. They were always floored that I was able to just take it, and keep going, instead of dancing the frug on the ceiling.
I also *used* to be fairly tolerant of mace, and tear gas. That too, went by the wayside as I got older.
Still, it helped people make up their minds whether or not to carry.

 

[The.Tumbleweed]

As a resident of IL, my concealed carry license is not recognizd in certain states. This might be a "better than a sharp stick" option if visiting one of those states.

I think I'll keep my cane with me in places I can't take my gun. A sharp poke in the throat with the handle, or the walking end, hard to the gut to take a bit of wind from their sails.
That hickory can take a lot of abuse before it gives up the ghost.