Less Lethal: Umarex P2P

I don't rightly recall how I stumbled across the advertisement for the Byrna SD kinetic launcher. I do know that I was pretty intrigued. I got out of whatever social media sit that had captured me in the doom scroll and went web surfing. My first impression was," I would like to try that out."

My second impression was," I have paid less for an actual gun." I tend to be a bargain hunter in the firearms market. I look for sales, manufacturer's rebates, and great deals. I waited eighteen months for the right buy on my AR-15. I had already stocked up ammo from sales knowing that I would want plenty of .556 (and .223 Remington) on hand when I got my rifle. I even had a few magazines standing by. 

The great thing about the personal protection industry comes in the form of innovation. Some great ideas catch on like unchoked short barrel home defense shot guns. Some take longer such as shorty shells for the 12 gauge (measuring at 1 3/4 inches long rather than traditional 2 3/4 inch shells) allowing a higher capacity of shots without any barrel modifications. Granted for some models you will need to introduce a device to assist with proper feeding. 

When I was a teenager telescopic batons seemed to be very popular. They were everywhere around Knoxville Tennessee even showing up on the shelves of Walmart. I experimented with a few of them. Turns out that with any use at all those batons (or at least the ones I carried) warped and then refused to collapse. 

Pepper spray has never been something I was all that keen to carry. There was a trend in my high school of idiots setting off mace and pepper spray in the hallways right before classes changed. I have unwittingly walked face first into more than a few clouds of pepper spray. It was unpleasant, but it never put me on the ground. I thankfully have never been on the receiving end of a spray to the face during any type of confrontation. It might change my view on the effectiveness of pepper spray. 

Which is why I was a little skeptical of the Byrna SD to begin with. I fork out $400-$500 for a CO2 cartridge pistol that fires pepper spray balls? Hmm. I am not so sure about that. Something about the idea stuck in my head though. 

I kept trying to think about my own personal applications for such a weapon. At the house it would be nice to be able to have a weapon at the ready that won't kill anyone. I would worry a lot less about having it in a drawer or even on the nightstand. Then I got to thinking about the training that comes with a firearm carry permit. 

Legally speaking, you should only draw and fire your weapon in defense of your own life or the lives of other in a situation where you fear loss of life is imminent. That essentially means that if I react to someone trying to take my car or wallet off of me by emptying the clip of my conceal carry then it is likely I can be charged with a crime and/or have to deal with civil suits. That has never set right with me, but I do understand that it is the law of the land. Don't take my word on it. Do your own research about this because I am no sort of expert or official on such things. I just took a bit of training. 

In other words, if someone jumps me with the intent of taking my stuff but not to kill me then I shouldn't be responding with lethal force. I am an above average shot on the range, but I couldn't tell you that I could intentionally not kill someone if I am aiming center mass. There is a lot of stuff in there that doesn't do well with a hole or holes in it. I also tend to target shoot for head shots (mostly because it is more difficult than hitting a torso) and I fear that my reaction might be to put a hollow point through someone's nose. 

All of that makes excellent argument that I don't ever want to pull my firearm on another human. Genuinely, I hope it never happens. I hate hurting anyone. The argument for a "kinetic launcher" is basically shooting someone with a much less likely chance of killing them or doing permanent harm. That is pretty darn cool, actually. 

Now, let's be 100% honest here. I am a weapon enthusiast. I like guns, knives, swords, clubs, whips, and most any other kind of weapon. I have enjoyed weapons since I was a little boy and likely always will. I have been a collector in the past. Thankfully I got out of that habit. I still have guns, knives, axes, swords, and clubs. I just don't add to them as a collector. It was very likely the moment I saw a "kinetic launcher," I was going to be into it. 

Then I stopped thinking about me. I have several women in my life that I care about. In what is probably a chauvinist point of view, I tend to up arm my daughters and former wives. I hand out pepper spray, self defense keychains, flash lights, and knives from time to time. I would furnish guns and bullets regularly if everyone was a skilled marksman and licensed to carry. Whitneigh once terrified me by target shooting and closing both eyes each time she pulled the trigger. She requires more uptraining before she goes armed. 

Which may be a good argument for a pepper ball gun like the Byrna. It is shaped like a gun which has tremendous psychological impact on a potential attacker. I want the creep following one of my girls through a parking lot to have an," Oh shit, she has a gun," moment that sends him scurrying off in search of softer prey. It also makes noise like a gun. From the videos I have seen and the experience I am about to relate I think it is entirely possible that someone hit with a nylon or rubber ball from a kinetic launcher might believe they have been shot and retreat. Oh, and you can load them with ammo which contains a pepper spray like chemical. Shoot me in the face and then I am coughing and hacking? Yeah. I am probably going to leave you alone. 

Which comes back to my use. Some dipshit decides that he really wants my ten year old hatchback? If I am carrying a kinetic launcher then I can safely influence him to back the hell up off me without worrying about leaving his brains on the concrete. That should allow me time to get out of the car (assuming I am inside) and use all the five knuckle persuasion needed to subdue my imaginary attacker. Oh, and if he decides to whip out a pistol of his own? Well, now I am in fear for my life and can safely and likely legally (do not take my word for this) cause severe lead poisoning. 

I can just imagine that conversation," But officer, why are you handcuffing me? I shot him with six rounds of pepper spray before he pulled his pistol. The eighteen rounds of 9mm were legit at that point." Yeah. It probably wouldn't work out well for me. Still, I can argue that I tried to play nice first. 

Anyway, that is all hypothetical bullshit. I hope I never have any cause, nor does any of the people I care about have any cause to have to defend themselves. God knows I abhor violence. The only thing I hate more is having it show up in my life and catch me unprepared to respond. 

I didn't fork out the near $500 for a Byrna as of yet. I did do some online research. There are a few makers of pepper guns of varying quality. I saw a $300ish option from Sabre. I found a $100 option from Lancer. Eventually I stumbled across Umarex with a pair of $100 price range options that looked worth trying out. 

The kit I bought on Amazon was for the Umarex P2P HDP 50.  It is a CO2 cartridge pistol which fires .50 caliber balls of rubber, nylon, paint, powder, or pepper. The kit does not come with CO2. It also only comes with 10 rubber rounds and 10 pepper rounds. I stocked up on extra nylon shot and a twelve pack of CO2 cartridges in the interest of practice. 

This thing feels like a gun as soon as you open it. It has nice neon sights which I might be incorrect to call fiber optic. It has a trigger based safety similar to a Glock or other striker based pistol. My Taurus GX4 trigger is much nicer but uses that same safety. 

The ammo is loaded into a hole in the bottom face of the "slide" in front of the trigger guard. A spring holds tension on the up to six rounds. Call me paranoid but my first and last load would likely be rubber or nylon to prevent a pepper round from bursting in the onboard storage. Honestly, if I were carrying this with the intention of defending myself I would load 2 rounds of hard shot, 3 rounds of pepper ball, and the last round hard. I would rather leave a bruise on a person than hit them with a chemical. I also feel like if they are still after me after being shot twice they have earned a face full of chemicals. 

Fully loaded with six nylon shots and a fresh, unpunctured CO2 cartridge the Umarex weighs in at a little over a pound and a half. That gives it a couple of nice features. It doesn't feel like a toy or Nerf Gun. It also also weighty if you stash it in a purse, pocket, or holster. You aren't going to forget that it is there. 

In comparison my every day carry pistols are shown above. My Taurus GX4 fully loaded with eleven 9mm shells in the magazine weighs in lighter than the Umarex at 1 pound 7.1 ounces. I think that is a bragging point of my subcompact more than it is any reflection on the Umarex. My full size Taurus TH9 weighed in at two pounds three point five ounces and is similar in size to the Umarex. 

Firing the Umarex was a surprise. It sounds off a bit louder than a pellet gun. I wouldn't mistake it for a .22LR due to familiarity, but others might. I practice shooting quite a lot with a .22LR and know it is wise to wear ear protection. I didn't feel it was needed with the Umarex. 

The kinetic launcher is accurate to between thirty and forty feet depending on the amount of CO2 left in your cartridge. I fired about 40 shots on a single cartridge which allowed me to sight in the pistol well. I learned a few things during this time. First, you aren't going to reload this pistol if you are being attacked. While you can get off dozens of shots on a single CO2 cartridge, the dexterity required to load balls into the "slide" is too much for me to do under pressure. I don't consider this a bad thing. To me, the Umarex is meant only as a first line of defense. I would rather start punching at that point rather than try to ping someone with more nylon balls. 

Second, the little gun is powerful for what it is. It will knock the bark off a healthy tree and leave an indentation beneath. I need to build a cardboard and foam target to make comparisons, but my initial impression is that a shot from the Umarex is going to sting significantly enough that an attacker may believe they have been shot. I'd say it could easily put out an eye or maybe even chip teeth. I know I am not trying to get shot in the face with one. 

Finally, I want some .50 caliber paintballs to really practice with. Being able to mark a target is good. I am a nature lover and didn't want to continue firing at a live tree and doing damage. I practice shoot into heavy steel targets. While the Umarex rounds made a nice ting when they struck my eyes weren't good enough to judge my accuracy beyond I could hit the target every time right out of the box. I want to know if my grouping is a dime, quarter, coffee cup, or broad side of a barn. 

Really, what I want to do now is get the Umarex in the hands of the family. It could make a nice training pistol for Teagan with supervision. I might get Whitneigh to understand the true mechanics of shooting if she isn't afraid of it. I am also excited to get feedback from Taila and Ashley who are both more comfortable with firearms. 

Tentatively, I plan to keep trying out some of these kinetic launchers. I may even make a few YouTube videos partly because I think they would be entertaining and partly because I want to make more people aware that these are out there. I think trying out the compact Umarex, the Sabre, and the Byrna are all in the cards for 2023. That gives me plenty of kinetic launchers to gift after I play with them.