Byrna vs. Umarex Pepper Launchers Review and Comparison

I purchased three pepper launchers (tear gas air pistols) for my adult children. I did a complete review of setup, loading, CO2 charging, and firing both the Byrna ($300) and the Umarex ($79) pepper launchers.
I shot both pistols into a homemade cardboard trap and homemade "ballistic Jell-o" (just for kicks) to compare the penetrating power of each.

[@k.nightravenm298]

DO NOT under ANY circumstance load a Byrna with a 5 + 1 ratio (Or if you have a 7 round Magazine, DO NOT use a 7 + 1 Ratio). It may cause your Byrna to Jam. Byrna's are designed to use the magazines rounds ONLY. No extra rounds. If you load a Byrna with an extra round other than what's held in the magazine, You Are Asking for a FAILURE to happen. NEVER overload a Byrna. Not a good idea. You could be SORRY for doing that.

[@cvisconti4568]

Exactly

[@Maybaby1959]

Your right

[@theredstormer8078]

Okay I think I UNDERSTAND what You're SAYING

[@cjr1971]

That makes a lot of sense with these u can’t treat it like a firearm in that regard Is it 8 or 12 Gm co2

[@leninmercedes6567]

Facts

[@nunoguerreirojosue1661]

It's important to note that the Byrna doesn't pierce the CO2 until its fired, or until you press the trigger with the safety on. If the CO2 is not pierced, your first shot will always have 1/2 of the full strength, if you had shot the Byrna again you would have seen it shoo full force.

[@MWS67]

If you pierce it on safe, the first shot will be full power.

[@zion-jabezrobello7853]

​@@MWS67he didn't do that

[@MWS67]

@@zion-jabezrobello7853 He said our first shot will always be half power. I was pointing out that that statement was incorrect.

[@robbrowning5640]

😂😅😂 ballistic "jello" both these "guns" are Weak AF

[@MWS67]

@@robbrowning5640 They are made to shoot pepper balls, not to punch holes in people. The pepper does the work, not kinetic energy.

[@jcash49]

Thanks for the in depth review. I see some of the comments from people with only a TikTok attention span. Just want you to know some of us still have the brain capacity to handle content beyond 30 seconds.

[@Jammaster1972]

I love the Byrna. Bought the black one a few years ago. Take it with me on car trips and it rests every night in a drawer next to my bed. I figured the all black could masquerade as a real gun if I needed to make the pretense. I can always add bright yellow or orange decals if the situation required it.

[@glennsammon4465]

$279? you got a good deal. mine was more like 379, but I can't complain. I ordered 2 and got 3. plus they even sent me 7 shot mags for free. the Umarex is nice BUT mine had the magazine spring hang up and failed to feed. my Byrna has detachable mags and never had an issue. I can load knetic rounds for indoor use then just switching magazines I can load pepper balls in it when I go out side. plus I can ready it to fire with one hand. just love them. my Umarex is now taken out of service and replaced with Mercury Rise MUB 50s. CO2s are CO2s ANY 12 gram CO2 will work the same in any gun made to use them . there is NO difference. 8 gram CO2s are the seltzer bottle CO2s and can be bought anywhere. like EBAY or Walmart. but I do confess I do by mine from Byrna since one in every pack has oil in it. I will look on Pyramid Air to see if they sell them with oil in them like the 12 gram ones.get the BYRNA magazine guard. Byrna says you can puncture the CO2 by putting the safety on. it says so in the manual.

[@floweringplumb4678]

Thank you very helpful video for a newbie to the world of firearms and specifically the CO2 Launcher/Pistol.

[@BuildBreakFix]

Once I saw the barrel directly in your face 3 times I moved on😂

[@bionicbob1285]

How do you know its pointed at his face and not the camera? you never see his face.

[@vinmat3558]

Thanks for the thorough review.

[@krr91766]

Be careful. You switched the safety off with the Byrna pointed in your direction.

[@PoppaMikeMusic]

Saved me $250

[@siraujus101]

Thanks for the in depth comparison and the jello test

[@greywolfoutdoorshomestead9962]

The byrna has a add on mod to use the larger co2 cylinder

[@jcm3732]

For an extra 40$ and it looks cheap af.

[@choule90]

​@@jcm3732it's 80$ without Black Friday and course it looks cheap and makes it so you can't use the kydex sheaths 😂😂 so I said fuck it I'm getting the LE with a holster and mag holder for a real gun... Get creative and stay thoughtful cause this shit ain't cheap 😂😂

[@bradwood2633]

That was a great video. Thanks for the time and effort that you put into it.

[@JOHN-dashshund]

Great video .i just bought one and learn alot. If you put a piece of paper or a paper towel over your the container jello and tape it when you shoot it should stop a big mess. Thanks for the video.

[@cvisconti4568]

They do not suggest to put six rounds in the chamber… Could jam the gun

[@danofiremano]

Magazine, not clip. If you want anyone to take you seriously, please know the difference. A clip is a strip that holds rifle rounds from tumbling around in a box & is not something you insert into your firearm or ball launcher. There are no clips that I know of that hold Byrna rounds from rolling around in a canister.

[@sabbathkeeper328]

In a way, this is not really a fair comparison.The byrna 68 cal ,umarex 50 cal ..no fair comparison.The 😵‍💫

[@greywolfoutdoorshomestead9962]

Great video. But its a magazine not a clip.

[@eggcleaver916]

You are correct. I mess it up all the time. I do know the difference but I feel like I saw it the wrong way in movies and it stuck. Everyone seems to know what I meant to say. Thanks.

[@commiesnzombies]

clipazine

[@choule90]

It's funny how he caught himself at the beginning of the video then crashed and burned every other time.. nothing like gun humor

[@choule90]

Umarex seems to be trusted with the byrna by a couple other bigger KZbinrs.. you cant mix all CO2 with a byrna more so oil CO2 because byrna uses a natural lubricant.. everything else seems to be petroleum

[@julieoliver8170]

My umurex shoots at 550 to 600 fps. Only gets six shots but hit like a brick. Three steel then last three pepper. Dump it and run.

[@johnnybrownjr7214]

Where did you get that

[@DanaCrosby]

Awesome review

[@bkmeahan]

The Byrna comes in an orange also. Personally I like that as it makes it obvious to any LEO and if some assailant wants to think it is a toy gun and not be intimidated, he is in for a rude surprise.

[@JayJone5169]

1 gram rubber balls coming out at 360 average 6 joules vrs 260 300fps 3.0 gram is like starting 10 joules but 50 cal just penetrate more because there smaller, i would only use that umarex if it was moded, otherwise ill use byrna, yea its slower but weight of amo us heavier!

[@dougjones8781]

Where is the comparison of tear gas cloud ? Is tear gas more potent than pepper ball? Left out most important test

[@cbh2976]

This may seem like a good idea, not to harm the person or persons that are trying to "kill" you. And after you hit them with the "non-leather pellet" a week later the next thing you will hear is a lawyer knocking at your door with a "lawsuit" form the person that you injured while he/she was trying to kill you with a "real" gun. Sometimes it better to have only one side of a story, yours against the dead person.

[@JonathanAcierto]

The dead person’s family can still hire a lawyer to go after you. There’s a saying: every bullet is attached to a lawyer. So it really doesn’t matter what you use to defend yourself, the best things to carry are a self defense weapon of some sort (knife, gun, non-Lethal gun) and a defense lawyer’s number.

[@MultiSkyman1]

I load orange colored rounds in my HDP50 so I can easily see them and verify my round count. Much easier to see than using black rounds.

[@c.collins9981]

So Which Is More Mechanically Reliable?

[@RapidAssaultDefense]

Glad I found your channel ! Good vid

[@fpressel]

Justy bought the Byrna SD yesterday and setting it up with kinetics while I watched this vid. Thanks!

[@deongibsom3783]

I find that they are both very effective in their own way. I like my uramax p2p most tho easier to use.

[@freedomwarrior1448]

Rubber is more dense. Excellent review and analysis. The #JelloTest was #Cool... #ThankYou.!

[@shanesgopro]

Byrna hands down The other one I saw a security guard had one never had to use it … I said you need a Byrna it’s faster to pull the trigger … instead of air it and then fire Byrna is all in one … he’s like I’ll take the chance

[@Seabass1206]

the hdp can be modded and be still the same size but more powerful then the bynlrna

[@Great_Wall_of_Text]

The mod is simple. I did it to mine. Now it gets the round up around 500 fps for the first shot, and around 400 for the fifth. By 8-10 shots, it's down around 300 fps. That first shot is about 30 joules, or about a quarter the energy of .22 lr fired from a rifle. I did the same mod to my .68 umarex revolver, and it went through 8 layers of amazon box before putting a half inch deep dent in a 55 gallon steel drum. It even kicked a bit. If you can't have a real gun, it's a pretty nasty alternative. I was not expecting the level of nasty that it is.

[@kennymaggic6004]

I was going to do the jello test myself, but not before winter. lol. agreed, HDP50 is a great unit. esp if you mod it. but maybe too big, and Byrna may work better. also like the mag it has. but for -100, cant beat HDP50.

[@Maybaby1959]

It’s not a glock. No round in the chamber 5 only 5 only😮

[@TheReign2]

Great video. Thank you so much.

[@paulbroussard7856]

A very thorough review. You made it clear on how they both work but there is a difference between a clip and a magazine.

[@Raykenn1]

Excellent video comparison! While the Byrna has some design advantages (charging). I not sure the cost is worth it.

[@Maybaby1959]

If you want to buy a $79 piece of plastic and stake yourself out their ok. I agree the byrna could be cheaper but it’s not made cheap plus American made plus in restricted states your gonna get hurt arrested or offed going out with something that looks 100 percent like a handgun. Idk what the thug thinks once hit by a combination of byrna kinetic plus pepper balls it’s over. If Leo’s are involved I’m covered by the color byrna plus it’s legal.

[@jeffreyporter4678]

Try a reload speed comparison, that might influence your opinion.

[@Raykenn1]

I went with a SALT S2, very satisfied 👍

[@malekaihall8386]

Great video !

[@Llando]

I cant find the Umarex anywhere in canada, its written out of stock everywhere. Where did you get it , and would you know a source to get it in canada

[@alexbandy7519]

Umerex with ball bearings is enough at 10 ft to 14 ft to bring or hurt

[@aldocuevas3521]

Umarex can upgrade to serious power byrna noo

[@Masap-f4y]

Could you please measure the width of each gun? I'm wondering how concealable they are.

[@beargillium2369]

They're both pretty huge, more aligned for home defense which is ridiculous because you can have a real firearm at home in every state .. the umarex is roughly hk usp size

[@Cosmic_Charlie77]

I have a Byrna and I conceal it everywhere I go. It feels like a pistol. I have a holster that works perfectly for it.

[@robertburke6464]

So I own the umarexand it faild in less than 10 co2 tanks air chamber blew out if i was wearing would have hurt bad

[@GrayShadow13]

They are magazines NOT clips.

[@TheHaughtyOsprey]

Its so sad that people have to resort to toys for self defense.... self preservation is the most basic human right.

[@Seabass1206]

not every situation requires lethal force

[@jeffreyporter4678]

Not everyone wants blood guilt on their conscience.

[@alleneisenbach7734]

Play Carrie both can you put that umarex in a cross draw holster

[@LessLethalOptions-82323]

Excellent test, BUT, neither in the "stock" form will deter most assailants. Pepper rounds look like a good idea, but, they aren't much good for personal defense. They sometimes, for special situations, work well for law enforcement. They may or may not break. The powder is very subject to the wind, then even pepper sprays, and only a small part of the particle cloud may hit the face. Since the adversary is moving in on the victim, they will not have any symptoms before they are on top of the victim. At close range, which is the real world, you are likely to get as much of the cloud as the attacker. No assailant shows their intentions twenty feet away, and walks toward you at zombie speed. Best to have your love ones carry pepper spray and if allowed a Pulse TASER. Stun guns are also of little use in personal defense unless you are a skill fighter. The only good thing about the Byrna is it looks like a real firearm, which may trigger the flight instinct in the attacker. No one talks about draw speed and accuracy. if an assailant moves within 6-8 feet with a knife, you are not going to be able to draw and fire without being cut. Pepper sprays can be access more quickly, and can even be carried in a hand holster while jogger, etc. As, the saying goes, however, "anything is better than just harsh words".

[@toddbenedict1591]

With the UMAREX MODEL ARE YOU TESTING YHE 7 JOULE OR THE 12 JOULE?

[@eggcleaver916]

Excellent question. This is the model P2P T4E HDP50.

[@pathfindermanscouts8153]

It’s not a clip it’s a magazine hello

[@DustinMikael]

Im 140 pounds ive had a 260 pound mf come at me with a byrna n not stop moving.you NEED to stop them from moving forward

[@brr8888]

What is this clip you mentioned 50 times?

[@billlarrabee9436]

Your comparison was great! Your sound effects need to go away. I found them annoying.

[@e4d578]

Byrna requires a second shot. The first is slow.

[@bobjonez110]

Why these manufacturers use such bright colors is beyond me. yellow and orange are just cartoonish

[@jeffreyporter4678]

It helps prevent being killed by a cop who thinks you have a firearm and doesn't know that you're not the assailent.

[@jaymelynnmcintyre8574]

Better to use something better than that absurd cardboard demo ! Actually do a self defense demo that would be encountered

[@chrisehrhorn4160]

Get to the point

[@joshh8395]

Giving this a thumbs down which I rarely do. Learn how to handle weapons properly and learn the difference between a clip and a magazine.

[@Maybaby1959]

Umarex not legal in ny

[@jamierobinson3349]

I'm not going to even say what I'm thinking about your upside down shooting through paper thin 6 pack boxes lol, but the Byrna is an overpriced piece of poop and the much cheaper umarex consistently shoots up to 100 fps higher than the "it looks cooler" Byrna.

[@leninmercedes6567]

First of all. You spelled Byrna wrong. Secondly…….. my Byrna has gotten me out of 3 situations……… two on looks alone when I flashed it……the other…….unfortunately when I had to use it…idk if some people will be afraid of a launcher that looks like a flare pistol if you brandished it like the Umarex

[@jamierobinson3349]

@@leninmercedes6567 Yes I spelled it wrong and here's your reality check, fact: the Byrna isn't as powerful as the Umarex. Fact: anyone who knows anything about firearms can tell by looking that your fancy little Byrna isn't a firearm. Fact: I actually have my 100 fps more powerful and ugly Umarex than your fancy pants Byrna became I'm not trying to make everyone think it's a real firearm lol, because I have a Sig Sauer 1911 45 acp for real world self defense and have the Umarex as an in home less lethal self defense that's not going to blow my eardrums out if I'm in my home and I don't think it matters too much how fancy pants it looks lmao. 😂 Have a nice day 😆👍

[@aldocuevas3521]

Byrna is only b sh... the umarex are much more powerful and cheap

[@Elkgrove916]

Hi I saw a couple of videos and that’s what am hearing about umex more powerful and more affordable

[@johnnymonoxide8134]

It is NOT a weapon.

[@jondbaptis2184]

Firearm but it is a weapon.

[@FLAlesslethal]

Some people just like to hear themselves speak or the attention from the comments hell idk

[@Seabass1206]

then what is it then bud? fool

[@csiipahoa2857]

You want the guy to think it is a real gun, really bad idea. If the suspect has a real gun you're dead. Terrible advice.

[@mikel9567]

God, watching this guy and his ignorance was painful.

[@angelamares74]

You talk to much bro

[@34Saxo]

Rude.