Part 2: Exploring The Full Range Of Byrna Launcher Projectiles

The moment something goes sideways, you do not suddenly become fearless or flawless, you fall back on what you prepared. That is why we get practical about non-lethal self-defense tools that are designed to stop, not kill, and why the specific round you choose matters as much as the launcher itself.

We talk through the core Byrna projectile options in plain language: hard plastic kinetic rounds, pepper ball rounds, and training-friendly choices. Patrick explains what makes “max” pepper rounds so popular, how long they can buy you to escape, and why the real objective is distance and safety, not domination. We also dig into the real-world decision points people face, including self-defense against animals, carry considerations, and why your health can change your best option. If you have asthma or sensitive lungs, the difference between pepper-based irritants and CS gas is not abstract, it can affect you too.

We also cover smart setup and training: how mixing kinetic and pepper rounds can create a measured escalation path, why pepper rounds require careful handling since they are designed to break on impact, and what beginners should use for safe practice. You will leave with a clearer plan for choosing non-lethal ammunition, building confidence through repetition, and staying on the right side of local laws while you train.

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To learn more about Paratus Self-Defense LLC visit:
https://www.ParatusSelfDefense.com
Paratus Self-Defense LLC 
115 Perry Hwy Ste 138 
Harmony, Pennsylvania 16037-9205 
724-453-4030 

Transcript

Designed To Stop, Not Kill

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Self-Defense When It Matters, brought to you by Paratus, a premier burna dealer. Hosted by Patrick Cranston, co-founder of Paratus Self-Defense. Here's the truth. When a moment goes sideways, you don't rise to the occasion, you fall back on your preparation. That's why today we're talking about self-defense tools designed to stop, not kill. No Hollywood heroics, just smart, effective protection when it matters most.

Projectiles: Kinetic Vs Pepper Balls

SPEAKER_00 0:30

So we were talking about burnounchers not being a one-size fits-all for each projectile type with the co-owner of Paradise, Self-Defense, Patrick Cranson. And Patrick, it's great to be back with you. And I know you were saying you could you're going to kindly recap all the different projectiles. So please take it away.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

Yes. Thanks, Julie. Good to be here. Yeah. So we last episode we dove into in depth on the different types of projectiles. But in general, there's two major types of projectiles for self-defense. There's a hard plastic kinetic round, and then there's a pepper ball round of which we have a couple different variations. And then we also have a couple of rounds that are strictly just for training or slash recreational type use.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

Okay, well, yeah, thanks so much. I mean, you were really like diving in with the details, and we really appreciated that. So I'm curious, because of the the various um projectiles that you offer, what have you seen to be the most popular uh recently?

Picking Rounds And Checking Laws

SPEAKER_02 1:28

Yeah, so the you know, there's a few things to keep in mind when you're uh when you're looking at projectiles is a how you're intending on using them, you know, what type of self-defense situation you're preparing for, and then also possibly uh where you're going to be carrying those uh projectiles. Because while the burnas are legal in all 50 states, the launchers, the air guns themselves, there are certain types of the projectiles, primarily the pepper ball rounds and the CS gas rounds, that there are some states and localities where those are not uh allowed. So um one thing I want to say is, you know, whenever you're purchasing that, uh depending on where you're going, you always want to check your local laws and make sure that you understand what the legal ramifications are, you know, the legal uh restrictions there, any there might be for carrying the uh the pepper ball or the CS gas rounds. So um, you know, I will say we have the two variations like we talked about. We have our regular pepper ball and we have our uh you know our max rounds. The max rounds are the more potent ones. Uh those definitely are the more popular ones, just because those do have the ability to stop someone, you know, for up to 30 minutes. So if you're if you have to deploy it in a self-defense situation, that's going to give you that additional time to hopefully get yourself out of that situation and get away. Because that's, you know, that's the whole point of these, is to buy yourself that time to either dissuade the person completely to leave you alone or slow them up, you know, uh or slow them down and give you that time to get out of there so that you can get away and you know and stay safe. Um the the pepper rounds where we do sell just the regular pepper rounds are for those places. In some states, it's not legal to have the CS gas rounds. So in those cases, the pepper ball rounds are a good option. Um, other times, uh the CS gas does affect your lungs. So we've had customers that have some sort of lung condition, whether it's asthma, emphysema, things like that, where their lungs are just more sensitive themselves. And, you know, I, you know, pepper spray, when it's deployed, it doesn't care who you are. It doesn't know you're a good guy or a bad guy. It's just going out into the universe. And so that pepper spray is um going to, you know, the pepper spray gives you the effects, that temporary buyness, the burn, temporary blindness and burning sensations and all that without affecting your lungs. So for someone who has those types of like severe asthma, things like that, then I would recommend the pepper round, just because if you do have to deploy it, you don't want to debilitate yourself or maybe cause some sort of severe injury to yourself because of extenuating circumstances. Um, the other thing is sometimes people are just carrying these for um, you know, self-defense against animals. And so generally speaking, you know, a dog or you know, you know, an animal you might run across in the woods, some you know, aggressive animal like that, the pepper spray is going to be very effective against them without having to deploy the CS gas. So, you know, that's that's another option

Mixing Rounds And Loading Safely

SPEAKER_02 4:43

for that. Um, and then the kinetic rounds, those are, you know, the kinetic rounds come with every burner. So you, whenever you buy, because the kinetic rounds are legal in all 50 states, um, so you get kinetic rounds with every every purchase. You can use those for that self-defense or the um or also for the training. So, and then the other advantage to having the kinetic round is like I mentioned earlier, you can mix and match those rounds. So you can have a situation where you put you load your magazine so that the first one or two rounds that are fired are going to be the kinetic. And then if the problem continues, that person continues to be aggressive, just hitting them with the impact rounds wasn't enough to solve the problem, then you can continue firing the launcher and deploy that pepperball rounds so that the so that you can kind of escalate the use of force that you're having uh in a situation. The other reason I like at least having one uh kinetic round in the launcher, that just this is just my personal opinion, is that uh more practically because the pepper ball rounds are designed to break on impact. So they're an impact round. And when you load a burn a launcher, the first round always gets loaded into the chamber. So it's not actually in the magazine, it's just in the chamber, so it's ready to go when you pull the trigger. Um, so if you are using it for training and you're gonna, you know, take out your magazine and load in some training rounds and things, that means you there is a way to eject the round out of the out of the chamber. But if you have that pepper ball round, that's just more wear and tear and handling of that pepper ball round that I like to avoid because you don't want those to break accidentally. So by keeping those in the magazine and at least having one kinetic round at the top, you know that you're you know not going to accidentally drop that out of the launcher if you're changing out your magazines for training and things like that. So once again, that's more of just a personal uh uh personal opinion. You could certainly load it with all kinetic or all pepperball or all CS gas, you know, uh for whatever uh needs work best for you.

Best Training Rounds For Beginners

SPEAKER_00 6:55

Okay. And I know we're we're about out of time, but I did have a quick question for you. Is if somebody is completely new, a complete novice to Berna, is there anything that you recommend they start with?

SPEAKER_02 7:07

So I mean, really the kinetic rounds are probably the best uh to start with, though it is, you know, once again, it's variable based on where you're training and where you're able to train. So the kinetic round, you want to have a backstop, either like a target tent, like we sell, or you like we mentioned earlier, a heavy moving blanket or a heavy sleeping bag, something that you can kind of soft and flexible that you can shoot into. You don't want to shoot the kinetic rounds at like a hard surface because they will tend to uh come right back at you. They'll they'll ricochet, you know, if they're gonna come. Uh so you have to be aware of that. Um if you are just outside, if you have one of the larger guns, uh the LEs, the SDs, really anything that's not the CL, that we have the Eco Kinetic, which is a biodegradable round. That's a very good round to use uh because that will break on impact. There's no ricochet or anything with that. And it is uh and it just uh dissolves when it gets wet. So you can shoot them in your backyard, and next time it rains, the mess just goes away. So uh those those are two good options to start with. Um, all the kits come with the kinetic rounds. So whenever you buy a kit, you're getting all you're getting uh 15 of the kinetic rounds. So that's really the best way to get started and then you know build out your your kit as needed.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

Oh, well, Patrick, thank you so much for all this great information. I do wish we had more time, but the good thing is that we have a series of podcasts so we can continue this conversation, and I look forward to it.

SPEAKER_02 8:41

Thanks, Julie. Have a great day.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

Yeah, thank you. You too.

Where To Learn More And Next Steps

SPEAKER_01 8:45

Thanks for spending time with us today on self-defense when it matters. At Paratis Self-Defense, we believe confidence comes from being prepared and from having options that protect lives without taking them. That's why we proudly offer Berna non-lethal launchers. They're not firearms, but they are incredibly powerful, effective, and easy to use when seconds count. If you'd like to learn more, visit Paratiss Selfdefense.com. We ship to the lower 48 states because safety shouldn't be limited by geography. Until next time, stay aware, stay prepared, and remember designed to stop, not kill.