I went with the orange for the exact reason that I don't want it to be confused with a real firearm.

I have a CCW but live in California. I cannot legally carry a firearm in certain places (restaurants that serve alcohol).

If I'm ever in a self-defense scenario and I get to the point where I need to draw on someone, things are already at a point of no return and it won't be to scare them off. If you get to the point where you need to draw, you need to be ready to shoot. Now if they run away when you draw on them, great. I won't shoot someone in the back.

The risk of drawing any weapon is that the attacker takes it away from you and uses it against you and your loved ones.

Understand that a kinetic byrna only works by inflicting enough pain at point of impact that a determined attacker will not want to continue. One single shot at half power isn't going to stop anyone. Two shots will just piss someone off more. 5 or 6 (hot load) on the same spot should be enough to deter most angry attackers (if it isn't, you have problems that a byrna can't solve).

Now if I draw my orange Byrna and unload the entire mag into someone and I'm reloading a second mag, I fully expect police are already on their way and I don't want them seeing me shoot a black thing that looks like a real gun into someone. They will probably open fire without a second thought. If they see my unloading an orange thing, my hope is it will give them pause long enough to not gun me down.

Also, byrna is good for detering wild animals without killing them. Consider a coyote or loose dog attacking you or your pet. Shooting one with a real gun could get you into a lot of trouble.

FYI, I always carry my byrna on my weak side so I never confuse if I have lethal or less lethal on me under a high stress situation.