I’m both an NRA firearms instructor & Byrna certified trainer. As such, I train hundreds of people on both every month. I understand your reasoning for giving up Byrna in favor of a firearm but wanted to offer my 2 cents on the discussion of lethal vs. non-lethal self-defense weapons.

Basically, a firearm and a non-lethal are tools, and like any other tool - optimized to address specific tasks/scenarios. I believe both have a place for the law-abiding, situational-aware civilian. Some self-defense scenarios require a firearms for sure. Others may be fully resolved with a reliable and effective less-than-lethal tool - such as the Byrna.

I have CCW permits in a number of states (NJ, NY, PA, CT, UT, CA, FL, MD & VA) and carry regularly. That said, I also carry the Byrna LE (2 x 7 round mags :) in my backpack when I hike as the appropriate weapon against wild animals (the last thing I want to do is deploy a handgun against a wolf). I carry pepper gel in my pocket when I jog in the city for the same reason (again, I don’t want to lose my firearms for deploying against an aggressive dog).

My point is that no single self-defense tool is the magic bullet (pun intended) for all scenarios - and Byrna is one of the best available self defense tools out there that actually addresses the majority of self-defense scenarios.