Meet the unguns: The new trend in less-leathal weapons

Chandler Crumblish Paine is a full-time mom and regular jogger who lives in Fort Worth, Texas.She’s never owned a gun, but last year she became increasingly concerned about her safety, especially because she often exercises early in the morning or in the evenings. “My family has guns, my brothers have guns, my husband has guns.

But I just didn’t feel comfortable carrying one,” she tells The Post.So she found an alternative to a firearm, purchasing what’s known as a less-lethal pistol from a brand called Byrna.The Massachusetts-based company makes pistols — which look a bit like a Glock — that forcefully discharge pepper-spray projectiles or hard plastic pellet spheres.

“One day it just hit me — I’m a young woman out running at 4 a.m.with nothing to protect myself,” she says.

“It’s a less lethal option and it will give you a chance to get away if need be.”Blake Nance, the co-founder of Kodai, a security consulting company in Los Angeles, recently bought a Byrna too.A former Marine and Beverly Hills police officer, Nance has always been comfortable handling guns.

Even so, he wanted to find a different option that is unlikely to end someone’s life if he has to use it. “It’s very similar to a paintball gun and how it uses a CO2 cartridge to launch a projectile that is really painful on impact,” says Nance of his Byrna gun.“I just want something that will allow me to defend myself and just go home.” The Byrna will do the trick in most situations, he believes.

“I think it would take the fight out of anybody if they came at you,” says Nance.Both gun owners (like Nance) and people who say they aren’t comfortable owning firearms (like Crumblish Paine) are fueling a rise in sales of these types of less lethal weapons, which some have called unguns.In 2023, the global  “less-lethal” market was estimated to be worth just over $1 billion, according to a report from Grand View Research, which predicts this number will mor...