humane self defense week: T4E P2P HDP 50CAL home defense pistol. $109.99

Imagine a 50 caliber PVC-coated steel ball hitting you in the face at 375 feet per second? Would you stick around for a second dose? Anyone who's ridden a motorcycle wearing an open face novelty helmet knows what happens when a dune bug hits you on the cheek at 70mph! I must confess to emitting a yelp followed by a string of colorful profanities, and for a second my rubber-on-blacktop status is compromised. So don't sniff your nose at the efficacy of Umarex's highly affordable T4E (Training for Engagement) HDP (Home Defense Pistol) especially when other manufacturers of pepperball guns charge three of four times the price for a similar product. Too powerful for paintball competition, this is a dedicated training weapon for LEO and military personnel. It also shoots inert (powder) rounds and pepper balls (in my opinion not recommended for small enclosed spaces as the capsicum will effect you too).

A couple of years back I lived next door to a combat veteran with three tours in the sandbox. One afternoon whilst enjoying a beer in his back yard, the conversation inevitably circled round to firearms and home defense choices. He surprised the heck out of my when he showed me his nightstand weapon: the Umarex T4E Double Barreled Shotgun in .68 caliber and a bag of rubber balls. He had removed an internal valve that limits joules (ships at 7 joules for paintball competition) and was getting 16 joules/350fps from this cool contraption. (Umarex now sell the 16 joule version, or the 7 joule version.) We fired a few rounds in his back yard and I had to concede it was deterrent enough for everything from aggressive dogs to would-be intruders, the one caveat perhaps being someone hopped-up on meth or other behavior-altering narcotic. My friend said he didn't want to contend with the baggage of killing a home intruder, or worry about the safety of his kids around firearms. And his rationale for non-lethal deterrents made so much sense that I have to wonder if most of us truly understand what's entailed in the aftermath of a home defense incident where you fatally shoot (albeit justifiably) one or more dangerous intruders. Of course his reluctance was likely based on firsthand experience, but as hardened action movie watchers are we truly prepared for the legal red-tape and moral injury of taking another human life? Will you and your family feel like living in a home after bad people died there, badly, by your hand?

Of course what'll make the T4E most effective is round placement - you'll want to aim for the face, throat or genitals to stop an attacker but one or two good hits with a sub-300fps paintball round (even through light clothing) can leave a nice round bruise so imagine what this will feel like at 375fps, at 15 feet with a non-frangible 50 caliber ball? The CO2 port in the grip uses a cap with a quick-pierce device: keep balls and a CO2 cartridge loaded at all times and if/when needed simply tap the button on the bottom of the grip to pierce the CO2 cartridge and arm the pistol.

For those who are unfamiliar, Umarex is a German company that specializes in manufacturer-licensed firearms, airguns and airsoft guns and has a reputation for quality and ingenuity. The T4E HDP ships with 10 rubber rounds for practice and training, and 10 pepper rounds for self-defense. Check out the T4E on the Umarex WEBSITE.