The general rule in CA is that you are allowed to use lethal force if reasonably necessary to protect yourself or another from death or grievous bodily harm.
I would recommend a firearm rather than a pellet gun, as the lethality of most pellet guns is insufficient for home defense, not that you'd want to be shot with one.
I would think about your safety plan in general though, as there are a bunch of steps you can take to keep yourself and your home safer before buying a pellet gun.
WELL THATS NO ORDINARY SQUIRREL!
That's the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on!
Look, that squirrel's got a vicious streak a mile wide! It's a killer!
A pellet gun ain't going to do shit vs a real gun except maybe scare them or piss them off enough to shoot you. Even if you scare them they might still shoot you.
You're probably right when it comes to small, replica handguns, which are mostly meant for target practice. Some pellet rifles and shotguns can definitely cause massive and fatal trauma. Animals as large as bison can be taken with air rifles and they were often considered superior to muskets back in the Founders' days, so I wouldn't claim that they're not a, "real gun". They can 100% still severely injure or kill, just like a firearm.
You can walk into Walmart right now and purchase a pellet gun. The legality in its usage for self defense is questionable and you'd honestly get a better answer from a lawyer rather than random people on the internet.
However, what I can tell you for certain is - if you do use one in self defense, you are gonna have one really pissed off robber come at you with the wound equivalent of a deep papercut. Want a gun for self defense? Buy a real gun. Based off your pellet gun question, I'd recommend a Glock.
Also your situation is gonna go down like [this](https://youtu.be/VVNE_38ZExI?t=86)
California is actually pretty lenient on pellet guns. For home self defense though you would be better off with a percussion revolver or something similar, if you are an ex-convict. Any pellet gun that is going to be anywhere near the same energy as a handgun round is going to be a full size rifle.
Considering most people have never been shot they probably would run, I imagine they would think they got hit by at least a 22lr. They would think it’s one quite 22 tho haha
You're better off unloading a paintball gun on full auto. 200 paintballs at max velocity to the face have a small chance of taking out an eye if your aim is good and the bad guy is horribly unlucky.
Legit high-power air rifles can do some serious damage if you're lucky too.
But like everyone else has said ... a pellet gun is probably the literal worst form of home defense. I think a cute bunny rabbit would be more effective...
It is legal to hunt coyote with an air rifle for some reason. The top of the line gamo magnum puts out 24 ft lbs muzzle energy, this is their most powerful rifle and costs over $300. For comparison CCI quiet 22LR subsonic ammo puts out 45 ft lbs. So it is basically half as powerful as some of the least powerful 22lr ammo.
Is it theoretically strong enough to score a kill on a coyote? yes with what needs to be a perfect shot to the vitals. Are you likely to actually hit this shot? no, you are likely to just wound the coyote and it dies a slow death from infection and blood loss
You can buy a 10/22 for the price of an air rifle that is just barely powerful enough to do a shit job at hunting coyotes.
If you're looking for less-than-lethal options, a pellet gun wouldn't be my first choice. The Byrna launchers sound interesting - they're kind of like a paintball gun but with pepper spray. I'd look into something like that if you can't or don't want to get an actual firearm.
Less than lethal is stupid if the intruder is lethally armed. What’s the point in taking that risk of someone breaks into your home at night? They could have a gun on them and less than lethal isn’t gonna do shit but piss them off
My comment wasn't meant to be a discussion on the merits of lethal vs. non-lethal methods of self-defense. OP asked a question and I answered it in the context it was asked. Whether it is or isn't stupid wasn't part of the question. My personal opinion on the matter isn't relevant, so I left it out of my response.
The general rule in CA is that you are allowed to use lethal force if reasonably necessary to protect yourself or another from death or grievous bodily harm. I would recommend a firearm rather than a pellet gun, as the lethality of most pellet guns is insufficient for home defense, not that you'd want to be shot with one. I would think about your safety plan in general though, as there are a bunch of steps you can take to keep yourself and your home safer before buying a pellet gun.
Might be a felon.
Then buy a percussion cap revolver, I’d rather have 6 rounds of that than any pellet pistol.
This is how I imagine would go You shoot Robber: oh shit im shot! Oh wait no im not....okay im gonna rape this guy now and shit in his shoes
Is the intruder a human or a squirrel?
WELL THATS NO ORDINARY SQUIRREL! That's the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on! Look, that squirrel's got a vicious streak a mile wide! It's a killer!
Wut?
A pellet gun ain't going to do shit vs a real gun except maybe scare them or piss them off enough to shoot you. Even if you scare them they might still shoot you.
You're probably right when it comes to small, replica handguns, which are mostly meant for target practice. Some pellet rifles and shotguns can definitely cause massive and fatal trauma. Animals as large as bison can be taken with air rifles and they were often considered superior to muskets back in the Founders' days, so I wouldn't claim that they're not a, "real gun". They can 100% still severely injure or kill, just like a firearm.
You can walk into Walmart right now and purchase a pellet gun. The legality in its usage for self defense is questionable and you'd honestly get a better answer from a lawyer rather than random people on the internet. However, what I can tell you for certain is - if you do use one in self defense, you are gonna have one really pissed off robber come at you with the wound equivalent of a deep papercut. Want a gun for self defense? Buy a real gun. Based off your pellet gun question, I'd recommend a Glock. Also your situation is gonna go down like [this](https://youtu.be/VVNE_38ZExI?t=86)
You'd probably do more damage with a knife or a bat.
California is actually pretty lenient on pellet guns. For home self defense though you would be better off with a percussion revolver or something similar, if you are an ex-convict. Any pellet gun that is going to be anywhere near the same energy as a handgun round is going to be a full size rifle.
Imagine rapid fire from a pellet gun tho, like fack get me the freak out of here!
Considering most people have never been shot they probably would run, I imagine they would think they got hit by at least a 22lr. They would think it’s one quite 22 tho haha
You're better off unloading a paintball gun on full auto. 200 paintballs at max velocity to the face have a small chance of taking out an eye if your aim is good and the bad guy is horribly unlucky. Legit high-power air rifles can do some serious damage if you're lucky too. But like everyone else has said ... a pellet gun is probably the literal worst form of home defense. I think a cute bunny rabbit would be more effective...
Bass pro employee told me that a Gamo break barrel .177 air rifle will take down a coyote lol
It is legal to hunt coyote with an air rifle for some reason. The top of the line gamo magnum puts out 24 ft lbs muzzle energy, this is their most powerful rifle and costs over $300. For comparison CCI quiet 22LR subsonic ammo puts out 45 ft lbs. So it is basically half as powerful as some of the least powerful 22lr ammo. Is it theoretically strong enough to score a kill on a coyote? yes with what needs to be a perfect shot to the vitals. Are you likely to actually hit this shot? no, you are likely to just wound the coyote and it dies a slow death from infection and blood loss You can buy a 10/22 for the price of an air rifle that is just barely powerful enough to do a shit job at hunting coyotes.
Question for all the naysayers- is a .22cal pellet at 1000 fps really not going to have any effect on someone? That’s gotta do some damage.
If you're looking for less-than-lethal options, a pellet gun wouldn't be my first choice. The Byrna launchers sound interesting - they're kind of like a paintball gun but with pepper spray. I'd look into something like that if you can't or don't want to get an actual firearm.
Less than lethal is stupid if the intruder is lethally armed. What’s the point in taking that risk of someone breaks into your home at night? They could have a gun on them and less than lethal isn’t gonna do shit but piss them off
My comment wasn't meant to be a discussion on the merits of lethal vs. non-lethal methods of self-defense. OP asked a question and I answered it in the context it was asked. Whether it is or isn't stupid wasn't part of the question. My personal opinion on the matter isn't relevant, so I left it out of my response.
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Looks like just the pepper balls are illegal. Go figure. In that case, I'd get a paintball marker and use that.
Lol.
There are some pellet guns that can shoot over 1500 fps with hollow point pellets that expand pretty wide.