“Less lethal” is the current in-vogue term used to describe an application of force that is not intended or designed to cause death. The terms used to be “non-lethal” or “less than lethal,” but it came to be recognized that sometimes a force application as simple as a punch to an opponent’s head can, and sometimes has, caused death. Thus, the term “less lethal” is very appropriate for a punch to the head, even if death was actually caused by the receiver of the punch falling and striking their head on a hard surface. By the way, less-lethal force applications can be seen as another way of layering your defense.
The first option available is in the form of crowd control OC (Oleoresin Capsicum) pepper spray. I’m not talking about the small key-ring units that go in a women’s purse or on a police officer’s belt, I’m referring to the types of sprays police use for crowd dispersal. For example, the website www.redhotpepperspray.com carries the Fox Labs Pistol Grip Crowd Control Canister, which looks like a small fire extinguisher and carries enough pressure to discharge multiple fog blasts of 5.3 million Scoville heat unit-rated OC pepper spray.
Fox Labs pepper sprays are miserable to be hit with. It causes swelling and closing of the eyes, coughing and choking, and intense burning of exposed skin. For deterring two- and four-legged aggressors that you may not want to kill, it is hard to beat. Note that this product can’t be sold in jurisdictions where it currently is most needed, such as California, where for years civilians have been allowed to purchase only watered down pepper sprays or tear gas (after all you wouldn’t want to injure someone who is attempting to rape you too badly). Make sure you are familiar with the laws in your local jurisdiction.
One other option that has emerged that has potential is the 37mm launcher system. These launchers have become popular of late for use with flares in international waters as defense against pirates. Firearms are illegal in international waters for everyone except pirates, so 37mm single-shot launchers firing burning signal flares can be quite a deterrent if they happen to land in some crappy, gasoline fume-filled pirate boat, or actually hit a pirate directly. Bates and Dittus makes some very reliable 37mm launchers in configurations that range from pistols to shoulder-fired launchers to the UBL37-a model that mimics the 40mm M203 grenade launcher and mounts under the barrel of a rail-equipped AR-type rifle.
The UBL is my favorite variant. Since it mounts to the bottom rail section of any AR-15 with a railed fore-end, the M4 military-contoured barrel is an unnecessary feature to have on your AR. The UBL will work on any M4 configuration barrels, pencil thin barrels, or heavy barrels. The type of barrel plays no part in the attaching.
Before we get into any further discussion of 37mm launchers, you need to be aware of federal law regarding these devices. First, they are totally legal for civilian ownership as long as you don’t possess law enforcement-type impact or specialty rounds such as wooden baton rounds, rubber pellet rounds, or tear gas rounds. This is important. Possession by civilians of impact rounds or rounds designed to cause even less lethal injury to humans changes the previously legal launcher to an ATF Prohibited Destructive Device. These restrictions leave flare and smoke rounds as being legal for civilian ownership. For best results in a legal defense, spend the money and get military- or police-quality smoke rounds or flares. If you can’t find true 37mm police-grade flares, obtain a supply of 26.5mm or 12-gauge signal flares and the adaptors for the 37mm chamber. Since there are more 37mm flares, smoke, and bird bomb cartridges available now, it may be wise to test a few of them, as well. Most rounds travel beyond 400 feet, giving the user a good standoff distance from which to illuminate the threat. If you can find parachute flares, you have the capability of longer-term threat illumination.
One of the best things about the UBL37 launcher is the operational system. It does not cock on closing or opening. There is a lever on the right side of the frame above the trigger that must be pulled back for cocking. There is also a separate safety lever on that side. This means that the UBL37 can be kept loaded but un-cocked for as long as you deem necessary without fear of an accidental discharge. The trigger is smooth and easy to pull.
Even without the availability of tear gas or impact rounds, firing flares, bird bombs, or smoke rounds at or around dangerous groups can certainly distract them and disrupt them away from their original intent. In fact, it may leave them wondering what rounds will be launched at them next, especially since the Bates and Dittus UBL looks just like the military M203.
For police operations, I have my launcher attached to a custom 5.56mm Sun Devil/CMMG carbine. It is kept loaded with a bean bag round and is sighted using a Lasermax Universal Green Laser on the upper rail length. That way I have the ability to deliver a bean bag or other round in lieu of deadly force, but the deadly force is right there if need be. The operational systems are so vastly different that I have no fears of accidentally activating the wrong weapon system under a stressful situation. Other S.W.A.T. cops I’ve shown the setup to have universally said “That’s badass!”
The addition of the UBL37 makes the standard M4 absolutely fearsome with that big extra barrel located under the little 5.56mm one and it may serve to provide an extra level of intimidation that could just preclude having to actually fire any round at all in defense. There is only one downside to attaching the launcher and that is that it adds four pounds of weight to your M4. For me this means no other accessories on the gun other than the Lasermax sight. (The open sights I use on this M4 are the Diamond Sights from Diamondhead Tactical. Quick to pick up and align, the Diamond Sights are a new generation of what I call “stand-alone backup iron sights.” Yes they can fold out of the way, but they can be used without being secondary to optical sights.) With no other attachments other than a Tactical Link single-point sling, this setup is manageable.
The UBL37 has a 12-inch barrel and will handle up to eight-inch-long law enforcement-only shells, such as wooden baton rounds. Both the 37mm flare and smoke rounds are much shorter than law enforcement impact rounds and don’t need a 12-inch barrel to shoot properly. With this in mind, plus the fact that the long rounds aren’t civilian legal, Bates and Dittus has just introduced a nine-inch barrel UBL37 to save weight for civilian users. Weight savings is approximately one pound, which really makes the load much lighter. I haven’t gotten to work with the shorter-barreled version, as it was just becoming available as I write this, but I can vouch for B&D quality, and if I wanted one of these launchers only for use with civilian rounds, I would definitely opt for the new nine-inch model.