Consider yourself lucky. Its statistics for reliability are in the sewers of Paris. But even if it is 99% certain to fire, that 1% chance would keep me awake at night. It is a cool concept, but when it comes to self-defense being cool doesn't matter. Get a Grimburg Gavle 1.5. Now $500. Over-engineered for reliability, safety, and power. Shoots an 8 gram composite or 7.9 aluminum .68 cal. round at 35 Joules. In addition to my 35 less-lethal weapons (note I DID NOT type "less-than-lethal"), I have the Gavle. In contrast, since day one when the Defender debuted I have passed on buying it. (But I do own other AEA .30 cal. airguns, those I love.) Side note: I guess the Defender is a good choice if you want less-than-lethal, because when it count's it may not shoot. That's about as less-than-lethal as you can get.

Personally I hate the 2.0 version! The frame is cheap plastic and the larger air cylinders do not hold air as well as the 1.0 (based on the 6 2.0 air cylinders I own). I test and recharge my 1.0 air cylinders every week and they hold air very well. I have also have gone 4 to 6 weeks and they still shoot but I have had a few that would lose air after a day or two and had to throw them away. It’s all about the weekly test! The 2.0 air cartridges have also been known to break the firing pins. I am very fortunate to own several good and reliable air cartridges and combined with the new frames Cody is making I’m very happy with these! I am going to buy 2 more 2.0 air cartridges just to see if they’re any better and will give another review.

I’ve had 2 of the 1st gen one long and one short , I can say they had issues. One of them had the larger firing pins and would double fire , the other was mostly reliable. I had issues with the spring ejectors on both causing double fire . I had Cody make me a short and a long version barrel holder for both , I also had asked him to make them to where they would shoot both gen air tubes . Both have worked flawlessly since . I haven’t chronied the long with gen 2 barrels and cartridges but the short gen 1 cartridges and approximately 2-1/2 “ barrels and they are putting out 80 grain at 350 fps at close to 4500 . Not crazy powerful but I was able to hit about a 6” diam. tree at a little over 20 yards with both shots . Definitely not worried about keeping it with me now .

@@royweatherford64 so would you recommend for daily use

@@someguywithamustache7235 i would now

It was all yellow and I used black dye. You can find a newer version of the Defender 2.0 here: airguntactical.com/collections/semi-automatic-airguns/products/airgun-tactical-defender-3-compact-in-357-457-custom

@airgunnerreviews7888 cool! thank you for the link! Do you happen to know how I can or find the parts to make the barrel/barrel area smaller on this Defender 3? sorry for all the questions, I'm new to these guns. is there a forum/price blog for these guns

The Defender has two firing pins since it is double barrel but they are not the same as a firearm. These use two air cylinders, one for each barrel and can hold up to 5000PSI each.

@@airgunnerreviews7888 thank you, that's what I wanted to know, whether it used firing pins to fire the rounds... I'm thinking about possibly building a small slamfire tube gun for these pcp rounds, since it would be way cheaper, and even more concealable then this pistol

Interesting, I thought he was still printing parts but I haven’t emailed him for quite some time! Perhaps leave him a comment on one of his videos that you are trying to reach him?

Not in the compact size but still can be lethal!

Still here just a very busy summer, thanks!

Unfortunately with the Defender you have to maintain the air pressure regularly or it can be unreliable but I just love the compact size and power. I will be testing with the V2 and may have to make adjustments or even include detents. I hope you figure out what’s going on with your LE. I’m also a big fan of Byrna!

@@airgunnerreviews7888 i got one of the best working on the LE now. Should have her going by next week.

Contact Cody at Pneumatic Fanatic he makes all different lengths. PneumaticFanatic@outlook.com He’s a great guy and really reasonable pricing!

Hi there! Just to clarify I did not Chrony the pistol with the 81 grain pellets I only shot them through the wood board. I chronographed the less lethal using Grimburg shaped 68 caliber projectiles that weighed 7.75 gram and at 303 fps = 32.66 joules/24 fpe. Sorry for any confusion .

Its borderline criminal. Its a design problem perhaps manufacturing as well but isnt this supposed to be a tool for self defense? How can they sell this to be people knowing it will be likely to fail ?

@@jpslaym0936 I'm not sure, I guess they thought people would buy it because of its knockdown power but that's only when it wants to work. I've had it not fire the first but the second, fire the first and not the second or just not fire at all on both. It's hit or miss most of the time. I got rid of it after only 5 outings with it. I pretty much gave it away.

The hammer is not rotating properly and usually an easy fix to reset, or you could have a weak or broken firing pin that will not allow the hammer to fully rotate. You can purchase new firing pins from Ares Airgun Tactical and watch the video on Pneumatic Fanatic KZfaq channel on how the parts go together. Good Luck!

I've tried messing with the hammer inside. I thought maybe it was just in the wrong position. Never thought about the firing pins being bad. I'll order some new ones. Thanks for your help.

You also may want to check the little spring that sits behind the hammer, it actuates the hammer rotation. If you watch the video from Pneumatic Fanatic it is the first thing he shows, they can wiggle off

Spring is good, I just checked it. The bottom firing pin is messed up I believe. Top one always works. I'll try ordering another one and see if that does the trick. Thanks.

@@davids184 definitely replacing the firing pins fixed the problem with them and removing ejection springs with new barrel holders completely stopped all issues. I’ve even resolved cartridge leaks . I leave mine aired for weeks or longer now and they fire perfect . Texoma made a video on them although I had already been oiling and replacing burst disc orings . My short one stays with me every where I go now .

Obviously you did not understand the video but that is not surprising since your spelling is worse than a 5 year old! I am reviewing two different AEA defender pistols! One that shoots hard rubber kinetic rounds that is considered “less lethal” and the other Defender I clearly identify as “not less lethal”. (watch again with your listening ears) A kindergartener would understand the words “not less lethal” would mean it could kill you! With your level of intelligence perhaps you should stick to watching cartoons.

And what are you going to do when you’re attacked with a person swinging a lug wrench, baseball bat or knife? You think your hands are a match for a weapon? This isn’t the movies pal this is real life! Having a gun may be the only option to save your life. You are not thinking smart with your comments!

I have to agree I hated everything about the 2.0! The first generation is much better quality and doesn’t feel like cheap plastic!

Apparently I got the 3.0 actually so believe me its even worse. I kid you not you need TWO FINGERS to pull this trigger if not 20 lbs its 40 lbs or something the weirdest craziest double action ive ever felt. Imagine the trigger pull of 10x Glock 19s I kid you not. Just insane almost like somethings wrong with it but its def just the design. ALSO its 3D printed for $650.... imagine that,@@airgunnerreviews7888