Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
To answer the first question: you should absolutely leave your Byrna loaded with your projectiles of choice. One of the great features of our launchers is the detachable magazines, which allow you to load any of our rounds—whether chemical or kinetic—in any order you’d like. This means YOU get to tailor your loadout to match the scenarios you think you’re most likely to encounter.
As far as how long you can leave the CO2 in the launcher? Well… pretty much forever.
That is, as long as you haven’t pierced the CO2 cartridge. Byrna’s patented pull-pierce technology means the CO2 stays in the chamber unpierced until you pull the trigger. That first trigger pull simultaneously pierces the cartridge AND fires the first round. This means there is NOTHING else you need to remember to do in a critical incident to start shooting. So, having the CO2 cartridge in the launcher, unpierced, has no different effect on its longevity than if it were sitting in the box on the shelf.
Now, once you do pierce that cartridge—whether for training or in an actual incident—I strongly recommend changing it out for a fresh, unpierced cartridge before putting your launcher back into its ready self-defense state. While the CO2 will stay pressurized for quite a while, you want to make sure your launcher is always ready to go when you need it, and that you’re not worrying about the last time you replaced a cartridge.
So, what are those burning Byrna questions that YOU have? Let us know so we can make sure we’re all prepared to defend.
To answer the first question: you should absolutely leave your Byrna loaded with your projectiles of choice. One of the great features of our launchers is the detachable magazines, which allow you to load any of our rounds—whether chemical or kinetic—in any order you’d like. This means YOU get to tailor your loadout to match the scenarios you think you’re most likely to encounter.
As far as how long you can leave the CO2 in the launcher? Well… pretty much forever.
That is, as long as you haven’t pierced the CO2 cartridge. Byrna’s patented pull-pierce technology means the CO2 stays in the chamber unpierced until you pull the trigger. That first trigger pull simultaneously pierces the cartridge AND fires the first round. This means there is NOTHING else you need to remember to do in a critical incident to start shooting. So, having the CO2 cartridge in the launcher, unpierced, has no different effect on its longevity than if it were sitting in the box on the shelf.
Now, once you do pierce that cartridge—whether for training or in an actual incident—I strongly recommend changing it out for a fresh, unpierced cartridge before putting your launcher back into its ready self-defense state. While the CO2 will stay pressurized for quite a while, you want to make sure your launcher is always ready to go when you need it, and that you’re not worrying about the last time you replaced a cartridge.
So, what are those burning Byrna questions that YOU have? Let us know so we can make sure we’re all prepared to defend.
