[box type=”info”] Full Disclosure: This product was provided at no cost for the purpose of review. ARMA USA has not paid We Like Shooting or provided any financial compensation for this review. The product will not be returned to the manufacturer.[/box]
When you go to their website, it seems as though most of their customers are law enforcement and similar professions. Perhaps in the world we live in where an officer shooting a criminal results in looting and riots, they would rather have a non lethal option to try as a first step. In my house, defending my family, I’m not that interested in a less lethal option.
Operation
You load the two cartridges that come with the Arma-100 by taking an empty cartridge, take the piston install ring sliding the piston down to the bottom, inserting the beanbag, placing the retention cap, inserting the nitrogen and finally inserting the locking ring. It takes a few seconds to 30 seconds depending on how practiced you are. From there you flip open the breach face, insert the cartridge, close the breach, pull the trigger back and you are ready to deploy.
I assume as with anything, the more you practice, the faster you will get at reloading, but this is not something that I can see doing well under pressure. There are a couple of fine motor skills involved with opening the breach that I question the ability to do in a life or death situation.
We have it loaded and ready, now what? Point it wherever you want, release the thumb trigger and the bean bag will deploy. I found out pretty quickly that it’s an instinctive aiming process, probably not done while looking down the load front sight, but rather from chest or waist level. The first time I used it I missed my target completely and put a dent in my garage door.
When you have only one shot per load, aiming seems to be something you’ll want to do. It has a bit of recoil but completely manageable. In the video you’ll see me take it to the cheek, which is a result of my own complete stupidity and not a reflection on the ARMA-100 at all.
Durability
Seems pretty durable. I used it quite a bit and didn’t see any problems at all. It finally broke when Aaron decided to use it as a club, which is not it’s intended purpose.
Portability
I see testimonials of officers carrying these in their cars and loving them. That makes sense to me. The average consumer, no idea what they intended. A women could carry it in her purse, if her purse is large enough, but I imagine if she did, she would carry it with the trigger not set, as fumbling around in the purse for something could cause it to trigger. Conceal carry, no. Carry under a jacket, I guess. The thing is not portable. It’s 18″ long and not portable. Could you leave it sitting on your nightstand, cocked and ready. Yes. You could also put a gun there. So…
Cost and logistics
The Arma-100 costs $199. It ships in a box. I’m not making any commentary on price, beside to say it seems really expensive, so decide on that yourself.
Final thoughts
I feel like I don’t get it. I feel like I am misunderstanding what they are trying to do.
One nice thing is that it is legal in New York, so a place where your options are very slim this could make a nightstand weapon. They definitely have that going for them. I believe there is a market out there that is afraid of guns but recognizes that self defense is important, that could be where this is targeted.
Getting hit with this beanbag will hurt, there is no denying it, but getting hit with a punch hurts too. That leads me to this question. When you are in a position where using some sort of defense tool is required, are you comfortable walking around with a canned punch? Sure, with practice you could fire another punch, but do you bet your life on it?
Check out the video to see more.
[box type=”info”] Full Disclosure: This product was provided at no cost for the purpose of review. ARMA USA has not paid We Like Shooting or provided any financial compensation for this review. The product will not be returned to the manufacturer.[/box]
