I doubt seriously anyone is intending on kiling their intruder, and yes just brandishing a gun will frequently save a life, as has been mentioned many a time before, as the bad guy runs. Glad you've finally conceded to that point. But in the event they don't run, you need something that will stop them, and a pellet gun's going to have a hard time stopping a squirrel, much less some human intent on doing something very evil. Once again, we have here a gun used to potentially having saved a life