Thinking about Pepper Spray

Turned out fine. The worst part of the ordeal was dealing with my overly-amused wife. She thought it was hilarious.

I am assuming you haven't been sprayed or seen someone unaffected by exposure. You get a range of 10 feet and will most likely getting exposed yourself while fighting with the individual because they aren't just going to run away. I am speaking from experience and have been exposed several times for training. Nobody carries it as an intermediate force weapon anymore for a reason... It's too unpredictable.

Lets put it this way. (example)
Who here has been in a fight and while being hit, defended themselves using nothing but the pepper spray?

First off, where do you live that is so unsafe? I want to know so that I can avoid the area. Second, CCW availability In CA is HIGHLY COUNTY SPECIFIC. Most importantly, and I mean no disrespect here, you seem young and young people are prone to fantacizing and romanticizing self defense situations. I applaud your asking the questions but they seem to suggest that you are lacking in self defense knowledge and experience. Pepper spray is fraught with so many problems that it is not worth much. Narrow sprays streams are a bit less likely to "breeze" into your face. But your thinking that pepper spray is the answer to close range, multi attacker encounters is wrong, potentially dead wrong. There is no magical cloaking device or forcefield that will protect you from a horde of angry criminals. Ther is absolutely nothing that will serve you as well as practice in martial arts. You get muscle memory, you get experience being hit and thrown (VERY important) and you get practice operating in high stress, multiple attacker situations (if your instructor is worth his salt). Mortal combat is ALWAYS ugly, bloody, up close and personal. You can't do it by trying to keep your hands clean and you clothes unruffled. If you want a non-lethal defense for when the local bully is harassing you, your absolute best course of action is to learn how to handle yourelf in a threatening circumstance. Self defense training will not come overnight, but some disciplines will get you "competent" faster than others. Perhaps most importantly, self defense training will give you the proper mindset to handle yourself and to avoid conflict when possible. ANY weapon you choose to have on your person has shortcomings. However, with proper training, any object in your environment has the potential to protect you and if not, you are stil not without tools (skills).This is the very best advice I could give to a younger sister or brother.

I'm a firm believer. My wife was followed to her car four years ago week before Christmas. As she was opening the drivers door, she was approached from behind. Guy tried to grab her purse and she sprayed him at close range. She remembers him letting go and putting his hands to his face while backing off and swearing. She got in the car and drove home. By the time we talked it over and called the store the guy was obviously gone. Never heard back from the store about security footage from the parking lot.

Now we both do things differently when walking to the car. We both carry the small 2 ounce canisters.

To each their own. Whatever works for you and your loved ones.

The problem with that sort of bridge is that if you don't survive the 1st encounter, there won't be a 2nd one. Namely, in a criminal trial being brought up on charges after you defended yourself. Yes, there are such horror stories. In many of them, the Defender was brought up on charges because he screwed up somehow. In others, a sleazy prosecutor used the same ridiculous arguments to paint the Defender as a monster or as a very negligent individual.

One example would be the ridiculous hair-trigger argument as it applies to traditional double-action handguns in which the hammer is cocked for firing single-action. According to quite a few prosecutors, doing that causes a reckless hair-trigger effect. This B.S. argument is so common that many who choose to carry a handgun pick one without a single-action trigger pull. Those who choose a revolver will sometimes have the hammer spur cut down and the trigger modified to fire only in double-action. Can't c o c k the hammer, can't have that B.S. hair-trigger argument used against you in court. There are other examples.

Pepper spray is less than ideal, less than effect. If you live in a jurisdiction where you can carry a firearm, and you're a responsible person who knows when to use it and when not to, it's best to get one and get training in how to use it safely and effectively. If you live in a restrictive jurisdiction, then pepper spray becomes a better option. As for less-than-lethal tools for self-defense, there are other options besides pepper spray.

Not all defensive encounters lead to criminal charges being pursued against a Defender. But it happens. Being charged doesn't mean a conviction though.

I dont know much about pepper spray but I do know that a stream isnt bad. You dont need to spray it directly in their eyes, forehead is fine. In fact, I was taught to never spray in the eyes because they can go blind. But if it happens it happens

Fore-head?? If it doesn't get in their eyes or nostrils, then don't even bother. As for blindness, if they wash the stuff out of their eyes soon or get medical attention they'll be fine. If blindness was caused by pepper spray, it would have been completely banned in America many years ago. And there would be quite a few wealthy blind scumbags due to their lawsuit victories.

Wasp spray is what causes blindness. And the folks who use wasp spray are the ones who live in jurisdictions where even pepper spray is illegal to carry.

Then you don't spray them. You either get them to calm down or you get away. You only get to fight back when you absolutely have no other choice, and if it comes down to that, pepper spray won't be the most ideal option. As mentioned before, pepper spray won't do much against someone whose adrenaline is pumping fiercely,because ultimately it's only an irritant. Heard a few stories of cops nearly pissing themselves because the guy they just sprayed won't stand down. Feel free to carry it though (I recommend going for one that's durable and long enough to protrude from your hand to use as a kubotan in case things go wrong), but to be honest being in shape and being able to run fast and far is the second best thing to having a gun (or more likely the best thing) in a self defense situation. Also, keep in mind that using a knife in self defense doesn't hold up well in court, but if it does come down to that make sure you have a good lawyer. Here's something to read through: http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/repercussions.htm

I am also a believer.
I never said its a worthless item to get to protect yourself

With respect, in your example was your wife brutally attacked by being struck?
I read it like, the perp tried to grab her purse from her and run
(I stand corrected if I'm wrong)

All I was trying to get at it like some others, it has it's limitations and won't work for each and every situation

For times it doesn't work have another means to protect yourself as a backup imo
(eg: Train a MA or boxing, whatever you prefer and works for you)

Edge weapons are only good if you know how to use them. That's why he should learn hand to hand so in any life threatening situation he can defend himself with a weapon. I live in the city so it's not unusual to think that way. But at the same time no matter where you live bad guys will always have weapons. When the spray fonds that guy it doesn't work on what do you have then? Your hands , if they have a knife and your able to get it of gave your own you can hold your ground if you have to. Learning how to use weapons isn't a bad thing you just need to know when and how to use them properly. Best to have options than Only one tactic.

Sent from my Android toothbrush!

The sheriff's officers here carry pepper spray. And batons, and tazers, and G22s.

If it were allowed I would carry it myself at work. (A side arm would be nice as well, but not bloody likely.)

Sent from a remote location using smoke signals.

Pepper spray can be more appropriate for a dog attack, too, than would a knife or a gun.

I can see how holding a canister of pepper spray ready to deploy while walking through a dark parking lot can be helpful. Fast response, immediate "you don't want to mess with me" message, and hopefully the person will decide you're not worth the trouble. I see less opportunity if you're carrying it with you in your pocket, because it seems your attacker would most likely already be upon you before you had the chance to deploy it, in which case hand-to-hand defense is needed.

As others have said, make sure you know the effect on yourself before deciding to carry it. If an accidental exposure is going to disable you more than your attacker, you may wish to reconsider.

If prison guards carry OC spray it must be good for something. I live in CA also and have to deal with the same strict restrictions on CCW. Obviously OC spray is not ideal if you and your attacker are already in hand to hand combat, at that point you better hope you have training or someone who does comes along immediately to intervene, but if someone suspicious tries to walk up to you in a dark area having your hands on the trigger to some pepper spray is better than having your hands on a kubaton keychain or a roll of quarters. If you pull out pepper spray on your attacker who is already rushing you and they grab it and spray you that will be terrible, if you pull out your knife while being rushed and they grab it and stab you well that might be the end of you. Obviously there is the possibility that if your attacker grabs your OC spray and sprays you in the face they have the option of killing you on spot while you writhe on the gorund, but it's better than handing them the knife to kill you with. Training is great to have with edged weapons, but you better be really up to par if you plan on using it in a SD situation.