Most of you who read this are “gun people.” If self-defense is one of your motivations, you don’t need me to tell you that your protection plan should include intermediate force tools. I suspect most of you already keep pepper spray handy.

And I bet you ALL know people who would never carry a gun, but are comfortable carrying pepper spray.

Please read this article, and share the link with others. It was written by a friend, Chuck Haggard, who is widely considered to be today’s leading authority on the use of these things.  A tip of the hat to another colleague and great trainer, who clued me in on this article in his weekly “knowledge dump,” which all of us would be wise to follow.

Thanks, fellas.

16 COMMENTS

  2. Mas,

    I just sprayed an assailant a couple weeks ago. Talk about timing of this topic! I was carrying bear spray as well as a firearm.

    Started carrying bear spray because of stray dogs when I lived in Arizona. I liked the way it worked on dogs over the human based spray. Also, moving to Alaska means being armed with spray and lethal weapons for encounters of the quadruped kind.

    I’m happy I had the bear spray. It prevented a lethal encounter with a drunk idiot that was determined to inflict harm on my person. A layered system of defense going from presence, to verbal, hands, all the way to lethal just makes sense as not every problem is a nail that needs a hammer.

    The one thing I dislike about pepper spray is having to be cognizant of the wind. It can make even the best spray worthless if it’s blowing the wrong direction.

    Stay Safe,

    Vince

  3. I routinely carry a small pepper spray unit along with my handgun when i am out and about. Impact devices are, largely, banned in my State and I consider the electric stunners too unreliable. Also, I don’t want to get close enough to use a hand stunner.

    Because of preexisting medical conditions (and my age), going “mano-a-mano” is a poor option for me. I decided that I needed a non-lethal option that could be deployed at some distance (10 or 12 feet will do). So, pepper spray is my non-lethal option of choice.

    Fortunately, I have never yet had to use either pepper spray or my handgun for defense (knock on wood!). The closest that I came to using pepper spray was when I was confronted by a barking, growling, and (generally) aggressive dog. However, harsh words made the creature back off and go elsewhere, and, while the pepper spray was out and ready, it never had to be used.

    Still, it is good to have options. I expect that the pepper spray would have been even more effective than using my “Command Voice” if it came down to it! 🙂

  5. SOMETIMES a loud noise is a deterrent vs. predators. Pepper spray has been known to fail against determined dogs, let alone bear. Using spray, at least against animals, seems to me generally more of an experiment than is appropriate gunfire. I do carry spray, though. Hard to say if a can of “bear spray” can be mounted well on a powerful firearm. Maybe people have tried it? Accurate shooting with a handgun can be done with a one-hand hold. Works well enough for me coming out of a low-ready position. Speaking of non-lethal weapons, a police officer once politely pointed out to me the great efficacy of a weighty revolver with a stout barrel used as a club. In any case, always please let us think in terms of controlling our temper, and say or do nothing to anyone recklessly out of anger. More talk of a coming civil war vs. a corrupt government administration is getting bandied about these days. SNAFU, in other words. Persuasive argument can beat warfare. Peace first, I say! But still wondering, exactly when is my Whoop-Ass spray a the best self-defense choice?

  6. We were trained in the use of pepper spray when I worked for a local sheriff’s department. The students were told that, when sprayed, we would involuntarily close our eyes and not be able to open them for a good thirty minutes. When we got sprayed we had a person on each side of us so when we lost our orientation they could grab us and walk us to the shower.

    When I got sprayed I just stood there. Yes, the pain sucked but it wasn’t the end of the world. I opened my eyes and walked up to the instructor. I told him that it could be overridden and that I could still be a threat. This he knew, but the students in the class did not. We were taught that the spray would render our opponent useless. This I found to be a very dangerous assumption.

    Since that time some of us have had to deploy the spray, and yes, we have come across the person it had no effect on at all. The female officer wasn’t ready for the man to continue his attack. Fortunately for her she was not alone.

    I have complete confidence that my spray will protect me against even the most dangerous predators on this planet. I have the same confidence in my carry pistol. But I also have sense enough to know that both can fail. Planning, training, and redundancy are the keys to success. Success is the difference between life and death.

    • Deacon Bob,

      Well written. Mas has taught us that humans react differently to getting shot. Some attacks cease when the attacker is hit by a .22 Long Rifle bullet. Some attacks continue after the perpetrator has been hit by buckshot or slugs from a 12-gauge shotgun.

  7. One problem with all the various sprays (and for that matter, many less lethal tools), regardless of active ingredient, is the tendency to expect instant and total incapacitation of the aggressor. However, nothing’s 100%. Ya gotta have a plan B-and C. If the failure happens with a less committed subject, it’s a learning experience. If it happens with someone who’s attitude is set at 11, it can be life changing.

    Most entities who issue the various less lethal tools require those using them to get zapped in training. (When we went to OC, the powers chickened.) It’s most helpful to learn exactly just how bad it might/might not be. It’s another tool in the box, but you need to learn the limitations and how to cope with the less successful results.

    FWIW, our tests with the fog type spray were most disappointing. If the aggressor was in your range, you were within arms reach of them.

  8. W R Moore wrote:
    One problem with all the various sprays (and for that matter, many less lethal tools), regardless of active ingredient, is the tendency to expect instant and total incapacitation of the aggressor. However, nothing’s 100%.’

    Best advice I ever received in the martial arts: “be a maching gun, not a sniper” keep punching, kicking, throwing, tripping …. as fast and as hard as you, can till the threat is unquestionably over.

  9. The active ingredient in pepper spray, capsaicin, was evolved by plants as a defense against mammals and certain types of fungi. Is it a coincidence that mammals (like humans) are grouped, by plants, with fungi?

    See this link:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsaicin

    In mammals, capsaicin produces a burning sensation that discourages feeding upon the fruits of these plants. When mammals consume these fruits, it destroys the seeds which is bad for the plant. The plant would rather have birds consume the fruits since the seeds pass through birds unharmed and get broadly distributed in their guano. Capsaicin does not produce a burning effect in birds.

    Only humans (Species: Homo Insanus) are perverse and masochistic enough to consume capsaicin-loaded plant material for enjoyment.

    Since birds evolved from dinosaurs which, in tern, evolved from reptiles (feathers are believed to have evolved from reptilian scales), then I suspect that capsaicin has little effect on reptiles either.

    So, if you are being flogged by an angry goose, threatened by the snapping jaws of an alligator, or if Mr. Rattlesnake is “showing his tail”, then spraying the offending creature with pepper or bear spray is likely to do nothing at all. It would seem that pepper spray is likely to be effective only if you are being attacked by mammals or, perhaps, some form of fungi. 🙂

    Anyway, that is my hypotheses. However, I have never seen any report when pepper sprays are tested on non-mammal species. Does anyone have any information on this topic? Is pepper spray only useful against mammals?

    If so, that is a limitation that people who carry these devices should know.

    Quote of the Day:

    “We rely on the good will of our fellow man and the forbearance of reptiles.” – English Bob in the Movie ‘Unforgiven’

  10. I carry sabre oc spray along with a surefire polymer flashlight because they’re both fast and surreptitious to deploy, when you have an escape option available. When cornered or barricaded the firearm is your best option. Being able to zap someone blind while you bee line it and call for police is much better at covering all 3 of your liabilities than making an unnecessary stand, and the same goes with OC spray on a charging dog or a group of persons.

    I recently had to use my vehicle to escape an aggressive (likely mentally ill) person that decided to chase me down in his vehicle, and the police officer that responded immediately understood that i was the rational and non aggressive party due to my actions and my articulation thereof. The saddest part was that after the danger was over it was learned that this violent nutcase had a toddler in his rear seat, where my handgun was nearly about to be pointed. Even if this guy got himself shot, that little child would’ve been traumatized for life. Thats why we train, equip, and network with other teachers, so I’ll be bookmarking this blog that Mas has recommended.

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