How many of you carry pepper spray?

[Dr. Snubnose]

Yep...Been sprayed on more than one occasion...Part of the training and I won't ask my people to do anything I won't do) Intense Stinging in the eyes has always been the most significant symptom for me. However, even after taking a direct hit everytime I was still able to function and take the sprayer out of the picture. I find the spray is much more effective against dogs as their olfactory senses are right up front and more sensitive then ours...Doc

[hannes w]

I regularly carry a can of Fox Lab 5.3 Mio. SHU medium cone together with a knife and a flashlight. A CCW-permit is not really obtainable here in Austria so this is the next best thing to it.

As much as the weapon law sucks in Austria, knife-wise it's like paradise you can streetcarry just any kind of knife:

switchblades
balisongs
pushdaggers
gravity knives
folders &
fixed blades with no size limit

it just doesn't matter. :D

g

hannes

[224477]

I regularly carry a can of Fox Lab 5.3 Mio. SHU medium cone together with a knife and a flashlight. A CCW-permit is not really obtainable here in Austria so this is the next best thing to it.

As much as the weapon law sucks in Austria, knife-wise it's like paradise you can streetcarry just any kind of knife:

switchblades
balisongs
pushdaggers
gravity knives
folders &
fixed blades with no size limit

it just doesn't matter. :D

g

hannes

You just got to HOPE strongly that your politicians WONT get inspired by "deutscher Nachbarn" ...
We also still have liberal law considering knives :)

[dialex]

I still have a small can of spray (don't know the type, it's black, it says something like "1 billion" and the German flag and eagle on it) forgotten in a drawer. I keep it for memorabilia purposes, as it was a present from a former friend of mine. Boy, that girl really knew how to indulge me, she also gave me a Rambo custom knife on my birthday :D

[Ted]

... that girl really knew how to indulge me, she also gave me a Rambo custom knife on my birthday :D

that's called true love

[PERTINAX]

[quote="Joe Talmadge"]Moreover, Modern Warrior did a well-publicized OC test that should be required reading. First, they got some volunteers to take a spray to the face. Everyone who did pretty much were unable to do anything. Then, they changed the game -- the "victims" were given a goal to accomplish after they'd gotten sprayed. I don't remember the goal, it was something like walk around a table and take a bill out of someone's pocket. 100% of the people took the spray to the face and then accomplished the task.

So, how come OC demolishes you when you're just standing there, but you can fight through it if you have a goal set? Well, because having a goal changes everything. And a bad guy who wants to do bad things to you -- does he have a goal? Yes indeedy!

Again, I think it's best to think of OC as something that's most likely going to give you a moment's edge to run away or attack, and much less likely to just knock the fight out of the bad guy. If it does knock the fight out of him, great]

Well said! I have carried it as a LEO for the past 9 years and have seen it work extremely well. I have seen it also not work extremely well. It should be considered as just another tool in your array of seld-defence options.

[rastus]

Back in the mid-'80's (I think), my downstairs neighbor asked me to come down and check something out. I went on down and he told me that he had a "new thing" that he was going to make a mint on ($$) :rolleyes: . I said OK, lets see it, and he showed me a small spray can. He said this stuff will knock you right on your a$$, and went on about it for about 5 min. It was football day, and we both had our beer, mine in a cooler, so I asked him if he wanted a pizza. We ordered delivery. I took a can of the pepper spray and sprayed the smallest spot I could on the wall outside. Sniffed, touched it and sniffed my finger, then tasted it. It wasn't that hot. Well our pizza got there and before he could stop me, I sprayed the whole thing, but good. He freaked and ran out of the room, but came back when he saw that I was ok. Then he really got mad, demanded that I buy him another pizza so I did. While we were waiting, I ate most of the pepper-sprayed pizza, much to his horror. He then told me that I was an alien from some planet I'd never heard of.
This explains a lot.... :D
---Tom

[Rob]

I ate most of the pepper-sprayed pizza, much to his horror.

:eek: I think that is one of the most funniest sentences I've ever read :D

BTW, spraying people might cause interesting reactions but how about spraying dogs? Has anybody tried that stuff on an aggressive dog? How do they react?

I usually carry a can of OC when I'm on nightshift. To many weirdos come out when it's getting dark...

Cheers, Rob

[David Lowry]

I don't carry it.

I used to have a Stun gun (the kind with the 9v battery). I thought it would work well but then I saw a buddy of mine push the stun gun into his leg and hit the switch. He was like "see.....not a problem". I however did it to myself for a second and it hurt and made me very uncomfortable. My buddy also then put it on his forearm and shocked himself for about 10 seconds and it didn't even phase him.

So now I carry my 2 fists, a Yojimbo, and a Victorinox SAK. :) The most important part of the picture are my Adidas. :D

[Vincent]

I think its illegal in NY.


wouldent have a need for it anyway.

[Jimd]

Of All The Naysayers Who Here Has Been Sprayed With Pepper Spray? And Really Knows What It Is Like. Anyone Been Sprayed.

I've been trained with it, and have been sprayed with it (we have to be sprayed in order to qualify).

Pepper spray does not stop me, it pisses me off very badly and makes me want to hurt the person doing the spraying very badly.

Sometimes the stuff works, and sometimes it doesn't. One major problem: it often fails on EDPs (Emotionally Disturbed Persons), drunks, and people under the influence of drugs. Who do we usually have the most problems from? EDPs, drunks, and druggies. ]distraction[/I], in that if the bad guy's eyes are affected, you can maneuver, deliver strikes, or get away.

A few problems:
--The aerosol fogger units are seriously affected if there's any wind in the area...trust me, I know from personal experience when we sprayed a guy one day during a fight on duty, and the stuff came back in my face.
--The stream units generally have a longer range than the foggers, and are more effective in wind.

OC is nice to have if you have the time to deploy it, and if it works, and if you have room to tote it around.

With all that said, I do not carry it off duty.

[cdf]

I carry the 5% version sold in Canada as dog repellent . I dont count on it , but it could buy time to land a blow , or egress .

Chris

[Episteme]

I used to carry a 4 oz. canister of Fox Labs capsicum spray in my right-front pocket. It got to be quite uncomfortable, so I switched to Mace brand 10 % pocket sized carry with the flip-top. These days, I do not carry capsicum spray for a number of reasons:
1. I carry too many things on my person as it is on a daily basis (cell-phone, two folders, wallet, keys with photon and ladybug, Victorinox Soldier SAK). A canister of O.C. takes up substantial pocket space, not to mention my pants start to get very heavy.
2. O.C., although effective on many people, is not as reliable a 'stopper' as I would need if I were to justify in adding extra items to my daily carry. The cost / benifit analysis to carrying O.C. everyday does not work out in favor of carrying.
3. I have come to view O.C. spray as more applicable to law enforcement, as it seems to function more as an arrest-aid than a defensive weapon for civilian carry.
These just happen to be my observations and thoughts. I do, however, have a canister of Def-Tec (Defense Technologies) in my automobile.
Mike