Mace/ Pepper Spray Advice

[daledozer]

In the market for some spray for my wife. Not going to use it on her (unless?), she travels to some shady areas around Chicago so I need her to be able to defend herself if need be. She already had some creep knock on her window and tried to open the door, but she took off but was freaked out by it. Any suggestions?

[twitch101]

my gf carries this stuff. http://www.pepperspraycenter.com/wil...ay-spray-p-101

[chuckiedog04]

hmm s&w makes some pepper spray. they are high quality

[RIDE-RED 250r]

hmm s&w makes some pepper spray. they are high quality

I would carry some different S&W products... Hot copper and lead is a little bit more effective...

But in all seriousness.. If Kimber's Pepperblaster is half as good as I hear their firearms are.. http://www.kimberamerica.com/pepperblaster

[300rman]

whatever you buy, TEST IT. you can spray a spoon and lick a tiny bit, it wont hurt you (beyond the burn). If it lays a nice burn on your tongue, a blast of it will wreck someone's day. Pepper spray is basically liquid hot-sauce in an aerosol can.

[bkm]

To bad your in the "People's Republic of Illinois", where only criminals are allowed to have guns because a 2" .38 would be just what the doctor ordered.

I'll see what brand mine is that I carry at work. I never use it so I can't remember what the hell kind it is but I know for a fact that it will ruin your day. Its the gift that keeps on giving. Once the burn wears off and then you take a shower its a repeat performance.

[Scootertrash]

Fox labs is supposed to be top of the line stuff according to a lot of self defense forums and gun forums.

Have her take a self defense class in addition to the pepper spray.

Just remember that you have to have the mindset to use any type of a weapon for self defense. She can't be fumbling around for her pepper spray, it has to be instinct. S**t can get real in a hurry if your situational awareness isn't 100%. Yakkin on the cell phone, texting, ipods, fumbling with your car keys, etc, give a scumbag the opportunity they are looking for because you are distracted. Scumbags might be scum bags, but that doesn't mean they are stupid. They've played the game before, they know what to look for, they know what to do. They don't even have to look that scummy, they can look relatively "normal". Ever had a stranger walk up and ask you for a smoke? A light? The time of day? Innocent enough, right? That stranger has just entered your "personal space" (legal definition of personal space is arms length)and if it's a scumbag you are being cased. That reduces your reaction time to a big 0 if it really is a scumbag who wants to harm or rob you. The majority of them have grown up in a culture of violence and aren't afraid to hurt someone, even women, if it appears you are throwing a wrench in their plan. They don't want to go to prison just as much as you want them to.

There are a lot of "chairborne rangers" who will sit back and tell you how bad they'll mess someone up if they pulled a knife or gun on them. Problem is, they don't come running up waving a weapon in the air, and by the time there's a gun in your face it's too late. Unless you are Chuck Norris.

[daledozer]

I like both the Kimber and the Fox Labs, will probably get one of these. I hear ya Scootertrash on the defense class, I listen to the police scanner around Chicago and the dispatcher there probably loses her voice everyday at the end of her shift. People are getting mighty desperate for a few bucks around the hoods.

[hoosierlogger]

Get some spray designed for bear defense. I would think that would have to be some pretty good stuff.

[daledozer]

Problem with the bear spray is you have to carry a can the size of a fire exstinguisher.

[hoosierlogger]

yeah thats true.

[badass350x]

Fox labs is supposed to be top of the line stuff according to a lot of self defense forums and gun forums.

Have her take a self defense class in addition to the pepper spray.

Just remember that you have to have the mindset to use any type of a weapon for self defense. She can't be fumbling around for her pepper spray, it has to be instinct. S**t can get real in a hurry if your situational awareness isn't 100%. Yakkin on the cell phone, texting, ipods, fumbling with your car keys, etc, give a scumbag the opportunity they are looking for because you are distracted. Scumbags might be scum bags, but that doesn't mean they are stupid. They've played the game before, they know what to look for, they know what to do. They don't even have to look that scummy, they can look relatively "normal". Ever had a stranger walk up and ask you for a smoke? A light? The time of day? Innocent enough, right? That stranger has just entered your "personal space" (legal definition of personal space is arms length)and if it's a scumbag you are being cased. That reduces your reaction time to a big 0 if it really is a scumbag who wants to harm or rob you. The majority of them have grown up in a culture of violence and aren't afraid to hurt someone, even women, if it appears you are throwing a wrench in their plan. They don't want to go to prison just as much as you want them to.

There are a lot of "chairborne rangers" who will sit back and tell you how bad they'll mess someone up if they pulled a knife or gun on them. Problem is, they don't come running up waving a weapon in the air, and by the time there's a gun in your face it's too late. Unless you are Chuck Norris.

This is the same thing I was going too say!! Whatever you use You need too have some type of plan of training! Otherwise it can all be turned around to fast..

[Scootertrash]

This is the same thing I was going too say!! Whatever you use You need too have some type of plan of training! Otherwise it can all be turned around to fast..

I had the privilige(?)of being able to read a written account of a guy (screen name "Blitz" but not on this site)who was involved in a robbery where the bad guy came strolling up while he and his buddies where having their weekly cigar/cocktails and BS get together. He eventually pulled his gun, had an opportunity and shot the bad guy, but also got shot himself.
IIRC, He holds Conceal Carry classes, I don't really remember, I'd have to go back and check his posts.
None the less, he is better trained than the majority of folks who have convinced themselves that they can handle any type of bad guy that may try to rob them or do them harm. He remembered the whole experience very well, down to hearing the bad guys revolver clicking after he fired his six shots. One other thing that stood out for me: The bad guy was using Gold Dot +p for ammo. :O For those unfamiliar with handgun ammunition, Gold Dots are specifically designed for self defense, so he wasn't using just any old cheap off the shelve Wally World ammo, he had the good stuff.

Cliff's notes of the incident:
Blitz hangs with his lawyer buddies on tues day nights for "guy time". Blitz had left his carry weapon at his office, debates stopping to get it, but decides to go get it. Bad guy shows up and attempts to rob them. Shots fired. Both Blitz and the bad guy are hit. Turns out the bad guy was shacking up around the corner from these lawyers offices where they hung out. He was shacking up with a woman who worked in the prison kitchen where he had been incarcerated. Sounds like the bad guy had staked them out to plan his robbery. Blitz survives his injuries, bad guy caught and sent to prison.

If anyone would like to read the thread themselves, let me know and I'll post a link. I found it to be a very interesting read. It shows how a completely normal day can turn out to be anything but, and how a simple decision can change the outcome, and maybe save your life. It shows no matter how you thought things would go down in a situation like this, or how you planned you would react, all those plans can end up in the crapper in the blink of an eye. It's a long thread, but there are a bunch of "get well soons" and "glad you survived "and "good shoot" comments you can pass over. But he also answers a lot of questions some of the guys had about how the incident went down and what he would do different.

Here is a little snippet from that thread about how criminals feel when they succeed comitting a crime:

Example: There is a fellow out there by the name of William Aprill who has spent his adult life studying criminals as a psychologist. In one of his lectures I attended, he related that criminals have been surveyed on various things including why they commit violent crimes. One of the top responses for why they commit a violent act was a "feeling of accomplishment."

Now that's abstract, so let me anchor it in reality: Stop for a moment and think about how you felt when you graduated high school...or graduated college...or got that promotion...or bought your first house...or finished that difficult project. Something difficult that took you time and effort and that challenged your abilities, the completion of which signaled to you achievement of a goal or attainment of a status you'd been hoping for over an extended period of time. Do you have that feeling in mind? Good.

That's how a bad guy feels when he bashes somebody's skull in with a shovel.

If anyone wants the link, particularly anyone who carries or is thinking about carrying, let me know and I'll start a new thread and post the link.