Posted on 12/12/2008 11:31:33 AM PST by DCBryan1
Freepers: Need a little "thinking outside the box" from you on a little subject I am having trouble dealing with here in Little Rock, AR. I need some technical advice since I don't have time to research while and work, and just love hearing Freeper stories and advice.
After the burglary, rape, beating, and murder of Anne Pressley (KATV News Anchor) in a very nice part of Little Rock, the local neighborhood association is fed up with crime and has resorted to.....PEPPER SPRAY! Yes that's right, the neighborhood association, over 100 years old and full of liberals, is reluctant to bring up the "controversial" subject of firearms for self defense. Dozens of citizens have approached me for the AR CHL and I have given them instruction and certified their application for the CHL (...apparently there are some sane liberals there).
However, the problem I am having is that PEPPER SPRAY seems to be the magical item that most people want instead of a gun. I keep reminding people that pepper and OC spray is:
1) a deterrant, and
2) an irritant...neither is good at completely stopping and incapacitating a violent criminal (or criminals).
Before I post on the neighborhood website further opinions on pepper spray, I would like your professional and personal opinions and how to address concerned citizens on:
Shelf life of OC and Pepper spray
Reactivity in hot/cold weather
Use of chemicals in enclosed spaces
Quantity of spray needed to truely deter a criminal
Quantity of spray (and type) that will incapacitate an attacker
Any chemical or technical experience with the items
Any real-life stories of how pepper spray/OC actually stopped an attack
Anything you deem relevant IOT help my CHL business and demystify the belief in the liberal areas of Little Rock that "guns are bad".
Anyways, I just need tactful and thoughtful advice that maybe I might be overseeing in dealing with this little issue that is like a penny in a can for me...irrelevant, but damn annoying.
Thanks again!
DCB
Thanks again!
No personal experience, but a good non-lethal alternative.
This is one of the best for what I understand:
http://www.foxlabs.com/html.html
YMMV
I’m not convinced a food seasoning is really an effective deterrent to a drugged up thug ... whereas anything with a “4” in the caliber designation works wonders.
Pepper spray works for dogs. Mace works for humans. Problem is, I doubt mace is legal in your jurisdiction. In the slight chance that it is, however . . . .
On crack.... it doesn’t do much, same for some other narcotics...
Now THAT’S good advice.
Don’t discount pepper spray. The real benefit to pepper spray is that you can carry into places that you cannot carry a firearm. For example, you could leave a bar at 1:30am armed with pepper spray, while you’d be either disarmed or a felon if you relied solely on a firearm. Ditto for hospitals and other locations where it’s not legal to carry in most jurisdictions.
In the future, note the FR sidebar is reserved for FR business and not this.
Why not just kill the perp?
Perhaps a candy-gram would suffice? 
Mongo like candy
I agree. Packin is always better than sprayin! :)
Duly noted...thanks!
An important thing to remember about pepper spray is its limitations. It has to get to the mucus membranes to be effective. It does not work well into the wind, or in close spaces like in a car, where it as likely to incapacitate the sprayer as the person being sprayed.
If the perpetrator is at all familiar with pepper spray, they can hold their breath and wear wraparound sun glasses to divert the spray from the eyes. This is relatively effective armor against pepper spray.
True enough, but I am just overcoming the objections of citizens that they believe that pepper spray is the "magic bullet" that makes criminals go away.
I'd love to increase my business, teach the liberals that guns aren't bad, and hopefully get some citizens to quit being victims and fight back in my neighborood.
It’s better than a flashlight for defense.
Get a CCW permit.
OC spray is a distractant and not a deterant. It will give you time to beat feet, at best, and that’s it. Shelf life is good, effectiveness in cold weather is reduced because it does not vaporize as much in cold air as it does in warm. In warm weather a chest hit will vaporize and hit the lungs much better than in cold. A face hit in all weather does the job.
Some people can handle OC with little effect. Others it drops them to their knees. In any case extreme emotion can override the pain. On the whole, its a limited tool and is in no way an all around solution.
On the other hand, since it is not lethal people are more inclined to actually use it and use early. People who won’t use a gun or taser will use OC spray and will use it early enough to make a difference. I recommend it because of that factor alone. I tell people who ask about it that if they are even approached in a threatening manner such that they fear for their safety they should spray first and ask questions later. You can’t really say that with guns or tasers.
My 2 cents.
Eventually, sooner or later, the thing will go off in your pocket. If some day you actually have to use it you will spray yourself as much as the bear. Your screaming will collapse the bear in laughter.
And you call yourself a dentite. I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you!
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