PEPPER SPRAY
TIPS & TRICKS
You say you have a pepper spray?
Fabulous!!
What???
You've never sprayed it?
Well, that's a good thing and
that's also a bad thing. The fact
that you've never NEEDED to spray it,
well that's a very good thing.
The fact that you have absolutely
no clue how it works or how to use it,
should you ever need to,
that is not a good thing at all.
So here are my
Pepper Spray Tips & Tricks!
1. DO A PRACTICE SPRAY Outside, please! If you ever need to use your Pepper Spray to defend yourself, that is NOT the time to figure out how to use it. You want to know what the spray pattern is like and you also want to be familiar with your distance, whether it's 8 feet or 25 feet. But most important, you want to know how your actuator tab works. Most Pepper Sprays (not all) but most, you have to press that actuator tab really hard. This is kind of a safety feature so if you just accidentally bump it, you're not going to have Pepper Spray everywhere. But if your adrenaline is pumping, you won't have any trouble pressing down on that tab. And once you've sprayed it, and understand how it works, you'll feel more comfortable about carrying it.
2. When ever you use your Pepper, MOVE OFF TO THE RIGHT OR LEFT!!! Of course the obvious reason is possible wind blow back. You can't always count on your attacker to be standing down wind of you, and you could ask, “Oh, would you please move over there before I spray you?” Probably not gonna work. But, here is the more important reason why you move. There is a small percentage of people that may continue coming at you. They can't see, they can barely breath and they are burning like you-know-what but they wanna get their hands on you so bad they will move in the direction where they last saw you and THAT is why you don't want to be there.
3. Go outside and do a practice spay ONCE A YEAR. You have more than enough sprays. You just want to make sure the propellant is still working. If when you spray you just get Pepper Spray dribbling down, toss it!. The propellant is shot so get a new one.
4. VISIBILITY of your Pepper Spray is extremely effective. You don't want it down in the bottom of your purse when you're walking across that dark parking lot. You will never get to it in time, so you might as well have left it at home. More importantly, bad people KNOW what Pepper Spray is and when they see you have some, they will decide you are not that easy target they were hoping for. Hold it out in front of you as you are walking if you're getting a bad vibe. I learned how important that is with my first Pepper Spray 17 years ago and I have never forgotten that lesson. Also, in 17 years I have never had to spray anybody. I've threatened, but once they saw my Pepper Spray they took off. If you know anyone with a background in Law Enforcement, Corrections Officer, Military or Border Patrol ask them which is worse, Pepper Spray or a Stun Gun. These folks have experienced both, and sometimes once a year. They will all tell you the Pepper Spray is so much worse.
5. Hopefully you have yourself a key chain Pepper Spray, so your Pepper Spray should be in only ONE OF THREE PLACES. Hanging off your ignition, hanging on a hook by the door or in your hand. If you have little ones running around or you know that your keys are gonna end up in the bottom of your purse, then get a LEATHER CASE, not the plastic case. The leather case is merely taking an extra split second to unsnap the top to get access to the actuator tab, easy for you but really difficult for a little person. And if your Pepper Spray is in your purse then that actuator tab will be protected from accidental discharge.
6. CONFISCATION OF YOUR PEPPER SPRAY. If you are going on a plane, put your Pepper Spray in a zip lock and have it in your checked luggage. Under the plane is fine. In the plane, not so much. If you are going into any of the following: Police Station, Government Building, Court House, Social Security Office, any place where you think you may be searched (sad, I know) leave it in the car.
7. If you find that you ever have to spray someone, as you are leaving the scene, pull out your cell phone (or find a phone) and CALL 9-1-1 and explain the situation and where the attacker is laying so they can go get him/her. It may not occur to you, but that schmuck that just tried to attack you, when they're finally able to, might just whip out their cell phone and call 9-1-1 with some outlandish story about how some crazy person just Pepper Sprayed them for no reason. You want to make that call first . Believe me, it can happen. I've heard the stories.
8. GEL VS SPRAY VS STREAM VS FOGGER. Pepper spray comes in lots of different formulas. I haven't found a good key chain model (yet, but I will) that is in a Gel formula. The advantage of a Gel is it can be used indoors and there is no risk of blow back. Stream is also not affected by wind, but you need to have pretty good aim. The Spray, just aim for the head and you'll get all the important target; eyes, nose, mouth. The Fogger is a great formula for crowd control. This is what Law Enforcement uses. So if you think you're going to have to fight off a mob, (Zombie Attack?? No, just kidding. No such thing as Zombies, just 'Zombie-ish) the Fogger is your best choice.
Well, there you have it.
My 8 tips.
I slowly started putting this list
together because of conversations
that I have with people who come
by my table at the Gun Shows.
It started with gals seeing the
Pepper Sprays
I have displayed and they'd say
'Oh I have one of those'.
And then they would proceed to tell
me they have never sprayed it,
not even once.
Kinda like having a gun but never
going to the range so you can learn
how to use it.
