Published Apr 9, 2010
Do you carry pepper spray or mace on your person?
I am curious.
Thanks :)
Poi Dog
1,134 Posts
I don't carry pepper spray or a knife. I am very good at running and screaming like hell, though. My house, on the other hand, is a veritable orificenal of guns. I will not run away from my house. Intruders have the choice of being mauled by dogs and then shot or, if they like, they can have it the other way around. I'm easy that way.
^^^Best thing I've read all morning^^^
RedhairedNurse, BSN, RN
1,060 Posts
I can imagine the "Dirty Harriet" comments that security would make, when they saw you approaching day after day to dutifully turn in your weapon, then pick it up again at the end of the shift.What I use in my car to keep a pistol secure is this:http://www.amazon.com/Secure-Handgun-Storage-Safe-Key/dp/B000HBB15U/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1270833165&sr=8-4It includes a steel cable that fastens around a seat rail inside your car, then the other end locks inside the box itself. While the box is "only" made from sheet steel, the steel is NOT soft, wimpy, cold-rolled steel. I had to cut a cable retaining notch inside the other side of the box, so I could put the box exactly where I wanted it. Even though I used an abrasive Dremel cutting disc that makes short work of soft steel, the steel used in this box took a decent while to cut into. HIGHLY recommended.
What I use in my car to keep a pistol secure is this:
http://www.amazon.com/Secure-Handgun-Storage-Safe-Key/dp/B000HBB15U/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1270833165&sr=8-4
It includes a steel cable that fastens around a seat rail inside your car, then the other end locks inside the box itself. While the box is "only" made from sheet steel, the steel is NOT soft, wimpy, cold-rolled steel. I had to cut a cable retaining notch inside the other side of the box, so I could put the box exactly where I wanted it. Even though I used an abrasive Dremel cutting disc that makes short work of soft steel, the steel used in this box took a decent while to cut into. HIGHLY recommended.
This is good. I had a hand gun under my seat (years ago) before hand gun license. My car got stolen and when they recovered my car, my hand gun was gone. ) :
I would carry a gun in my car when I was a bartender.
Get this......about a year or more later, the police contacted me and my hand gun turned up in a pawn shop. I got it back!
Thank goodness I had the serial number.
LovebugLPN
275 Posts
I have pink pepper spray on a key chain but now that I saw the post about it spraying back in my face I am thinking about throwing it out. I am not sure i want to make my attack easier.
And this is exactly what I teach my daughter, run like hell. And if that doesn't work, kick, scream and FIGHT!
I too, have hand guns in my house and feel sorry for any body that tries to break in while I'm here.
GilaRRT
1,905 Posts
5 ml syring of Vecuronium, 1" 18g needle. Can't wait to see the look in his eyes.
Unfortunately, assuming you actually managed to hit the attacker and inject the medication, he/she would have more than enough time to kill you before they began to experience clinically significant effects. Being that good distribution of vecuronium via the IV route can take up to several minutes.
As far as carrying a hand gun guys, it is a tricky situation. Even many "trained" police officers are often wounded or killed by their own gun. I am not sure somebody who has a hobby of shooting the ultra threatening paper targets at the range would do much better. While I am not against people carrying handguns, I do think some level of training and competency should be established before Joe Q citizen goes out hunting for criminals...
You don't have to throw it out, because you never know, it could help protect you against an amateur attacker (if there is such a thing). I just use a different form of protection. Just be aware and don't hold it so far out in front of you for some one to knock it out of your hands. You would just have to use your best judgement if you ever had to use it. And would have to be very fast! Anyway, sexual predators usually carry pepper spray themselves.
BluegrassRN
1,188 Posts
Big protective dog, healthy set of lungs, and a fight-to-the-death attitude.
Oh, and at home, a shotgun. I may be a bleeding heart liberal, but I'm a bleeding heart liberal with a gun, and I know how to use it.
Big protective dog, healthy set of lungs, and a fight-to-the-death attitude.Oh, and at home, a shotgun. I may be a bleeding heart liberal, but I'm a bleeding heart liberal with a gun, and I know how to use it.
Did you hear about the Chelsea King case in California. So sad. I'm not sure she was able to fight back because he used pepper spray on her. However, the same attacker (hope he rotts) attacked another woman in December that fought back, elbowed him
in his face and ran like.........She's alive!
CoffeemateCNA
903 Posts
I keep meaning to purchase some, but I would have no place to put it as it is banned on facility premises. For now, I am only armed with a lanyard full of keys and will threaten to beat the living crap out of anyone who comes near me.
I once thought of "borrowing" some benzalkonium chloride from housekeeping and putting it in one of those $0.99 travel-sized spray bottles from Wal-Mart. Hopefully it would do some damage. Now I'm wondering why I never went through with the idea??
sjt9721, BSN, RN
706 Posts
What I use in my car to keep a pistol secure is this:http://www.amazon.com/Secure-Handgun-Storage-Safe-Key/dp/B000HBB15U/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1270833165&sr=8-4It includes a steel cable that fastens around a seat rail inside your car, then the other end locks inside the box itself. While the box is "only" made from sheet steel, the steel is NOT soft, wimpy, cold-rolled steel. I had to cut a cable retaining notch inside the other side of the box, so I could put the box exactly where I wanted it. Even though I used an abrasive Dremel cutting disc that makes short work of soft steel, the steel used in this box took a decent while to cut into. HIGHLY recommended.
Thanks for providing this information; I'm going to check it out.
Another option is this: http://consolevault.com/ On several vehicle models, it fits into the existing console & bolts to the floor.
CrufflerJJ, BSN, RN, EMT-P
1,023 Posts
and most of all, be very alert to your surroundings.
yes!:up:
alertness (situational awareness) & mindset are far more valuable than any weapon you've got in your hands.
**warning**...this post contains some politically incorrect views regarding violence, use of weapons, and self defense.....
i do not recommend "mace" (cn/cs based sprays). they are nowhere near as effective as a good oc ("pepper") spray. if you are thinking about carrying oc, carry a good brand, such as fox labs or guardian products/body guard. check out youtube for hilarious videos of people trying the sprays out on themselves or on a friend.
there are also oc classes available, which use an inert (non-oc) pressurized filler in the "oc" container. this can be useful for you to judge the range/pattern of your preferred agent when working with a training partner.
oc containers less than 2 ounces capacity are useless. please don't carry the cutesy keychain squirt containers with a dinky volume of agent - they'll just get you hurt.
if you leave a low quality oc container in a hot car, it may leak - don't be surprised if this happens. so far, my wife & my bodyguard and fox labs oc containers velcro'd to the dashboards of our vehicles (in the shade, to the right of the steering column) have been good to us.
knives are useful, with proper training. they do have a negative social stigma associated with their use (i.e., if you stab an attacker, you must have been in the wrong - only bad guys use knives). many people also tend to be reluctant to use the knife "properly" against another human being (see dave grossman's book "on killing"). at close range, a knife in your hand can be more useful than a holstered firearm. you'd just need to decide on folding vs fixed blade (watch out for local city, state regulations as to what types & length of blades are ok, versus "naughty"). also be careful about employer rules on having "weapons" at work. nobody should see/know about what you choose to carry, unless you are forced to use it. at that point, your survival is more important than the employer rules (& probably, the local/state/fed laws).
real knife fights are not at all like the dance portrayed in movies & on tv shows, where the 2 combatants face off, knives stuck out in a fencing position, while dancing back & forth, slashing furiously. if done "properly", your opponent does not know that you have a knife.
for anyone thinking about carrying/using a handgun for self defense, training is more important than the choice of weapon. knowing how/when/when not to use a handgun is more important than whether you carry a .380 acp shootzenboomer or a .575 t-rex slayer supreme (customized by les baer).
i think that this "training/mindset overriding weapon itself" is consistent whether you're talking hand-to-hand, oc, kubotan, blade, or firearm. many people tend to overlook this (in my occasionally humble opinion). plan on spending at least twice as much (if not more) on training as you do on your weapon itself.
if you carry a weapon for the defense of yourself or your loved ones' lives, have a good defense attorney lined up just in case. having a concealed weapon/handgun permit may help convince the responding officer that you're a "good guy", but be ready to "lawyer up". remember that mr. policeman is not your friend, even if you're clearly "in the right." the news media (while in ems, i lovingly referred to them as "news leeches") is even less of a friend than mr. policeman. after an incident, keep your mouth shut, lawyer up, and move on.
real world training is very valuable. for firearms instructors, i highly recommend gabe suarez (for real world attitude & surviving a gunfight), and massad ayoob (for post shooting management).
in your copious free time, you might also read "the gift of fear", by gavin de becker ( http://www.amazon.com/gift-fear-gavin-becker/dp/0440226198 ). it's an excellent book about trusting your instincts when dealing with people.
OutlawNurse86, BSN, RN
148 Posts
I have my concealed carry license and have my 1911 with me almost everywhere I go. When I can't carry the gun, I usually have a knife. There ain't much that a 185gr .45 ACP hollow point won't drop.
For a female shooter, I'd recommend something small (ie fits in a purse) but still packs a punch, like a .38spl snub nosed. I don't trust the stopping power of those little .22 and .25 pocket guns. If someone is coming at you you want to stop them. Also a revolver may be a better choice as some women ain't strong enough the pull the slide back on a semi-auto. (on the other hand, I know some women who are just as good with a gun as I am so...)
On a side note, when I took my concealed carry class, our instructor gave us a good bit of info. He was a retired DPS officer and told us that IF we ever have to use deadly force, that you never say you "shot to kill", you say you "shot to stop". The judicial system has a wonderful way of turning things around on you.