I hope you test your pepper spray

Joined
Apr 7, 1999
Messages
514
If you carry pepper spray or know someone who does, then you better test it. I usually would not admit to carrying something like this just because it draws laughter from people who think they are tougher than me, but I will make an exception today because I test fired the spay this morning and was shocked by the failure. I pressed the cap and a six-inch squirt came out and dripped all over my hands. The spay was never used and around one year old. Didn't Mad Max run around holding-up people and threatening them with his shot-gun, only to realize towards the end of the movie that both shells were duds? Anyway test your sprays or else if you should have to use it and it fails, you will need to settle for a good poke to the eyes with pepper drenched hands for defense. Would I be better off carrying a container of ground pepper seeds with a quick release lid? I know this sounds stupid (tactical seasoning), but very few people or animals can fight blind. This has to do with knives because good knives will never completely fail when they are needed.
 
Good advice, I don't adopt ANY new gear until it's been thoroughly tested.

You have all heard about throwing dirt in the eyes of your enemy while in a knife fight? Well, I see pepper spray as the most convienient way to carry that handful of dirt around.

It is NOT a weapon unto it's own, in fact I mightily unimpressed by tear gas as well.

Some tears, some snot. That won't stop a fight, maybe break up a crowd of peaceful protesters, but won't stop a determined attack.
 
It' lovely for seasoning a large steak, not much use other than that *LL*
 
I carry OC as well, because (quite frankly), I don't feel that a handgun or a knife is the answer for every situation. I honestly don't feel like killing everyone that's a potential threat unless it's warranted, and my wallet is not worth someone's life.

That being said, I make sure to keep my OC clean, and test it every few months or so. It's cheaper to make sure it works, much cheaper than any hospital bill.

OC / Mace / whatever is pretty inexpensive and you have no excuse not to check your equipment....

Spark

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Kevin Jon Schlossberg
SysOp and Administrator for BladeForums.com

Insert witty quip here
 
Spark is right, you should test your equipment. We are issued OC and the instructions state to shake and test monthly. I used go through quite a bit of OC and did not keep a can that long.
 
Big1,

You must be cdn with a comment like that. We've got a tough leader, he strangles protesters with his own bare hands, and eats steak with pepper spray on it. Then there's his wife...
 
Good reminder! I shake and check my wife`s and the big one on the bedstand monthly (the one next to the .45
wink.gif
). I gave one to my little sister (and a Spydie Dragonfly) a year or two ago when she started working at a mall and had to walk to her car late at night by herself. One day she decided she`d better test it (bright kid!) and it just sorta dribbled out. She used to kid that an attacker would have to lie on the ground and hold his eyelids open while she dribbled it in there for it to do any good!
smile.gif
She passed away before I got the chance to get her a new one but the lesson holds true. Marcus
 
IT's also a good idea to wash the nozzel in warm soapy water and flush with running water to prvent a clog from a previous test. Also have someone with you when you test spray in case of a cracked or broken nozzel. I had story told to me about someone testing a can of pepper that had been dropped with no noticeable damage but there was a crack that showed itself during testing,spraying the sprayer.

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Ray Carr
 
Tactical seasoning ? I've had a bad day,
and that for me was first a first good
laugh. A poke to the eyes with pepper drenched hands....More effective than merely the spray, I'd suggest. I agree. Test, test, and test again. At a soccer scrimmage I coached at last season, we had a young man of 16 to 18 years of age jump a fence and challenge one of our coaches to a fight. Apparently, his little brother had been bad-mouthing anyone within earshot from the adjacent playground, that all present were a bunch of "soccer pussies". One of our coaches, who stood around 5'10", and weighed maybe 160 lbs, age 48, ex-Marine (no such thing) took exception to this, and told the little guy to cool it and leave, inciting the unwanted arrival of big brother, who stood around 6'2" and might have weighed a cut 175 to 180. The two stood toe-to-toe exchanging challenges. "little Jim" let the kid close to the point that he was actually standing on
the big kid's toes. The big kid reacted with the typical "I'm gonna kick your ---". Myself and another coach, 6'3 - 205, 6'2" 225, respectively, stepped in, and in so many words, told the boy it just wasn't going to happen. No physical contact from us The boy stepped back, put up his dukes and challenged all three of us. How do you spell AMPHETAMINE.... I went to my rig, grabbed my cell phone and pepper spray jug. shaked it up, and returned to scene. When the boy saw the jug he became further agitated and stepped towards me. I gave the jug a quick burst downwards, away from the perp which produced a cloud that even I had to make an effort to step clear of. Caught some even then. The big kid made a hasty retreat, ranting all the way. Point in question....I tested this jug the night before, and it dribbled. CHECK YOUR SPRAY -CLEAN OUT THE NOZZLE, AS IN AFOREMENTIONED POSTS.

AL
 
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