Knife or pepper spray best for trouble?

L

Lavan

Joined
Nov 8, 2000
Messages
2,301
Had an incident Sat afternoon that taught me that a knife is a TOOL and not a WEAPON for an untrained geek.
I have CCW but was NOT carrying and wife and I had confrontation with a hostile BUM. Ended OK but all I had was my lockback and I had no intention of getting in a KNIFE fight and possibly needing AIDS tests for a year or so.

Would you rather have pepper spray or a knife for a "chips down" situation?

Fortunately this did not develop that far, but one never knows.
I......did......replace my used up pepper spray that day.

Repeat......I am trained in guns but not knives. Think pepper best for me if NOT carrying gun. Probably even IF carrying gun.

Rather put some idiot down and leave than get sued for everything.

UNLESS he had a gun, too. In which case NO question of what to go for.

:confused:
 
I am no legal expert, but at it stands to reason that you won't get charged with assualt with a deadly weapon for using pepper spray. I also have a CCW, but not all situations justify the use of deadly force.
 
How abou this for you....I know that many places it is illegal.....but besides a knife, I am also known to carry a 600,000V Stun Gun. Just the sound of the thing scares the bejezus out of people. I can tell you from experience that the smaller ones---100,000V really don't do to much to a person. Yeah, it hurt, but it didn't do much to me.

I just cannot get over the fact that if you had to use pepper spray that if it is windy out, then your screwed. Case in point. 2 drunk guys show up @ my door @ 1:35 am. I noticed a squad car in the driveway in back of their car as well. I open the door & the 2 guys ask if they can come in. I said hell no. The lady officer asked if I knew these people becasue they were driving under the influence. I said no I don't & then the guy gets mad & tries to force his way into my house through the screen door. I wouldn't have minded becasue I had my S&W 357 right at my side, but instead, the lady cop pulled him away & the guy makes a break for it while the other guy is standing there in a daze. She tackles the guy & sprays him with the pepper spray & unfortunately, it was windy out & it came back into her eyes. She still got the guy in cuffs, but she also paid the price for using it. Well, thats the end of story time boys & girls.....anywho....I like the stuff, but you have to be very careful.
 
OC/ CS blended in a foam, not spray base. Still not impossible to have the spray drift, but less likely to happen.

Most days I carry a knife, small can of OC/CS and an ASP baton, 21" liteweight. I try to match the right tool to the job, lol.
 
kidwholaughs said:
A rock, it's cheap, effective and deniable. Best of all, it can't malfunction.
Click to expand...

..........and you don't have to worry whether or not throwing it will cause mechanical damage........... to the rock I mean........
 
How about an icicle? Various sizes & the evidense disappears after using it.... :D hopefully.........
 
In some cases this thing - pepperspray etc works opposite way. Especially if your opponent drunk or under drugs - does not feel pain for some reason, it will just make him angry, because it is kind of "fair fight" violation and also indication of your weakness. Also if you have multiple opponents it is ineffective.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
Pepper spray is generally my first choice, but I don't see any reason to limit my options. I carry pepper spray, a handgun, and a knife.

And I'm honestly not looking to start trouble, but I have to ask... Was there a legal reason why you weren't carrying a handgun or was it a matter of convenience? I subscribe to the "seatbelt theory" of concealed carry; I won't know when I'm going to need it so I carry all the time (except where restricted by law).

My H&K P7 goes with me almost every time, but I keep a tiny Kel-Tec P-3AT (.380 ACP) around as a pocket gun for those times when my clothing or activities just won't conceal something full-sized.

--Bob Q
 
Being drunk isn't going to save you from pepper spray, it creates a physiological reaction. Water pours from your eyes and the lids close involuntarily. Breathing is difficult. Pain unbearable. At least with a shot of Fox Labs Pepper Spray. I have no affiliation, but have seen one very big, drunk SOB with bad intentions sob :D like a baby, rolling on the ground when hit by it. And I could have hit his 2 buddies in another instant if they didn't turn and haul butt. 15' fogger's like a shotgun, point and let rip...and they don't physically get to you to do potential damage.
Granted, on a windy day it's not reliable, but it's way too effective not to carry as an option...ESPECIALLY for the ladies.
 
Pepperspray is good for a crowd.
I rather try to make a point with a closed Chinok2.
As F.Zappa allready said:
"Anyway the wind blows"
 
A taser is a poor for self defense. You must be very close and actually holding the taser against sommeone for several seconds.

Pepper spray is a good choice because, due to its non-lethal nature, you might be less hesitant to use it when nessesary. A good pepper spray will put almost anyone down, as selfinflicted describes - it has less to do with pain tolerance than with how their body reacts. In any case, even if you are very tough, it is hard to attack someone when tears are pouring down your face and you cannot breathe.
 
A knife is "deadly force". Pepper spray is repellent or defensive force. Before you can use deadly force, you must have used ANY other option including TRYING TO RUN AWAY. With repellent force, you may stand your ground while using it. Courts take a VERY dim view of deadly force unless they are using deadly force against you. You had better be able to prove "imminent fear of death". When you pull a knife, you also give your attacker a very good excuse to use deadly force against you if he/she has not already done so. They may take it away from you and use it against you. I know that no one wants to "run away", but it must be attempted before you can use deadly force. It is a shame that our society has come to this but it has.

We sprayed a drunk itinerant with Mace one occassion until it ran off his face and his shirt and collar were soaked (two full cans). He was literaly unaffected. It dont affect some people. We had to drive to the station with our heads out the windows on either side of the patrol car. He never calmed down. The next time we used it, the person dropped instantly to the ground. Go with the pepper spray and as a LAST RESORT use deadly force.
 
bquinlan....I was not armed because I was "ONLY GOING TO THE DRUGSTORE."

Who hasn't heard THAT before? A mistake that will be corrected now.

Our neighborhood center is VERY clean. Til now, had NEVER seen a bum.

Things change.

Carrying all three now. Gun, knife, spray.

Preferred tool: SPRAY.....for all reasons cited here. Don't need to pay a lawyer what we are retired on.

If I thought I was a good enough ACTOR, maybe I could convince a cop that a BASEBALL BAT was for my "geezer league" practice.

Jeez....I remember when cops just moved bums out of the picture. Now they are afraid of "profiling." Things change.

This whole thing started because of MY laxity. No gun for stupid reason. No spray cuz it was old and used up. Only a knife cuz it's ALWAYS there.

Phooey.
 
Forgot to add. I think PEPPER spray is far awfuller than MACE. When I first got my MACE, you needed a LICENSE. It was unpleasant (REEEAL unpleasant) but I could see how if I recalled my drinkin days I might not notice it.

I popped off ONE lil spray of OC from the can I purchased Saturday. Just on the patio. Looks like this one may have some red dye in it too. It squirted in a STREAM so wind doesn't look like a MAJOR factor.

From previous experience I sprayed and left the area. BUT....went back in a few seconds to move a bucket and just got OVER the place I sprayed.

.....................YOW..................felt it immediately.

Throat, nose, eyes......HOT. Left again and didn't move the bucket for a while later. There was a slight breeze and I sure THOUGHT it had cleared out.

Wroooooonnnnnnnggggg.

:D
 
You said yourself the gun would have been inappropriate to pull or use as there was no furtive movement to weapons for you to believe you were in imminent danger.

Having it in that scenario would not have changed anything as described.

Brownie
 
The REASON there was no call to draw and fire was that we were able to duck into a store real quick. Had we been isolated, there COULD have been a reason to fire.
I know....WHEN....I can fire but am more comfortable having the means to do so.....IF.....that need arises.
As it was, with ONLY my knife I will admit that I.....did.....have it OPEN in my pocket when we had to go back outside.

AGAIN

IF and ONLY IF.....it were needed.

"Legal" goes only as far as common sense. I even sometimes exceed 65 MPH. I go slower in 90 degree turns.
 
A taser is a poor for self defense. You must be very close and actually holding the taser against sommeone for several seconds.
Click to expand...
Do not confuse a Taser (www.taser.com) with a stun gun. A true Taser is great choice for non-lethal applications. The Taser does not rely on pain, but ueses Electro-Muscular Disruption (EMD) and does not require that you contact the target.
 
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