From a link that was sent to me in email. How to make your own Pepper Spray.
I’ve never been sprayed with the stuff directly, although I’ve gotten a face full indirectly a couple times. However, my lovely wife, as part of her training, got a solid blast of it in the face from about three feet away. It does indeed blind you, and it does make breathing a spotty endeavour, but…and this is important…if the bad guy already has a grip on you somewhere he can still continue his melee attack (since he doesnt need to see in order to continue beating on you when he already has a hold of you). If he doesn’t have a grip on you, then he’s going to have a heck of a time finding you what with the blinding and tearing up of the eyes. (Of course, to my way of thining, if the bad guy already has a grip on you then the situation has advanced beyond pepper spray and into things a bit more dangerous.) I like the idea of having a graduated scale of escalating force options and pepper spray gives you that. However, the impression that spraying someone in the face with the stuff will spare you a beating isn’t exactly 100% true.
The issue I have with peperspray, oc or whatnot is twofold. First it seriously ups the ante. A relative and two friends were sprayed once. They basically went berzerker and kicked the heck out of5guy. The next issue is that it is so limited in utility, not good in small spaces or if the wind is moving towards you or of the guy is on drugs or nuts. May be useful as a break contact nonleathal for a civilian or a compliance ànd or civilian abuse tool for a cop. Personally as a civilian I will pass.
I’ve been sprayed as part of training with Freeze +P and Fox OC. They are both absolutely terrible.
However, they don’t blind you per se. The pain in your eyes is nearly unbearable, but you can fight it and get your eyes open. At many departments, you get sprayed and then have to wrestle an instructor into handcuffs. Those with training or who have been hit with it before will know what to expect and can function at reduced capacity.
I still carry spray with me everywhere I go, and I’d still use it before getting into a fistfight. It’s incredibly awesome stuff, but it’s not God Mode.
Nice to see my article is getting around. It’s an honor! Hope it proves useful.
Welcome to the internet fame machine!
I figure if he is close enough to touch, you might not want to spray him, because you will end up with some back scatter/splash. And in that case, he might remain more functional than you.
And a reminder: do a test spray of all units before placing them into service. Attempting to spray someone/thing, and discovering that it has a perfume atomizer discharge is NOT GOOD!