Using Pepper spray for Defense

Law enforcement personnel are trained in the use of effectively utilizing less-lethal self defense weapons.  By using a canister of pepper spray rather than drawing their firearm is just plain smart when warranted.

We have heard many incidences on the news lately on the use of pepper spray by law enforcement in a crowd situation.  As we all know police officers may or may not be over stepping their boundaries in certain circumstances in the use of pepper sprays; however the fact remains they do indeed work if you use it properly.

What's great about using pepper sprays is that you have distance between you and the attacker.  It's important however that you keep the proper distance.  A good distance to keep in mind is between six and ten feet.  You don't want to be too close as you may also experience the affects of the pepper spray, then on the other hand you can't be too far as it may not reach the person you are spraying.  To make sure you know the proper distance of the style you have chosen to carry, check the instructions on its distance level.

By shooting the pepper spray on any other parts of the body other than the facial area will not provide you its effectiveness.  You have to point and shoot at the face to the eyes and nose area of the attacker.  By spraying to the facial area the recipient will immediately experience a sensation of heat and burning which results in the attacker becoming incapacitated.  At this time you should run to safety and seek help.

Aiming and hitting someone directly to the face is not a simple task.  For this reason use a S pattern when spraying and aim at the top of the chest to the face area.  This will give you better aim at hitting the face and incapacitate the assailant.

It's crucially important that you carry your self defense spray on your person at all times in an appropriate easily accessible spot.  Don't make it obvious that you are carrying the pepper spray; you don't want to give the attacker advanced warning.  Let him get close enough and surprise the attacker with a blast of pepper spray.  You don't want him to be able to respond prior, element of surprise is key in defending you.