Studies have spray effective 92-98% of the time and guns effective 50-67% of the time depending on the study. Firearm advocates will say that spray is discharged in less serious situations than a gun is used and maybe there’s something to that, but not enough to explain the discrepancy.
There are two big advantages to spray. One is that it works when not aimed accurately, unlike a gun. The other is the reaction to a partial hit. If you just wound a grizzly with a gun (which is the most likely outcome if you’re not an expert marksman) it is quite likely to just make the bear more aggressive and frenzied. Conversely, the natural reaction to being doused in capsaicin and struggling to see or breathe is for the bear to recoil and try to get the stuff off itself.
when i worked graveyards and people would fight and shit, since youre in an enclosed space w no escape (a boat) it felt a little unsafe at times and i shopped around for my options and spray was by far the best. i used it one time and it worked insanely well. only problem really is range - you’re limited to maybe 30 feet at best, and then friendly fire is a real bitch, no matter what you’re gonna get yourself a little bit too
I just donated a hand held taser/flashlight combo to Goodwill. I tested the thing once and set it down and touched the prongs when I picked it back up and the residual charge popped me pretty good. It would light paper on fire, but didn’t like cold weather and wasn’t reliable at all. I checked out pepper spray for dog walking and decided to go with gel. I’ve bought maybe 4 cans of pepper spray in my life and never come close to using it.
i would recommend shooting the pepper spray/gel at least one time in your backyard to get a feel for it, I was glad I did. what happens is it’s really easy to get yourself on accident, the particles linger in the air and suck really bad.
in my case it was some asshole trying to fight someone else, and then me, and the safest option was to discharge it on him so I could safely park the boat and get the police involved, he ended up crying and running away when we parked, he had a miserable time almost instantly.
because I’d tested it out previously in my backyard I knew once i shot it to immediately shut the doors of my wheelhouse so the particles wouldnt get me and blind me
I was walking my dog a lot and there were a couple of super aggro bulldogs that weren’t penned in very well. I went with gel to avoid the spray issue, but I should definitely test the next can out before I carry it for protection. Anything I still have around has probably been expired for 5 years.
I was a camp counselor after college while I was waiting for my real job to start. The camp put the counselors up in apartments (not luxurious - dumpy place with three roommates, but at least one was my brother). One of the female counselors was messing around in the hallway one day and decided it would be fun to discharge her pepper spray for no reason. Man, that shit infiltrated every crack and crevice of our apartment and even though she did it outside, we were feeling the effects inside. Yeah, that stuff lingers and spreads.
No bears near me but maybe bear spray would be a good idea when I encounter aggro dogs while hiking. Or I could tell the guys at my hiking club I am looking for a bear bang.
I’ve seen videos of police killing people, but for some reason, this, despite no violence, is near the top of the list for videos that have disturbed me. I think it has to do with being a parent, thinking of those kids in the car:
She literally did what you’re supposed to do, slow down, hazards on, wait for a safe spot to pull over. She could have called 9-1-1 to let them know what she was doing, but that’s about it. If she was white, zero chance that’s not a much more friendly stop.
