Pepper spray is NOT a stand-off weapon - it's not a magic bullet you fire from across the room which causes someone to run away yowling while crashing into your furniture.
It won't drop someone, it'll only distract them with pain and blindness for a short while. Yes, this is useful, no this is empathically NOT a single solution to all your problems.
If you want to go with pepper spray, you better learn hand-to-hand skills as well, because chances are, you'll be clinching/fighting with this guy before or after you use it (and praying he doesn't carry a knife or gun himself.)
I've had law-enforcement grade pepper spray blasted in my face during a combative training program, and I still managed to fight back pretty good. Not because I'm a tough guy, but because adrenaline can (temprorarily) make you ignore the feeling of your eyeballs melting and your nose exploding. Really, it can.
No burglar is going to just stand there, take your blast of pepper spray, and plead for mercy until the cops show up.
If you think pepper spray is a good home defense tool, you're not carrying a weapon - you're carrying a talisman.
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Pepper spray is NOT a stand-off weapon - it's not a magic bullet you fire from across the room which causes someone to run away yowling while crashing into your furniture. It won't drop someone, it'll only distract them with pain and blindness for a short while. Yes, this is useful, no this is empathically NOT a single solution to all your problems. If you want to go with pepper spray, you better learn hand-to-hand skills as well, because chances are, you'll be clinching/fighting with this guy before or after you use it (and praying he doesn't carry a knife or gun himself.) I've had law-enforcement grade pepper spray blasted in my face during a combative training program, and I still managed to fight back pretty good. Not because I'm a tough guy, but because adrenaline can (temprorarily) make you ignore the feeling of your eyeballs melting and your nose exploding. Really, it can. No burglar is going to just stand there, take your blast of pepper spray, and plead for mercy until the cops show up. If you think pepper spray is a good home defense tool, you're not carrying a weapon - you're carrying a talisman.