Pepper Spray: The Other Concealed Carry

I just took my Ruger LC9S, safely tucked into it’s pocket holster, out of my jacket pocket and placed it in it’s daytime home, my office desk drawer.

I work in an office that is entirely pro-carry… to the point where we actually held a CCW class for certification of our employees several years ago. 

Remember that Glock commercial from a couple of years ago with Gunny? The one in the diner? 

That’s a lot like what our office would look like.

However, the sad truth is that even in a state like Spice and I live in with constitutional carry, there are places were cannot legally carry firearms. Schools, public buildings, 

I live in a “very low” violent crime area, but I have zero interest walking around unarmed. However, I’ve noticed something about my carry patterns… I’ve mostly switched away from carrying a firearm with me on a daily basis, in favor of pepper spray… Spice, the wife, is also in the same boat as I am.

Kinber Pepper Blaster II

I’m not saying that I am recommending that others do this, I’ve just found that in my situation it’s much less of a hassle and overall I am more protected… here’s why… 

My work situation that has me going in and out of “gun-free” zones a LOT… not just gun-free zones, but gun-free zones patrolled by police & a lot of schools.

Here’s where the caveat comes in: Both Spice and I have concealed carry permits, have had them for years. We live in Missouri, a state that recently (January 1) instituted constitutional carry. Missouri residents who are not felons can carry firearms concealed or (handguns) openly without a permit. There are some technical parts of the law that I’m not going to get into (that’s a whole post and it only really relates to people in Missouri) but let’s just say it is now decriminalized to carry in many places where it was a felony to carry before. 

Obviously, I work in many places I may or may not be able to carry a firearm  but I can pretty much always carry pepper spray. I am quite often in a huge hurry (let’s just say the job is time-compressed… get in, get out and get on the road) and have, in the past, been standing talking to a school principal & security officer as part of my job when I realize I have something I really shouldn’t in my pocket… that’s bad. So, to carry before, I had to remember to disarm every time I left the car. This was 1) a pain and 2) left me unprotected.

Additionally, I work for a company that has me traveling, a lot, into Illinois. My CCW permit doesn’t cover Illinois, so… there’s that. 

Pepper spray is the new plan. I can carry it anywhere (here, check what state laws apply to where you are) legally. I keep my gun in my car. At work, I keep a gun in a pistol safe attached to my desk (out of sight) and locked up, so I am armed traveling and at work.

My spray of choice is the Kimber Pepper Blaster. There are other types that I am sure are as good if not better, but I like how this fits in my pocket and how it works. NOTE: As always, we are not sponsored in any way by any body. When we mention products that we like and use, we have purchased them ourselves and receive no recompense in any way for mentioning them on our blog.

SO… what exactly is pepper spray?

I am borrowing the following from an article on Wikipedia (rather than reinventing the wheel) but paraphrasing their entry:

Pepper spray (also known as capsicum spray) is a lachrymatory agent (a chemical compound that irritates the eyes to cause tears, pain, and temporary blindness).

Its inflammatory effects cause the eyes to close, taking away vision. This temporary blindness allows officers to more easily restrain subjects and permits people using pepper spray for self-defense an opportunity to escape.

Although considered a less-than-lethal agent, it has been deadly in rare cases, and concerns have been raised about a number of deaths where being pepper sprayed may have been a contributing factor.

In other words, it’s nasty stuff that generally has no long-term effect. 

The active ingredient in pepper spray is capsaicin, The strength of the spray is determined by the percentage of capsaicin in it, generally running from 0.18 percent all the way up to 3 percent.

The Kimber blaster I prefer is gel-based, which sticks to the skin of the assailant. It contains 10 percent oleoresin capsaicin (sticky gunk) “with 2.4 percent capsaicinoids in solution”, according to Kimber. 

The upsides are obvious:

• In most non-communist states in America, you can carry it everywhere. 
• Non-lethal means your liability is much more limited if you shoot somebody with the stuff
• Really effective against aggressive dogs without putting yourself in a situation to get sued
• Light
• Easy to conceal
• Inexpensive

The downsides are pretty obvious too:

• To be effective, you need to shoot your assailant in the face
• Short range to very-short range, depending upon your delivery device
• Can partially disable, but won’t help if your assaulter gets a grip on you
• Difficult to aim properly
• Quality control an issue
• Often has limited shelf life

Ultimately, whether you choose to add pepper spray to your personal self-defense system is entirely your call, but I find it a good tool to have for those places I cannot legally carry, because I don’t want to go unprotected yet I have zero desire to break a firearms law. 

NOTE: This article contains some material that appeared early in the history of 3BY but is no longer posted.