Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Pepper spray questions for the cops or anybody BTDT

Looking at less lethal options than a Sig P365 for any aggressive dog or relentlessly inhospitable person on my walks or anywhere else one may encounter these so was checking out the Fox Labs website.

They offer a few options for the spray pattern - cone spray, stream spray, foam spray and splatter stream. Seems like the stream spray has the least chance of blowback (definitely a big factor outdoors) or "cross contamination" which I assume means hitting innocent bystanders, but it also needs to be directed with the most accuracy whereas the others have a wider pattern.

The Fox FAQ's and product details speak to the pros and cons of each type of delivery a little but wanted to get any further opinions or advice from those here who have reason to train with pepper spray and/or have used it.

Also, would you recommend the oil or water based products for civilian use? From what I can see they are both about the same potency.

Older lady i worked with wanted some pepper spray.

For when she was leaving stores , etc.


Husband was a cheapo.

Bought her a can of wasp spray. 😂😂.

Told her it’s good for 25’. 😂😂

foam., or stream....i dont ahev any experience with splatter or cone sprays. butd id be leaning toward their 5% foam

Pepper spray does a number on me. I have seen it have negligible effect on a few. In most cases it will buy you more time. I haven't seen it used on dogs often. I have never seen it have a dramatic impact. In the few cases I have seen, it just makes them want to rub their face in the grass.

Stream but you have to be more accurate with it. Fox Labs or Sabre Defense should work well. Stay away from foam, sucks in cold weather and can be tossed back at you.

Whatever you buy, don't be downwind if/when you deploy it. You and your provocateur will both have an unpleasant experience.

Pepper spray isn't terribly effective on dogs. Has about the same effect as spraying them with water, they don't care for it, but it doesn't really bother them.

On people it works pretty well usually, but there are some that it has minimal effect on.

Some of the bear sprays are more potent than defense pepper spray, look into those.

Nah just carry a picture of Maxine Waters or Shiela Jackson Lee. Probably turn them to salt.

Jim, The one product I ever used was UDAP in the small container I believe they called the jogger fogger. The times I used it on dogs the effects were immediate. One being a rott bitch with pups. One blast and she ran back to her pups and did not come back for seconds.

I want to get one for the shower

A problem with wasp spray or bear spray is you are using an EPA registered product counter to its label. Every canister says: “It is a violation of federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with it’s labeling.”

If you pack around bear or wasp spray with the intent to use it as self defense against humans, you could conceivably get into trouble. If you are hiking in bear country and carrying bear spray and use it incidentally as an expedient weapon against a human aggressor, I think you may be ok. At least that’s what I recall reading somewhere on the internet…

Never used pepper spray we used MACE CN not pepper spray as you might gather its been sometime since I wore a badge. The mace was fairly effective the CS version a little more so. Of course in those days we also had alternative pacifiers 16oz flat saps they always worked.

Been doing some more reading on the web and it looks like a spray or gel type would be the best bet for the most likely scenarios.

I started with Fox Labs because I remember one of our LEO's mentioning it but what other brands are at the top for effectiveness or other features, like including a small practice can of inert spray?

Yeah, that was one of my first thoughts a while back but that idea was quickly squashed here for multiple reasons, both legal and practical. At my age distance is an integral part of my defense plan so getting close enough to whack someone upside the head is becoming a less viable option.

What does the EPA label say regarding use of lead JHP?
Furthermore, why is the EPA regulating bear spray?

Edit - turns out, it’s because of the propellant. Oh yippie.
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/f...rsionId=jxHZGFZHJnSFUIeUwsfxHXLw..HNlW2C

I’ve only used the spray from Freeze plus P. In my experience, it’s effective maybe 50% of the time. Not very effective on Hispanics or Asians or white kids with fathers who used the spray as a form of punishment.

one night we were trying to cuff this drunk who had been beating up his parents. pretty strong guy, got him on the ground, didn't want to cooperate. gave him a full load of cs right in the face, he was laughing,gagged both of us.
on the way to jail we both had our heads out the window.
now about an hour later he was in misery

one night we were trying to cuff this drunk who had been beating up his parents. pretty strong guy, got him on the ground, didn't want to cooperate. gave him a full load of cs right in the face, he was laughing,gagged both of us.
on the way to jail we both had our heads out the window.
now about an hour later he was in misery
i also carried a flat sap, it was quite a motivator, same as one of the old kel lights with light four batteries. really pizzed off a partner of mine who used it on someone not cooperating, and it broke the bulb.
personally i was fond of a nightstick

I used quite a bit of pepper spray when I was in corrections. Stream or foam seem to be the best from my experience. You and any others in the immediate area are going to get an exposure. No way to avoid it. It’s not fatal. Even the bear spray isn’t fatal. It sucks but you and everyone else exposed with recover.

I’ve seen a total of one officer and one inmate over the years who weren’t affected by it. It works on the vast majority of people. Wash your exposed clothing separately from any clothing that might come in contact with any sensitive areas of your wife’s body. Don’t ask how I know, just accept that it’s true.