how effective is OC spray?

[MP9NewMexico]

Recently, there have been a string of armed invasions taking place near my parents' home. They both refuse to carry or have a firearm in the Home despite my advice. They did however purchase several canisters of Sabre RED oc spray to have in their pockets and stashed throughout their home. My concern with this is that the one burgular who was caught so far was high on Meth. If my parents find an angry and likely armed Meth head in their home, would oc spray stop him from hurting them?

I really wish they'd get a 12 gauge and a concealable piece or four!

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[mdmorgan]

Depends on the person. It just about kills me, but I have seen people who it didn't bother at all. I try not to use it because just breathing it in a closed room screws me up. I personally have used it in my job 5 times. Two of those were not stopped. One was affected but didn't stop right away. The other two stopped right away. I would recommend that if they are even thinking of using it in their home they spray some in a closed room to see how it affects them just to use it. It wont do any good at all if it messes them up worse than the guy they sprayed.

[tacman605]

OC spray is a pain compliance device, the problem is, as stated, what hurts me may not hurt you and vis versa.

I have been sprayed several times for both training and some of those oops sorry partner moments on the street. Yes it hurts and eventually I would become ineffective but there was a 1-2 minute delay before that happened.

As an example for certification you were sprayed then had to use your baton then punch and kick a practice pad, draw your weapon, order the BG to the ground, call for backup on your radio then cuff said bad guy. All of this before you went down.

Brands go back and forth depending on who you talk to, I never found one that did much better than others. Also keep in mind that should your parents deploy the spray they will have residual effects by it also. Depending on their age and health it may hit them harder than the bad guy. Hope this helps.

[91stang2]

oc is very powerfull, seen it used in prison, where I worked as a co, burns like you cant believe! A small dog? a recording of a barking dog? lets see, um, remove can, place thumb, aim??? Light on the front poarch on? I hope they have an alarm system--good luck!

[Harryball]

It sucks being sprayed, not a fun experience. I have been hit a couple of times with it. Like T-man said, it could cause some problems for your parents.

[AKsrule]

Absent a gun , I recommend a LARGE , MEAN DOG , and a couple of aluminum bats.

[remington79]

I've seen it used at work and I wouldn't put too much faith in it. It works ok. A lot of the inmates don't care when you pull out the can of OC but will comply as soon as the Taser is pulled from its holster. A couple of years ago we had one guy that was mentally out there. He stripped down naked and was causing problems. He was with us for awhile so he wasn't under any drug influence. The OC didn't affect him until he rolled around on the floor and the OC got on his privates. I don't have much faith in OC on people who are high or are mentally unstable.

[Mike1956]

A less-than-lethal response to a lethal force situation strikes me as a horrible plan.

[turboer]

Like stated above they can work, but it does depend on the bg's pain tolerance. I recommend the type that has the blue dye so it marks the bg and burns like hell! It is a good nonlethal alternative to a firearm, certainly better than nothing! What part of NM you from? Just curious my family and I all live in NM and I'm curious as to where these armed invasions are happening in order to warn my family. Good luck!

[MP9NewMexico]

Hey all,

Thanks for the awesome responses! My dad does play baseball, and keeps his stuff in his closet, so at least he has a bat. They're both young-ish (48 and 50), so I don't think the OC would have serious side effects for them, though it probably would affect them.

They don't have an alarm system -- they think "Oh this is a nice neighborhood, it won't happen here" even though it already has just a few a blocks over, and several times at that. Granted, they live in a city with only 25,000 residents, and he personally knows 5-6 cops on the force. But that really doesn't help him in time of crisis! They do have a medium-size dog (65 lbs) that barks up a storm when someone comes up the driveway or into their yard.

It's very frustrating for me. My dad is a brilliant man. He's done everything in his power to insure his financial security and my mom's if something happened to him. He has done estate planning, stocks and bonds and mutual funds, life insurance, illness insurance, umbrella home insurance. And yet...he won't take the necessary steps to protect himself and my mother from physical violence.

[oneshot]

Sabre red os good.
I have Fox labs for my family.
For my house, guns are stashed throughout the house.

Send/ have your parents go to this link, Make a choice and have them click on the circle on the left(with red in it) that says liability, and see if the better part of reason begins to set in.
This is a very compelling site for anti-gun people, and for those who are from the' "It'll never happen to me/us crowd.

[Richard58]

I rather get the x26 50 thousand volt zap then a spray in the face with OC spray. I've had both in training. Soon as the 5 second zap is over its over but the pepper spray stays with you for a very good while. But both are bad enough though. I like to use the x26 because you don't have to wash the BG down after the arrest to stay within dept. policy. Just remember that small cans don't hold much and if you miss a time or two trying to hit the BG face you could run out, get a can like an police officer carries on his side and u will be fine with that amount. Just be sure to aim for the face to make it work as it should.
Years ago my dept. used CS and CN teargas and that stuff can clear out a room fast.

[Mr B]

Sabre Red seems to work quite well, I had to use it on a dog last summer and it stopped him real quick.

[BugDude]

Foaming wasp and hornet spray with a trigger handle (for paint) on it. That stuff shoots 20+ feet and since it foams it may not create vapor that bothers them. Shoot it and aim for the head.

[Harryball]

Foaming wasp and hornet spray with a trigger handle (for paint) on it. That stuff shoots 20+ feet and since it foams it may not create vapor that bothers them. Shoot it and aim for the head.

Check the label, you could be violating federal law. Its intended purpose is not a defensive spray. Just a heads up....