Should you carry pepper spray in the backcountry for bears or should you carry a pistol? Let’s discuss that topic today.
I received a variety of pepper spray from Sabre, which is a reputable pepper spray company. We went out and tested some pepper sprays last week. You may ask how or even why would we test PS? It surprises me how many people buy a can and throw it in their pocket or purse and never practice with it. You don’t do that with your pistol, do you? No, you practice frequently at different yardages and in different scenarios.
Do the same with your pepper spray. How far it will spray? What kind of pattern does it have? How strong of a wind can you shoot into? It’s well worth a couple of practice cans so you know what the spray is capable of.
I’ve always said pepper spray only works 50 percent of the time, but is that a true statement? I needed to justify that statement. Some of the bear sprays have a lot of power and can really send out a blast of pepper spray. Here’s what I found. The bear spray I tested was advertised to shoot 35 feet. On the day of testing, there was a mild wind, somewhere around 8 mph. We shot it directly into the wind and it only went out about 13-15 feet and turned back. You need to know that before your life is depending on it.
What about for in-town protection? Same thing as above if you’re outside. If you’re inside, it can clear out a room semi-fast, bad guys as well as the good ones.
So am I against carrying pepper spray? No, not at all. In fact, I carry it all the time. No one in their right mind wants to shoot anyone, even if it is a drugged-up criminal. I was driving by a park a while back. I noticed a young man roughing up a pregnant girl. By the time I got there, he headbutted her. It nauseated me. A whole park full of people and no one was stopping it.
He was drugged out his mind, screaming and cursing. I couldn’t tell if he was mad at her or the whole world. Even though he was an obvious idiot, I didn’t want to shoot him. Instances like this are a good application for pepper spray. That way you can stop the threat and let the cops sort it out, but you still need to have a pistol as backup.
Another time in a state faraway I was on an evening walk in the country. Two dogs came off the porch of a farmhouse that I was passing. The little dog kept nipping at me, and the bigger one kept coming closer and closer too, getting really aggressive. He kept diving in and finally it had gone too far. I sprayed him pretty good with minimal effect, but he did trot back to the porch.
I got 50 yards and here he came again. He was mad this time. I drilled him again, and he again went back to the porch. I got 150 yards and here he came again. His ears were locked back this time. I tried to hit him again but it was empty.
I tell you these stories just to let you know, pepper spray is just one more self-defense option, but I’d still recommend carrying a pistol. Cops don’t just carry pepper spray do they?
So what’s my take on pepper spray? Carry it, but pick a good brand like Sabre. Decide which model you’re going to carry and buy two to three cans so you can practice with it. Know what range it will shoot and what the pattern is. The little cans don’t shoot a mist — they shoot a stream, about like a water pistol.
I’m going to approach Sabre about producing test canisters with a benign ingredient so we can practice at a lower price.
Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop.
