I like to discover nice places to walk my dogs so I’m always exploring new spots that I’ve never been to. The only bad thing about this is that you never know what to expect. There could be stray dogs running around or even mentally disturbed homeless people. There is simply no way to predict what you’re going to run into.
I own a lot of guns and I always carry a pistol in my car for emergencies but I don’t consider getting bitten by a stray dog or attacked by a crazy homeless person a life threatening situation, although I suppose it could be in worst case scenario.
So when I take my dogs on walks in new areas, I carry bear spray using a trailrunner holster made by Counter Assault. This is a great way to carry the spray while walking or running and I even use it when I’m riding my bike.
I’ve owned every pepper spray product in existence but in my opinion, the spread pattern and coverage area of this bear spray is much better than the pepper sprays I’ve tested. Pepper sprays come in a variety of spray patterns and coverage ranges but in short, they require more aiming accuracy than something like this bear spray that blasts a huge coverage area and distance.
With most pepper sprays, you basically have to hit the target in the eyes with a tiny stream of spray which could be difficult in a rushed situation or if the target is moving. I would much rather have the ability to disable the target from 20 feet away without having to worry too much about aiming accuracy.
Bear spray is actually less potent than self defense pepper sprays made for humans but I’m pretty sure it’s more than strong enough for my needs.
If you ever do have to deploy this measure, the good part is that you won’t have to deal with any legal issues like you most likely will if you’re forced to use a firearm. Even if you’re completely innocent of any wrong doing, if you shoot a dog or person, even in self defense, it’s probably going to cost you quite a bit of money and headache which is why a gun should always be the very last option. Home defense is a completely different story.
