Keeping scrotes & lowlifes at bay.
Jim,
what violence? The only violence mentioned in JJ's post was when JJ sprayed some guy in his eyes for touching his/her tripod. I suppose he/she could have sprayed with one hand and punched with the other. Is that what you're suggesting? I think I might have led with " don't handle my equipment", or something along those lines, with a tone befitting the circumstances, before I assaulted the guy. Fear and panic can have unintended, and often disasterous consequences. I'm also skeptical of JJ's medical expertise and characterization of the long term effects of taking a direct blast of carb cleaner to the eyes. If the scumbags were the litigious type, any lawyer worth a damn could easily take JJ for whatever JJ is worth. By the way, I'm a Taurus man, myself.
Jay
Keeping scrotes & lowlifes at bay.
Don't take everything so serious, Jay. Maybe you're the one who should be looking into that conflict resolution course.
Keeping scrotes & lowlifes at bay.
Jeffrey,
if I ever get the urge to attack curious onlookers, I'll consider it.
Jay
Keeping scrotes & lowlifes at bay.
If robbery is a concern, take a friend or two with you when you go shooting in that area. Thugs are usually cowards, so if you have a friend who, say picks his teeth with a machete, so much the better. Unless your pals are into photography, this can be a painfully boring pass time for them, watching you fiddle with your knobs and such, so give so take along a few magazines (the Guns and Ammo or Tai quan do variety) to keep them occupied.
Good luck!
Keeping scrotes & lowlifes at bay.
I'll talk to Jim at Midwest and see if he'll start carrying Tasers. ....lol....just joking
Keeping scrotes & lowlifes at bay.
JJ, I think you did the right thing.
As for pepper spray, I recommend Fox Labs pepper spray, and I have bought from the distributor. Its good stuff. I have a Firemaster, one of the 4oz units, and a Life Pager.
I've spent as much on firearms training as I have on photography. No, wait, I haven't! I've only spent a few thousand. (Dang this obsession with lens, film, and paper!) Basic instruction courses can be had for $200 or so and are worth it. Make sure you get instruction on use of deadly force.
Anyways, you did fine. Based on your description, they were looking to rob you. Fortunately they weren't motivated to kill you. The only thing you didn't do was tell them to back off when they approached you. Don't ever let them BS you about curiosity. They aren't curious.
In Washington state, you would go to jail for using lethal force to defend property. That's what happens. You would have to articulate a threat to your life. This past month a man was murdered during a carjacking in Tacoma. For some people life is very cheap, and your life is worth a quarter (about the cost of a .45 bullet).
The use of carb cleaner is a good one. Many people may be unaffected by pepper spray, but harsh automotive cleaning chemicals are another ball game. You had it on hand for your vehicle, not for assault. The only thing "better" would have been a bulb flash to blind their eyes, and then follow it up with the spray. After that would come lethal force.
As for a baseball bat, those are easy to deflect, same as for using a Mag-Lite flashlights. You'd have to use a Mag-Lite as a baton, and that requires some training. Make friends with some policemen, and they'll show you how.