Is there anyone else here that incorporate less leathal options into their EDC gear. I always carry my glock 42 as means of defense should the worst happen. But being faced with a difficult situation such as an unarmed attacker does warrant a response, but maybe not deadly force. I always carry a small can of pepper spray and occasionally a stun gun in my EDC to keep my options open should I be confronted by an unarmed attacker. Ohio isn’t very friendly when it comes to knives and though they can be used in less then lethal means it is safer (legally) here to just resort to a firearm in a case that would warrant a knife.
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Great question, Andrew. I carry pepper gel and am looking at a tactical pen. Knives can go either way according to the state in many states.
One thing I’ve done since starting at the USCCA is continually look for weapons of opportunity - no matter where I am. It’s a good exercise for your safety.
And - one advantage as a girl - when I’m dressed up, high heels can cause some damage. 
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I always made it a point to have a plan A,B,C… sort of failure system. But I never considered weapons of opportunity as a built in redundancy. I like that idea. Here like I said the law isn’t really friendly with knives or “concealed deadly weapons” other then handguns. That being said I do carry a leatherman tool and the knife I got from the USCCA when I signed up every day as a work tool. However if I was ever forced to rely on it in a worst case scenario I would have to prove it is a tool and was never carried with intent of defense. Pretty messed up law but it is what it is.
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If I had to defend myself in a hand to hand scenario, old men fight dirty, and I wear steel toed Wolverine boots about 9 months of the year.
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I haven’t thought about stun guns and such but I do have a penlight that I carry for both protection and carry. And a pocket knife (I have several so they all vary in size and weight) but that’s more for utility than protection… So if my penlight fails I can hope I can either outrun them or find a defensible position to then draw. Assuming I’m still being pursued. And I normally wear my steel toed boots…
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A little more food for thought when it comes to an unarmed fight and maybe some reason to consider pepper spray, stun gun, ect… has anyone considered the outcomes of a first fight should it find you as a CCW holder? We all like to think that our training (whatever level) that may be will see us through that situation unscathed. I have years of jiu jitsu in my background but I still consider the best fight the one I get out of without throwing a single punch to avoid the possibility of losing control of my firearm.
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I’ve always figured that if I had to fight unarmed that I could hit a vital point like the throat hard enough to stun them, or even hurt them and give myself time to put distance between him and I. And then see what I need to do from there.
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Depending on state stun guns are questionable… but you can get training with collapsible batons… best thing for edc kits because depending on side, they can be extremely compact. And d ont take up much space on your belt
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I’ll definitely look into one. All one needs to do with that is find an escrima one handed drill on YouTube and practice a couple moves.
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Yes… but legally it’s easy to defend your actions if you go through the training class…
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I don’t understand that. How is it easier to defend my actions if I go through a training class vs a stick fighting training video on YouTube to save myself money?
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Because then you can show your training manual and law enforcement use the same training program as a defensive measure, so lawyers are familiar with it… they view martial arts stick fighting as a offensive group of actions…
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Why is it that everybody wants to view martial arts as an offensive when it can just as easily be used for a defensive base to go on the offense against your attacker? People are so backwards nowadays. At least you can do that training you spoke about and then add to it with some escrima moves.
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Like I said it’s all about perception. Unfortunately a lot of people these days have the mindset that not playing victim makes you guilty of something.
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Luke and Andrew, I completely agree with both statements!!
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I didn’t realize how restricted we are in our abilities to defend ourselves. I mean I get that it’s different for every state and the more gun friendly ones (NH, Idaho, AL, and others I don’t know about) are bound to have less strict laws on other defensive weapons but I still think it’s absolutely ridiculous that everyone wants to make us out to be the bad guy when we just went from a defensive mode to pressing the offensive. Haven’t these people heard the saying, “the best defense is the best offense”? So frustrating imo.
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Too right, but our society has become so lax and irresponsible, not to mention a society of sheeppl…
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No kidding. It’s absolutely ridiculous the amount of people who can’t think for themselves. I mean this is my generation that we’re talking about and most of them vote for Communists and Socialists and don’t even care! And as a result, they’re fed the propaganda that guns are bad and to attack after defending yourself first is criminal.
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You guys make some good points. The most important - IMO - is that people need to take responsibility for themselves, their actions, and their self-defense.
I’m not sure when hard work and protecting your family became “bad” but that thinking really needs to end before we repeat history in a horrific manner.
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I am not a big fan of carrying a less than lethal means, if that is your personal preference and wont be held against you.
My thoughts are this though…
If you deploy a less than lethal force first and it’s not effective, do you have the time to use lethal force?
My less than lethal force is not pulling the trigger. I pray I never have to even deploy less than lethal force let alone lethal force…
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