Unloaded, they may be the weirdest looking pistols you’ve eve seen, because the front end seems to be missing. Besides, they can be ordered in hot pink! Seriously, though, carrying one of these is legal in most places, and using one with discretion can save your life and keep you out of jail at the same time. I’m talking about the mace pepper gun. In this case “mace” is a trademark, not an ingredient. The primary active ingredient in pepper sprays is capsaicin, the “hot” chemical found in cayenne peppers.

The scenario in which most people imagine themselves using a oc spray or pepper foam involves a close quarters, hand to hand scuffle with a potentially more powerful assailant. Obviously this is a situation we would all rather avoid. With a range of up to 25 feet, the mace pepper gun allows the defender to “reach out” to the assailant before the would-be perpetrator is within physical striking distance. This is made possible by a patented delivery system that allows the gun to spray continuously, aerosol fashion, from any angle. The spray even works when the pepper gun is held upside down.

Are you in the dark? Good, because that means your opponent is, also, and the last thing he wants to do  is to shed any light on his activities. The mace pepper gun has a bright, built in, trigger actuated LED light that is naturally aimed in the same direction in which the gun will spray. This not only gives you better aim, but it buys you some time because the assailant is now temporarily disoriented. If he has allowed his eyes to get used to the dark prior to making his attempt, he no longer has that night sight advantage; you do.

Like the term itself implies, self defense is an individual responsibility. No one but ourselves can keep ourselves safe all of the time. The mace pepper gun is a reasonable alternative to other harsher, more personal methods of defending oneself from assault. Along with a pepper spray cartridge, a water cartridge is also included with the unit for practice, cleaning and test purposes.