Pepper Spray Accuracy Could Save Your Life

I love teaching about pepper spray and all it has to offer. There are so many choices when it comes to all the layers of lethal, non-lethal and less-than-lethal person protection and in a pepper spray class, we can actually see danger at a distance and avoid, make good quick first decisions, act on those decisions with confidence, understand how to use pepper spray through scenarios and repetition, get to safety and even call 911. 

Pepper Spray Class Scenario

This class is usually full of beginners who are just starting on their self-defense journeys, and we welcome them. I always keep in mind that everyone comes to class with a different background. Some are here because “something happened” and some are here to “prevent something from happening.” One thing is a constant, no matter your history, practice is the key to mastery. 

The Three Things

There are three main things that I keep seeing at the beginning of the “hands-on” portion of class that can really slow down accomplishing your goal of stopping the bad guy quickly. I wanted to share these things with you, bring your attention to details during your practice sessions with your inert/practice pepper spray, and possibly strengthen your skill. I prefer POM Pepper Spray above all others. It is small, easily concealable, one of the “hottest” on the market, provides an inert unit that is an exact replica and made in the USA. 

Note: Most pepper sprays require your thumb to press the button to activate the pepper spray.

Here are those three problems that I see when people use pepper spray:

1. Grip and finger(s) covering the nozzle (where the spray comes out).
2. Over spraying.
3. Missing the target because the first “shot” of pepper spray was too low.

Each one mentioned is amazingly easy to correct, if you know you are doing it. That is the first step: Knowing. I suggest you ask someone to watch you, really pay attention to the entire process, or you could even set up your phone to video yourself. Once confirmed, you can get to work. 

Grip and Fingers Covering Nozzle

Sometimes, showing efficiency and confidence when you present your pepper spray is enough to change a bad guy’s mind. Doing it right the first time could save your life. 

• Pick a pepper spray unit that has finger grooves or a ledge right under the nozzle. That will give you a quicker index on your grip and where to place your index finger, so it does not cover the nozzle.
• Set yourself up for success and “stage” your pepper spray in your pocket or bag. Practice retrieving the spray with a good first grip without your finger covering the nozzle. If you find yourself presenting with the nozzle facing the wrong direction, reposition it in your pocket or bag, and try again. Once you find the placement and nozzle position that works best, practice that and always set your pepper spray up in that same position. 

Overspray

Our goal is to hit the bad guy’s eyes to disable him long enough for us to get to safety. Hitting others with a spicy treat or losing time over-spraying is suboptimal. Doing it right the first time could save your life. 

• Once you have your grip and finger position figured out, practice movement across your target’s eyes to see how far you are moving that arm from side to side. 
• In the perfect world, you should see the water from your inert unit going across your target’s eyes and even hitting the ears. If you see the liquid covering several inches off the target, then you may hit an innocent plus you are wasting precious pepper spray and time with excess motion. 
• Now, practice #1 and #2 with a shorter “side-to-side” motion to stay in the desired area. 

Missing the Target

You may miss the target because the first shot of pepper spray fell low: Accuracy is of the utmost importance. I have noticed that most people “aim” off the top of their bent thumb without thinking about where the nozzle is located on the pepper spray unit. Obviously, units will differ. Doing it right the first time could save your life. 

• This is called “offset.” You may have heard the term mechanical offset if you shoot firearms. I have added “pepper spray” to Sparrow Defense’s definition of mechanical offset for a rifle. Mechanical offset is the difference between where your sights/optics are mounted, or in this case, your bent thumb and where the muzzle is, or in this case the nozzle where the pepper spray comes out. In most cases, there is a difference as the sight/bent thumb is much higher than the barrel/nozzle. At close range, you should expect to see the bullet impact/pepper spray impact the target much lower than the sights/bent thumb, which becomes important in close quarter encounters. When it comes to firearms and pepper spray, knowing your offset can be the difference between making the shot and missing the shot.
• If you aim off the top of your bent thumb targeting the eyes, I suggest you do again and really pay attention to where the spray hits. Is your first “shot” below the eyes? Did you have to bring the pepper spray up in mid-stream in order to spray him in the eyes?  If so, try it again but this time, aim off the top of your bent thumb targeting the eyebrows. Now spray. I bet you are now hitting across the eyes, or at least closer. Play with it a bit, take the distance from your target into consideration and see what part of the face is your new target since you are now taking the “bent-thumb-to-nozzle” offset into consideration. Let’s get an amazing first shot square in the bad guy’s eyes. 

Add These Things to the Pepper Spray Method

In addition to the three things I mentioned, there are more things to practice when using pepper sprays – distance, verbal commands, your surroundings, which pepper spray manufacturer is rated the spiciest, when is leaving an option and more. I highly recommend getting into a professional class to work on all the layers of using pepper spray effectively. I hope this article helps you do it right the first time.

You can use pretty much anything to practice with your inert units. You can use a paper plate with some eyes drawn in, an actual target with a “face” or the like. It is very important that you practice at the proper distance of 10-to-12 feet. We can’t control when a criminal may attack us, but if we practice, we may be able to stop it before he gets closer than that distance.

Find out more about Shelley and Brian Hill, and the multitude of classes they offer, including one on pepper spray use, at their website, The Complete Combatant. The Complete Combatant’s Shelley Hill describes how to use pepper spray correctly, and it involves practicing with inert spray first. Find out more and why.

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  About Shelley Hill

  Shelley Hill wears a "bunch of hats." Her husband, Brian, named her the “Indispensable Organization Wizard” about 25 years ago and that has become her official title. Shelley is the CEO and instructor at The Complete Combatant. She is an HK Brand Ambassador, publishes regular articles in Women’s Outdoor News and Shooting Illustrated, teaches online classes, is an Active Self Protection Certified Instructor,  an Instructor Graduate of Modern Samurai Project's Red Dot Instructor program,  NRA Certified Instructor, Certified NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, Refuse to be a Victim Instructor and is a Certified OC (Pepper Spray) Instructor through Chuck Haggard's Agile Training & Consulting. She is the designer and mastermind behind Image Based Decisional Drills, Smart Choices , LockedIn Grip, The Complete Combatant's annual The Mingle for professional ladies in the "firearms/self defense" industry and The Quest for red dot shooters. She is also the President of a non-profit organization called Blue Line Ponies. This 501c3 focuses on providing a retirement range for our career service horses. Shelley is also a presenter at several national conferences is a public speaker and she actually loves people. View all posts by Shelley Hill →