I came into this conversation late but here is my two cents.

Persons trained for Concealed Carry Permits are not LIKELY to be spooked and shoot a member of their group. I can say for a fact that The Big Wolf would not let me go on any investigations (in places that are not supervised, not like Waverly Hills that is) UNLESS there was someone in the group that was trained, permitted and carrying. And when the occasion arises that I am trained and permitted, it could very well be me carrying. (Springfield 1911, btw) He and I value my safety and the safety of our friends enough to ensure they are protected. This being said, I will not be carrying at Waverly as they have their own security. /biggrin.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':wub:' />

Knives are wonderful weapons, but as Jyb said, can very well be taken away from you by your attacker. The Big Wolf took a Navy Seals (SCARS, I think…correct me if I'm wrong Jyb) course when training for the TN Militia (disbanded since 9/11/01 when they called organized militias terrorists) and has been teaching me to handle a knife. I'm not confident that it would get me out of a sticky situation, might in the long run get me stabbed.

Tazers are effective at gaining you time to retreat. If the batteries don't drain. NW, I think your pink tazer would surely settled the situation over which knife factory she actually worked for! /laugh.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />

Oddly enough, I watched Bigfootville today! The man was a FORMER officer. This was an investigation with a TV and radio crew in tow. A little sensationalism, please! I too cringed on the thought that maybe there were "snoops" sent in to make it look more spooky…throwing rocks, move around in the woods. While the crew knew their whereabouts, these men had no intel on the pranks. And then he goes shooting into the woods…Poor judgement from any angle!

Need to say this…Mace, Pepper Spray any noxic spray that you eject into the air you have to know about air flow when dispensing these products. You MUST be careful with these products so as not to incapacitate yourselves

You mean spray and pray doesn't apply to aerosol defense products. I wonder if you can recieve Kyoto

points for switching from an aerosol to a taser? SCARS training that sounds painful. I'd rather train with acronyms

like BRUISE or SCAB something less lethal and easier to recover from. LOL /laugh.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />