Reading the thoughtful responses in this thread makes me feel comfortable sharing my two cents worth.
I spent 25 years wearing a badge and carrying a gun. I am retired now, and still only rarely leave the house without a concealed weapon.
There are a couple of key points I want to share...
Know, very thoroughly, the laws in your state regarding both concealed carry and know the laws regarding the use of deadly force.
But what you really need to know is... yourself. Know, without fail, why you are packing the weapon and under what circumstances you would be willing to send that bullet downrange.
Because you cannot call it back.
Once you have all of that sorted out, if you choose to pack a weapon, please, please, get some serious training in it's use, maintenance, holstering techniques and retention skills...as in know how to keep some clown from taking your weapon away from you and using it on you.
And once you have the skills worked up, keep training because it is not like riding a bicycle, it is a persihable skill very much dependant on muscle memory and specific coordination that will go away if you don't stay on top of it.
I can lawfully carry in all of the contiguous 48 states. It took me a long time to earn that option. I take it very seriously. If you are gonna pack, you need to take it seriously, too.
Now, to the pepper spray deal.
The last thing I want to do is depend on a can of spray to keep a mad, hell-bent bear from taking a chunk out of me because I got to close to a cub I didn't see.
I would submit that the data on the attack "victory" ratio is skewed. People "winning" an encounter with a bear using spray are probably those who are spraying while retreating, or are not looking at a lfe/death encounter.
A seriously angry bear hell-bent on attack is not, I repeat not, going to turn and run 'cause it got some stuff in it's eyes and nose. I have sprayed humans with the stuff and there have been times when the spray did nothing....other than get to me. I sure as heck ain't gonna depend on spray to stop a bear unhappy with me and my presence in it's area of operation.
I live in mountain lion country. Mountain lions do not care about the spray. Rattlesnakes do not care about the spray.
Spray is a tool, but it has limitations and fooling yourself about the power of the pepper can be a mistake.
Like the metal detectors we use, a heck of a lot goes into the selection and learning that goes with the purchase if you expect to get the most out of it...and if you want it to perform when you need it.
