I have a license to carry a concealed weapon and when I was 21 years old it saved me from being raped and most likely murdered and thrown in a ditch somewhere. It was three shirtless thugs in a pickup truck and they kept trying to run me off the road when I was going home from work around midnight. The passenger on the outside was hanging out the window yelling to me what all they were going to do to me once they got me stopped. I had other ideas in mind.
I took out my weapon and calmly aimed it at the bottom of the passenger door and fired. You would have thought that bullet was made of jet fuel because they couldn't get out of there fast enough. I called police, gave them a description of the perps and truck. Told them when they find the truck there will be a bullet hole from a .357 magnum in the passenger side door. They found them and were arrested and convicted. If they had been able to run me off the road the first one out of the truck would be a dead man today and then the second one and then the last one. I refuse to laydown and be a victim. Thugs like this are cowards anyway and that is why they prey on much smaller defenseless victims than they are.
So I would never trust pepper spray or even a knife because of the closeness it requires to make contact and even a taszer can malfunction and before that can be done they can advance and are right on top of the victim.
Bullets they cant outrun though.
I could have easily shot all three of them but I purposely aimed at the bottom of the door.
IMO