Not old enough to pack heat

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ccsniper

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Okay, so here's the deal; I go running every night at a community park right down the road from my house. I always go late, I hate coming into contact with the other people there. I don't live in a bad area really, but my house which again is right down the road, has been broke into 3 times. I don't feel totally safe there but I don't feel completely threatened either. I'm only 19 about to turn 20, so I can't carry. I'm usually accompanied by my dad who does carry, but he is not always there. So i guess my question is, what do ya'll think I should do? I don't want to stop running at night because that's the best time for me to run.
 
Pepper spray or collapsable baton (if local laws allow).
 
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Can you run faster? :)



J/K...is a taser legal for you? (Don't taze me bro)
If not, I second the pepper spray or baton or whatever else you can easily carry that's legal.
 
I worked seach and rescue volunteer for the Sheriffs office for awhile. We were not allowed to carry weapons but always had a 5 cell mag light and were taught to use them as batons. Seems to me a young man running in late hours with a mag light in each hand would be be seen as just increasing the exercise potential of his work out.

blindhari
PS Have you ever seen the damage a Maglight can do? If you do carry one in each hand, think hard about putting a lanyard on one just like an MP does on his baton.
 
Paying attention is the best thing you can do, that means no head phones. Well lighted areas is also a good idea, but thats more for cars then BGs.
 
Check local laws!

In Texas, collapsable batons (e.g., asps) are illegal. Even if you have a CHL.

Not sure about kubatons - mini batons, either wood or metal, about 8" long and cigar-thick, for self defense.

MagLights serve two roles: light or as baton. To paraphrase an article in the 2008 Ruger catalog, everything needs light but not everything needs a baton.

A sawed-off baseball bat, ax handle, or even a large dowel rod are better than nothing.

If you insist on continuing the late-night routine, consider some SD classes.

Q
 
One of our kids had a night job while she was in college, here,
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/
And had to walk to and from her dorm at odd hours in the wee hours of the morning.
We were advised to get her a pepper spray to carry.
Which she did, never had to use it.
But this was a long time ago, and things are more dangerous now. If you see the New England news, you saw last week a student from a different college was inside a Harvard dorm selling drugs and he got shot.
So I would advise anybody who is out in the night, to carry some sort of defense weapon.
But more important, dont go around at night alone!
Another daughter of ours was walking from evening classes alone one night when a car stopped and a guy tried to grab her, she slugged him and ran. Lucky, what if there had been 2 of the guys?
Just look at the news, and anyone will see, that its very dangerous to be out and about at night, especially for a female.
 
Switch your runs to the early morning.

Or visit your local truckstop and find a device called a "Tire Billy". Truck drivers use it to thump their tires, and a low or flat tire makes a different sound compared to one that is at optimal air pressure.

Because after all, it's for your "tires".



Kris
 
Do you have access to an automobile?

Drive to an area you consider safe, then run. The best way to avoid trouble is to make choices to keep yourself out of danger. Even if you're armed you don't ever WANT to put yourself in a situation where you have to use your weapon.
 
i really dont have anything on me worth stealing, but a possible BG wouldnt know that. i like the maglite idea and i guess i get a can of pepper spray to go with it, even though i really dont like the stuff. seen too many vids where the stuff was ineffective.
 
Those $100 running shoes are worth stealing.

BTW, buy a good pepper spray (I like Fox) and carry it. Also buy a cheap pepper spray as well. Spray it and then walk into the cloud. When you use pepper spray you are going to get some on you. The first time should not be when you are trying to escape danger.
 
peper spary does not always works, and you will get some on you.

If your going to use peper spary, I recomend you get the stuff that has the dye in it. that way you can mark the BG.
 
ccsniper said:
i really dont have anything on me worth stealing, but a possible BG wouldnt know that.
Click to expand...

No, but what any BG with any brains at all (and I'll admit, that is a big qualifier) knows that people don't go -running- with much more on them than a house key and -maybe- ID. Not much profit there for their time.

Also remember that BG's are inherently lazy, that's why they are in the BG business. They will choose their targets based on that. "Lets see, shall we hit the young athletic runner and maybe get some used sneakers, or the old lady that just cashed her SS check? Decisions .. decisions."
 
So i guess my question is, what do ya'll think I should do? I don't want to stop running at night because that's the best time for me to run.
Click to expand...

Carry a wad of dollar bills with a 20 wrapped around the outside.

You're in running shoes. If someone messes with you it's likely money they are after. Toss them the wad of cash and run the other way.

This applies to just about any time really, having a little cash to toss down is a good idea in general.

As mentioned, most runners don't carry much but muggers are not the smartest folks anyway so it can't hurt to be prepared.

Avoiding the fight is just as useful, maybe more, than being prepared for the fight.
 
There's a group of four old guys who run by my work every day. One of them carries a wood club on a lanyard around his wrist. It's also got a blinky light taped to it so if he's running after dark he can be seen if he needs to cross a street or something. I don't know whether you're more likely to be hassled for carrying a club since you're a youth and not an elder. Probably.
 
They have that right, running as a group, and if anything bad happens, someone will be there to help.
Running alone is not a good idea, especially after dark.
But as said here, very early in the morning is pretty safe, as the baddies dont tend to be out and about then.
And a woman should carry a pepper mace, there is a new kind, its a pepper-gel. It wont mist as much, its more of a gooey concentrated spray. The wind wont re-direct it as much, and it carries farther where its pointed. It also sticks to the baddie's face and body better.
Glad I live in the country where this stuff is rare.
Just be careful anywhere, any time.
 
No, but what any BG with any brains at all (and I'll admit, that is a big qualifier) knows that people don't go -running- with much more on them than a house key and -maybe- ID. Not much profit there for their time.
Click to expand...

Unless you are female you really don't have anything a BG would want.
Click to expand...

No offense - but these answers sound pretty naive to me.

You might have a little money with you...and expensive running shoes...and a cell phone...and an I-Pod.

Or maybe a goblin didn't like the way you looked at him...or is in the mood to commit violence just for the rush it gives him.

Do not make the potentially fatal mistake of assuming that violent perpetrators think like "normal" people and behave in predictable motivated patterns.

Sometimes...violence happens with little or no discernable motive at all.
 
Don't know if it would be legal for you to carry a Taser unit. Specifically, the C2 seems to be gaining case law support in some states giving it treatment somehow as a standard stun gun (haven't looked into the details - so I can't really go into them).

It might be worth looking into the legality of it in your area. You've got the distance that pepper spray creates, along with a serious intimidation factor (who wants to get tased?).
 
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