Non-gun self defense weapon of choice...

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Ammonia cleaner in a pop top water bottle. Or maybe a plain spray bottle.

Only problem is that it will probably permanently blind whoever gets sprayed. And the user is awfully screwed if cross contamination happens. This could lead to BIG legal problems for the defender.

So let me make clear in no uncertain terms, it's asking to be sued and maybe prosecuted, so I'm not officially suggesting anyone does this. But if I can't have a gun with me, that's what I'm going to carry, because I know it's going to stop a threat. I'll be worried about legal problems after defending myself.

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:uhoh:

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Personally I sport a "Victim Free Zone" button on my lapel. That works pretty good :celebrate

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I had a completely different answer in mind when I read the title, but after reading the post it needed to change.

When I first read the title, my thoughts were; No officer, it is not a weapon. This is for "__________".

The reason I say that is for a few reasons, It is common for every vehicle to have a tire iron in it. It is a tool, not a weapon, right?
But then at the same time if a cop ask's you why you have a tire iron in the passenger seat, and you answer that it is for self-defense, you stand a good chance of getting arrested and ticketed for carrying a concealed weapon! (A vehicle is considered concealment in WI, even if the item is in full view laying on the dashboard, screwed-up, isn't it?)

In your situation, I would also say a large canister of bear spray would be best.
Have you considered an expandable ASP? they are small enough, they expand quickly, and they have other uses too.
I keep one in my pick-up truck, when asked what it is for, I explain it is for thumping tires on the truck & trailerto verify proper pressure. I also carry a 3-cell Maglite, those can be used to dissuade an attacker very well too.

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bohdi wrote:

Personally I sport a "Victim Free Zone" button on my lapel. That works pretty good :celebrate

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I am shocked that nobody has suggested a loud whistle or a simple cell phone to call the police.

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cbackous wrote:

bohdi wrote:

Personally I sport a "Victim Free Zone" button on my lapel. That works pretty good :celebrate

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I am shocked that nobody has suggested a loud whistle or a simple cell phone to call the police.

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I think you forgot to add the multiple smiley faces to show this was meant as sarcasm, (you are being sarcastic, right?)

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... that is because a cellphone or whistle won't do anything to stop an attack. A whistle will draw attention, yes, but I seriously doubt that if a criminal was coming after my pregnant 4'10" wife, he would not be able to attack or rob her regardless of a whistle...

And a cell phone doesn't do anything but help after the fact.... That is the purpose of "self-defense"-- it is defending yourself, not relying on other people to defend you. A cell phone wouldn't even be relying on anyone else to help you; it would merely be relying on the cops to try and help you get your shit back after you have allowed yourself to be a victim.

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Nutczak wrote:

cbackous wrote:

bohdi wrote:

Personally I sport a "Victim Free Zone" button on my lapel. That works pretty good :celebrate

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I am shocked that nobody has suggested a loud whistle or a simple cell phone to call the police.

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I think you forgot to add the multiple smiley faces to show this was meant as sarcasm, (you are being sarcastic, right?)

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^^^^^ if that is correct, then I retract my last statement.... I didn't pick up on the sarcasm if it is there.....

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I suggest a good hardwood cane. They can be had for about $15 to $20 online. You can easliy "decorate" the cane with a nice bird's head on the handle.

It is an effective way of keeping an attacker at bay, and if used with a few simple techniques can disable an attacker.

My cane is White Oak, and weighs in at10.5 oz. Some people prefer a heavier cane, but force equations show that an object with twice the weight delivers only twice the force, where an object wielded with twice the speed delivers 4 times the force.

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+1 on the cane. I actually have a bum knee but don't need the cane to walk. It sure comes in handy for the occasional bout of disorientation. The medications don't ya know.

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While canes can indeed be a very effective defense tool ( I prefer a good ole louisville slugger). In the hands of a 4'10" woman who is pregnant it would most likely not be such and could end up being the weapon used by the attacker instead. A male BG could easily disarm her and use it against her as the BG is most likely going to be bigger, stronger, and QUICKER than a pregnant woman.

My wife is pregnant and i've told her to NOT grab the baseball bat if there would be a home invasion for the exact reason stated above.

Maybe if she had martial arts training involving a cane or something similar it would be a different story, but for your average woman, esp a pregnant one who moves much slower, it has a much higher chance of being used against her instead of her using it to defend herself. That risk is too high in my mind and a gun or where a gun can't be used some sort of effective pepperspray (someone pointed out the Kimber Guardian Angel earlier) would be much better.

And AE certainly understand the money problems... some of these guys on here seem to think it grows on trees

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The holster undergarment with a pair of LCP's?

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tdbarge wrote:

While canes can indeed be a very effective defense tool ( I prefer a good ole louisville slugger). In the hands of a 4'10" woman who is pregnant it would most likely not be such and could end up being the weapon used by the attacker instead. A male BG could easily disarm her and use it against her as the BG is most likely going to be bigger, stronger, and QUICKER than a pregnant woman.

My wife is pregnant and i've told her to NOT grab the baseball bat if there would be a home invasion for the exact reason stated above.

Maybe if she had martial arts training involving a cane or something similar it would be a different story, but for your average woman, esp a pregnant one who moves much slower, it has a much higher chance of being used against her instead of her using it to defend herself. That risk is too high in my mind and a gun or where a gun can't be used some sort of effective pepperspray (someone pointed out the Kimber Guardian Angel earlier) would be much better.

And AE certainly understand the money problems... some of these guys on here seem to think it grows on trees

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Yes, I see that 'your wife' is pregnant... But...
Have you ever pissed off a pregnant woman? I mean REALLY pissed one off?
I'll equate it to a momma bear protecting her cubs! While a pregnant woman IS slower, and weaker, adrenaline is a GREAT equalizer with ANY weapon in hand!

While I will admit that a gun (with adequate practice) is probably the BEST tool, Followed by a Tazer, then Bear spray, then hand tools, ANY tool is better than none, and I would most certainly NOT want to be on the receiving end of a pissed off 'momma bear'!
A little bit of self defense training (often offered free or cheap for women at the local civics center/courthouse/'Y') will go a long ways. One of my sisters recently took one of these courses, and while i didn't agree with everything they taught her, we went through some exercises afterwords where she had to 'defend' herself against me (I'm 6'2 and 220, she's 5'5 and 120ish) I was confident that she would stand a good chance if ever attacked! My smaller sister (5'3")has taken a few courses (SD, Judo, etc) and I KNOW that she can defend herself (its happened before) without a gun (although I would prefer they all carry) but she is also very athletic.

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tdbarge wrote:

While canes can indeed be a very effective defense tool ( I prefer a good ole louisville slugger). In the hands of a 4'10" woman who is pregnant it would most likely not be such and could end up being the weapon used by the attacker instead. A male BG could easily disarm her and use it against her as the BG is most likely going to be bigger, stronger, and QUICKER than a pregnant woman.

My wife is pregnant and i've told her to NOT grab the baseball bat if there would be a home invasion for the exact reason stated above.

Maybe if she had martial arts training involving a cane or something similar it would be a different story, but for your average woman, esp a pregnant one who moves much slower, it has a much higher chance of being used against her instead of her using it to defend herself. That risk is too high in my mind and a gun or where a gun can't be used some sort of effective pepperspray (someone pointed out the Kimber Guardian Angel earlier) would be much better.

And AE certainly understand the money problems... some of these guys on here seem to think it grows on trees

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Well, good news for me today... I got a second job at Home Depot at $10.75/hr (which is sucks seeing as I already have a full time job in the Marine Corps, but now at least I make some extra money).... I'll probably be able to get her the C2 taser within a month or so.... until then I think I will go with the Kimber Gaurdian Angel.....

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I'm with the ones that say cc anyway the worst that can happen is she gets fired and a trespass order as long as she is in compliance with state law. company policy's are not law so therefore you can not be arrested for violating them. just cc and don't tell a single sole people don't have x-ray vision ya know

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Glock_21Carrier wrote:

Surefire E2D LED defender flashlight.

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+1 I keep that model in my left pocket everywhere I go, with or without my boomstick. I also keep a Leatherman Skeletool CX on me. (By the way, it's actually rated at 200 lumens, not 120,hehe. There's just something about atorch that blindsme with the REFLECTION of light when pointed at my own hand that makes me giddy.) Between the two, I should be at least able to make an attacker dislike me a LITTLE bit. =)

My mother carries a small ASP OC spray device that I got her a while back (that reminds me, time to check the expiration on that thing.) Been thinking of adding a Taser C2 to her 'arsenal' though as OC sprays are definitely very limited and tricky to deploy under the wrong circumstances.

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AEubanks wrote:

Any preference on bear/pepper spray? (brands I mean, or what do I need to look for when picking one?) The "bear sprays" that I have found are like mini fire extinguishers it seems... I need something smaller that she can easily fit in her purse.... I really like the taser but with the cheapest I can find being $260 I just flat out don't have the money for that right now....

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http://sgcusa.com/Personal-Protection-Pepperspray/c206_21/index.html

Picked up the 'Key Defender' there earlier this year. One thing to loko for, in my opinion, is an OC device that can be reloaded. Not so much for reloading during actual 'oh crap' usage, but for being able to load in 'training' cartridges. I picked up a combo pack of a refill and a training module and had my mother try out the training one (inert, no OC in it, but it lets you see exactly how it will perform with a real one loaded.) It's an ey opener to see how little spray you get and the area of coverage. Not something you would want to discover in an emergency.

Great little devices though. If I were doing it over I would've bought the Palm Defender (bigger) to give more spray capacity, not to mention a bigger chunk of metal to smack an attacker with.

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Hey AE another thought ... go seeRandy at Barry's PI he's located on the south side of I-240 on the access road ... if you're coming from the east, you have to go all the way to Penn to cross 240. He has the big LED sign, lots of great equipment and should have something in your price range.

Physical address is 1500SW 74th, Suite A-13

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An inexpensive alternative is bug spray, wasp and bee insecticides will give you a 10-20 ft spray.
If you add a zippo you get a different beast.


As for carrying a firearm for a pregnant woman look into Thunder wear/Smart carry or a belly band.
These might be an option, I know a few woman that carried that way during their pregnancy.

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If we dismisses cost, training, legal issues, mindset, the premise of the OP and reality of the threat as elements of the equation, there have been a lot of very good self defense suggestions posted in this thread. Unfortunately these elements cannot be dismissed and still provide a workable answer to the OP. There are not many pregnant women that would be willing to carry a machete across the Potomac Mills parking lot. So we need to get real here.

The reality here is that you have a person who is small, and over time will become less able to defend against attack without risk to herself or the unborn child. Clearly a firearm is a good choice for this persons self defense if we assume cost, training, mindset, employment rules, actual risks and other elements are properly addressed. Unfortunately these elements are not addressed by many of the solutions offered.

In this case the best defense this person can have is to avoid battle in the first place and be prepared to defend herself should avoidance fail. To do that she needs to project an image of unassailability. Clearly open carry of a firearm would provide that impression, but that option is not a practical reality as defined by the OP. So what can she do that would make her look like a hardened target to a bad guy? She needs to have an effective weapon, clearly visible to a penitential attacker that the attacker recognizes as dangerous to his health should he try to attack her.

So what sort of non firearm weapons project the proper threat toward possible attackers, and still meet the cost and practicality requirements of the situation? While the flashlight and ASP suggestions are good, they are not obvious enough when carried to provide a deterrent to attack. This is why I suggest a cane. But it is important that the cane be carried in such a way that it is obvious that it is carried as a weapon and that she is willing to use it.

Regards