Customer Review - A "Gun Guy's" take on Salt

We love it when people who are familiar with (and advocates of) traditional firearms support our product because we feel it speaks measures when they find our pepper spray gun a good alternative to traditional firearms (and tasers, stun guns, traditional pepper spray, knives, fists, etc.).  This particular reviewer, Stu Chisolm, has even written a book on guns he knows that much about them.

Check out his review below, and on this link!:

​At this time, my review is limited to observations of the product. I'm planning an actual test very soon.

By way of introduction, I'm a "gun guy"; an NRA Certified Firearms Instructor, long-time CCW permit holder, gun owner since the age of 13, and author of the book, "Knowing Guns" (available here!). So it stands to reason that I approach any non-traditional self-defense option with extreme skepticism. Being apolitical, though, I straddle the line between conservative and liberal politics. I know lots of other gun fans, yet I know just as many non-gun folks, many of whom are parents and teachers. Their primary concern is their children, and while a firearm is the best defense against intruders intent on harm, we all too often see the stories of said best option becoming the problem when a parent carelessly or erroneously allows their firearm to be accessed by their kids. To some, the very idea of having an actual gun in their home is a non-starter. While we can snipe back and forth forever on this, the fact remains that home intrusions DO happen and parents have a need and duty to protect their home and those they love. For them, the SALT pistol is a logical alternative.

The pepper rounds pack a wallop enough to take down a full-grown man, yet if one eas accidentally fired in the home, nobody ends up dead. (Although they might have a good hour or so of pure hell and a trip to the ER!) I've used the Fox Five Point Three, and from what I can tell, the affects are very similar. My upcoming test will be based on the Tueller drill, and I will report on whether or not these rounds will, in fact, disable a person before he can cover a 21 foot distance and employ a training knife. This is the only area I'm unable to authoritatively comment on.

The pistol itself is large, about the size of a Magnum Research Desert Eagle .50 caliber handgun, yet it is far lighter due to it being mostly polymer. The .68 caliber pepper balls are the exact size of standard paint balls, which the gun is based on, so one could buy and practice with paint balls very economically.* The baby powder filled practice rounds are best used in your actual surroundings, so you can see visually how any "cloud" will react when, say, an air conditioner, heater or fan is running. One of the ideas is to be able to place a "chemical barrier" between you and the intruder, breaking a pepper ball on a sill or window frame, yet if said cloud were to waft over to you, the shooter, then it wouldn't do much good. The practice rounds included should be sufficient to help you get used to the feel of the gun and place the rounds where they need to go, as well as being able to observe exactly where the powder ends up in your environment. And, being baby powder, it's easy to vacuum up the aftermath.

Getting back to the gun itself, it has "witness holes" in the grip so that you can see, visually, if the firearm is loaded, and with what types of rounds. There is some handy picatinny rail for mounting flash lights or lasers, which would be ideal in a home defense system. In fact, a flashlight is less desirable on a real firearm, because anything it hits means a muzzle is pointed directly at it - something you never do unless you've identified your target and are ready to fire. Because SALT is not an actual firearm, it's legally and morally safer to sweep around with your rail-mounted light. Lasers, too; a great way to hit a target when darkness or other conditions make using sights difficult or impossible. If you're smart, I'd get a combination light/laser and mount it up!

The CO2 canister is easily installed via a port near the muzzle, and can then be stored for long periods without the worry of losing pressure. This is because it isn't punctured right away, but only when the trigger is squeezed the first time. Therefore, a stored SALT pistol will have to be triggered TWICE to get off the first shot. Again, this is best practiced with the training rounds. Once punctured, the canister can and will lose pressure, sometimes after only a few days! So store the pistol with a fresh canister every time it is put away and/or kept handy for emergencies.

The feel of the gun is also different from a standard Glock, Sig-Sauer or Ruger pistol, yet it points quite naturally and has decent balance. Because pepper rounds are very lightweight, this doesn't perceptively change when it's loaded or unloaded. The rounds to pack a wallop! If you've ever played paintball and had a round hit an unprotected area, then you already know the kind of bruising and sting you're going to feel. This alone is enough to deter a good many attackers. If not "convinced" by this, then you're going to NEED a pepper round! It comes in a high quality firearm box, with padlock holes should you want to secure the gun entirely. Literature and after-purchase support is second to none.

As some have said above, this is NOT a good defense against an armed intruder! I would, however, say that it is superior in many ways to a TASER, which can be defeated by heavy clothing, objects in pockets or plain old bad aim, and a TASER is also far more expensive. For home defense, it is better than nothing and superior to most non-gun alternatives, and to a curious child or even an adult with certain issues, such as chronic depression, the best choice of the bunch in my opinion.

*Salt Supply Co. does not encourage practicing with paintballs in our device because (1) we cannot guarantee the accuracy as the gun has not been tested for this, and (2) if the rounds break in the pistol, the paint could dry causing blockage in the barrel.