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Stun Guns – What Everyone Should Know Prior to Purchasing
Why Own a Stun Device
Well, as laws seem to get more and more restrictive these days on purchasing and using hand guns, people are turning to a much easier to obtain, and safer to handle form of self defense called the stun gun. While stun devices do have some legal restrictions depending on the state in which one resides, they are readily available for most, and a very affordable and easy to purchase alternative to a handgun.
One of the benefits of owning a stun weapon over a handgun, aside from the ease of purchasing, is that a stun gun is not fatal…which is very important if you have curious children in the house who may find it despite your best efforts to hide it. From 1999 to 2009 – 1,271 children 17 years of age or under, where killed by accidental firearm discharge according to the Center for Disease Control WISQARS Database. While I am a staunch supporter of our 2nd Amendment rights, I understand the fears that some parents have when it comes to keeping a handgun in the house when children are present. As for those who want to blame the gun for these unfortunate deaths… I ask; how many of you own swimming pools and are you prepared to give them up because according to the same report, 10,101 children in the same age group died by accidental drowning.
Self Defense
Stun devices are an ideal self defense weapon because they have several other advantages over hand guns. Self defense is not only the ability to fend off an attacker if needed but also the ability to be prepared for it. In most states where stun gun laws permit the owning of these non lethal weapons, there are no restrictions on carrying. Unlike guns, which require a special permit to carry in the few places that you can legally carry them, stun devices have no restrictions associated with carrying anytime or anyplace. Stun weapons are also no-to-low cost maintenance. Many models are rechargeable so you never need to worry about batteries. For those that aren’t, it’s the price of a couple of nine volt batteries every couple of months. Compare that with the price of ammunition for a handgun.
Stun devices are typically much smaller than handguns so they are much easier to conceal, giving you, the victim, a distinct advantage in that your attacker will never see it coming. This makes them a very popular self defense device for men and women. Many women find carrying a stun device much more reassuring than carrying a hand gun. Women are always worrying about their purse being stolen…now add a handgun to the equation and the anxiety levels are sure to increase exponentially. With a stun gun, you don’t have to live in fear that your stun gun may be responsible for a senseless death in the event it is ever stolen.
Stun weapons come in a variety of shapes and sizes which means that they are suitable for all types of self defense applications. Cell phone stunners can be worn directly on the hip and no one will ever be the wiser. Stun batons and stun flashlights are perfect for people who work in the security industry such as security guards and event specialists.
Effectiveness
The effectiveness of a stun gun is not to be undervalued. Stun weapons are not meant to take down an attacker permanently as they often show on TV, but rather used to incapacitate an attacker for a limited amount of time to allow the victim time to escape. A typical stun device will permit a person 2-3 minutes of time to escape. Incapacitation times can vary depending on the size (voltage and amperes) of the stun device and where it is applied to the attacker, the closer to the control of the central nervous system (the head) the more effective the stun gun will most likely be as explained in the section below describing how stun guns work.
Stun guns can also be quite effective when used simply as a deterrent. They emit a very intimidating cracking sound along with a very powerful arc which will cause most bad guys to think twice about proceeding with their plan of attack.
Stun Guns – How They Work
Stun Guns are not to be confused with Tasers which can be deployed on an attacker up to 15′ away. Stun guns are designed for close quarter attack and self defense by having two or more electrically charged metal electrodes sticking out that are used to disable an assailant through muscle and neurological confusion as well as muscle exhaustion.
Stun guns are effective because of their two fold attack on the criminals body. First, stun guns operate on the premise of introducing a high voltage, low amperage electrical charge into the assailant causing disruption and confusion to the central nervous system. This charge disrupts the attackers communication between the brain and the muscles basically leaving him unable to control his own muscle movements.
The second major affect of the stun gun strike is that it causes the muscles to perform an extreme amount of work in a very short period of time. This leads to a sudden and overwhelming burning of glucose in the body which will leave the assailant in an exhausted state and unable to respond.
While the length of time an attacker is incapacitated will vary based on the size of the attacker and the power of the stun gun, the results are not permanent and are intended to allow the victim time to escape and gain help before the assailant can recover.
Stun Gun Safety
One of the primary concerns with carrying a stun gun is accidental discharge while the stun device is stored or being deployed for use during an attack. Most stun guns typically come with at least two safety devices but some have as many as three or four safety devices. Standard stun guns all have an on/off or arming switch which when flipped, will allow the weapon to be charged and ready for use. Many models also have a redundant safety switch or trigger that must be depressed in order for the electrical charge to be sent to the electrodes.
A common secondary safety device is the wrist strap disable pin. This safety feature is highly recommended for women. The wrist strap disable pin prevents the attacker from taking the charged device away from the victim and using it. It is designed such that if the victim is overpowered by his or her attacker, the device will automatically be disabled when the attacker takes the stun device away. While not all models have the wrist strap disable pin, almost all models do come equipped with a wrist strap to help prevent an attacker from gaining control over the device.
Another common safety feature for certain types of stun guns are safety caps that must be removed before the stun device will be charged. These are typically used on devices that are designed to be discreet such as a tube of lipstick or a fountain pen. Many devices also have built in alarms and flashlights for added security.
Laws Regarding Stun Guns
While laws regarding the sell, purchase, possession and use of stun devices vary from state to state and locality to locality, it is always best to check with your local law enforcement agencies to verify any restrictions that may apply in your area. While most suppliers of stun devices will have a list of the known state and local laws, it is not intended to be comprehensive and it may not be up to date as local laws can be changed without notice. Keep in mind that most sellers of stun devices have no legal restrictions regarding the sale of these devices and that it is the responsibility of the buyer to ensure that stun devices can be legally purchased, possessed and used within his or hers local area.
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