| Stun guns are becoming an increasingly popular | | | | factors in determining whether you'll get away from |
| method of self-protection. As a non-lethal weapon | | | | your attacker are the power of the stun gun you |
| (as opposed to hand guns), they offer users the | | | | purchase, and the amount of time you're able to hold |
| opportunity to incapacitate an attacker without killing | | | | the weapon against their body. |
| him. For both moral and practical legal applications, it's | | | | In most of today's high power devices, one half of a |
| easy to see the appeal of a stun gun. Before you | | | | second is necessary simply to repel the attacker. This |
| head to your local security shop, however, there are | | | | short dose won't disable; instead, it will merely cause |
| some key points to note about stun guns. | | | | a high level of pain, probably doing nothing more than |
| There are a myriad of weapons out there that use | | | | angering and inciting the aggressor to inflict more pain |
| high-voltage electricity to disable would be attackers, | | | | upon you. For real effective power that will cause |
| but they all fall into two basic categories: short range | | | | your attacker to drop to the ground for at least |
| and long range. Short-range options require physical | | | | enough time for you to make your escape, |
| contact with the assailant, while their long range | | | | approximately four seconds of contact is needed. |
| cousins instead shoot electrodes attached to the end | | | | This may sound like only a brief moment, but when |
| of long, thin wires. The most popular of these | | | | your opponent holds a significant strength and weight |
| long-range stun guns is the Taser, used by law | | | | advantage, applying the shock for this long can be a |
| enforcement and military organizations across the | | | | very difficult proposition. |
| world. | | | | For that reason, some industry experts remain |
| Most civilians in the market for a stun gun purchase a | | | | skeptical of the application of stun guns in the civilian |
| weapon of the short-range variety. These are much | | | | environment. They argue that stun guns give their |
| smaller than Tasers, and thus easier to conceal, a | | | | owners a false sense of security. At the same time, |
| key characteristic for the average user. The newest | | | | there are few non-lethal alternatives out there that |
| models tend to look like cellular telephones or small | | | | can offer even close to the stopping power of a |
| flashlights, and can easily be carried in a purse or belt | | | | stun gun. Mase, for example, can only temporarily |
| holster. | | | | blind an attacker, but that will have little effect if the |
| At this point, you're probably wondering exactly what | | | | aggressor has already made serious contact with the |
| a stun gun could potentially do to save your life in | | | | victim. For now, the stun gun and Taser represent |
| the event of an aggressive attacker confronting you | | | | the most effective, non-lethal tools available to |
| on a dark street. It's important to note that stun | | | | civilians that don't want to bring a firearm into their |
| guns aren't magical pieces of wizardry that can | | | | household. |
| automatically disable attackers. The most important | | | | |