On the utter uselessness of stun guns.

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As useless as stun guns are, they are still restricted in Michigan to CPL holders only, which I find laughable. If I can carry a gun, why on earth would I choose a stun gun, or even a bona fide Taser? I could foreseably carry it where I am prohibited from carrying a pistol, maybe, but that's the only allure.

I see now a lot of tactical flashlights with stun guns built into them. I imagine these are just as gimmicky as the handheld contact shock devices, with a more efficient way to drain the battery. If using a flashlight as a self defense tool, I'd prefer a four D cell Mag light.

As for less lethal options, I'd recommend a good OC spray even over a Taser. OC is much more cost effective, and based on personal experience with both the hand held liquid spray cans, and the gaseous canisters, extremely effective and debilitating.

I've never been hit with an actual Taser, and have no desire to, either. Stun guns, I agree, are useless but damned if they don't sell.
 
armoredman said:
I did before - watched an inmate take 4 Taser hits, two barbs, two contact hits, and all he did was yell and yank out the barbs. He gave up when he got bored. Saw another guy being handled by officer on the street, and it took two Tasers going at the same time to drop him. It's a HECK of a lot better than OC, and I wish I had more staff equipped with Tasers, but they aren't perfect.
Don't forget that Florida inmate who got soaked with oil based pepper spray, then Tased...he ignited. We lost our good OC to cheesy stuff over that. But, as The Joker said, "It's a hot time, in the old town tonight!"

Hahaha when I did my certification we had a guy who got zapped and thrashed around so much he sat up and dislodged one of the probes. When the electricity stopped he was so relieved that he just flopped back on his back with this huge sigh... where he landed on the probe again before the five second ride was up.
 
Stun guns really don't do much, as has been stated. One of my buddies back in high school had one that we would take turns zapping either other with. Hurt like hell, but that was about it. He got it from one of the local "tough guys" that thought it wouldn't be prudent to pull it and try to use it on my friend's 6'3 250lb frame. So my buddy got a free stun gun and the other idiot got off with a punch in the gut and shoved on his butt.

I'm torn on TASERs. Like most people here, I have a CCW permit. Most every place I travel on a regular basis honors my permit so that I don't have to go unarmed. However, part of me sees the merit of having something with more range than a sharp stick when I travel to places where TASERs are legal but they don't accept my CCW.

A friend of mine is a cop who has worked for both the county as well as city police. He's had to be TASEd both times he went through the academy and says it's no picnic. While he's not the same friend I talked about messing around with the stun gun, he's about 6'3 250lbs as well. The TASER dropped him like a stone.

But yeah, stun guns are junk.
 
Thanks for starting this thread. Though I wasn't considering one, I didn't know that there was a difference. I always thought stun guns produced the same kind of debilitation as tasers. I will be sure I inform others as well.

It doesn't help that these contact stun guns are often depicted in movies as being effective to comedic degree.
 
I'm torn on TASERs. Like most people here, I have a CCW permit. Most every place I travel on a regular basis honors my permit so that I don't have to go unarmed. However, part of me sees the merit of having something with more range than a sharp stick when I travel to places where TASERs are legal but they don't accept my CCW.

A TASER would be a good alternative for one who cannot own/carry/possess a firearm. It has limitations (close range, single shot models, heavy or loose clothing may defeat them, etc.). But IF you make contact, most people will immediately be totally debilitated and under submissive control. With these, you can administer repeated 5 second very painful shocks. It would be the rare person (drugged up perhaps) who could overcome or not care about repeated pain compliance. You basically have them on a leash - although they could pull out the barbs, or the bards could be dislodged, thereby breaking contact.

So you need a backup plan - a secondary weapon, escape, etc. What do you "do" with a subdued attacker, really?

And they are expensive. Last I looked the X26 gun was about $1000, and cartridge packs are pricey too.

It would possibly be one tool in your toolbag if a gun was not an option.
 
Taser took me right down when tested...but Byron couldn't figure out how to keep juicing me when I got back up and continued the "attack".

RIP, buddy.
 
I have been hit with a stun gun once, and all it did was make me wince a little. I did win $5.00 from the vendor at the gun show for taking it though. I have also seen a stun gun that was a MUCH higher voltage than the normal ones, and I heard from a reliable source that stun gun was not a joke in relation to the PAIN it brought.

I also heard of two people who were not affected at all by a taser. One of them was hopped up on drugs and fought four BIG cops to the ground, after being tased twice. He finally was stopped after a load of 00 buckshot to the chest and neck. The blood toxicology test showed a virtual pharmacy, and the M.E. said he was dead and did not know it. The other person who was not affected was a cop who was one of the rare percentage who did not feel pain/did not have a normal physiology. He was hit with the barbs and just pulled them out without flinching. His response to the instructor was "you are now a dead man if I was a bad guy." The instructor had never seen anyone who could respond like that. He tried to hit the cop again and it did no good at all again.

The overall record of stun guns shows they are a gimmick, tasers are a better choice for those who have to subdue an individual but you still have to get close and make your one shot count and hope that the bad guy does not have friends.
 
leadcounsel said:
A TASER would be a good alternative for one who cannot own/carry/possess a firearm. It has limitations (close range, single shot models, heavy or loose clothing may defeat them, etc.). But IF you make contact, most people will immediately be totally debilitated and under submissive control. With these, you can administer repeated 5 second very painful shocks. It would be the rare person (drugged up perhaps) who could overcome or not care about repeated pain compliance. You basically have them on a leash - although they could pull out the barbs, or the bards could be dislodged, thereby breaking contact.

So you need a backup plan - a secondary weapon, escape, etc. What do you "do" with a subdued attacker, really?

And they are expensive. Last I looked the X26 gun was about $1000, and cartridge packs are pricey too.

It would possibly be one tool in your toolbag if a gun was not an option.

One major issue is that a lot of places have the same or nearly the same requirements to carry a TASER as they do for actual firearms, and it's more common to find restrictions on their possession and carry that aren't present for OC spray.

The civilian model TASERs have shorter range than the police ones, but they are also more compact for easier carry and substantially cheaper at around $300-$400.
 
The civilian models, IIRC, are made to be dropped, as the ride they give is actually 30 seconds, long enough for someone to run away...I think I remember reading that somewhere. Of course, if there is more than one attacker...
 
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