Frequently Asked Questions About Stun Guns

These are some of the most common questions we get asked about stun guns. If you have a question that's not answered here, Please feel free to email us at info@naselfdefense.com and we'll email you back with an answer as quickly as we can. As you can imagine...we get a lot of emails everyday, so please try to be patient if it takes a day or two before we get back to you.

Please note: We will not knowingly ship any stun device to a location where they are prohibited by law. We have compiled a list of the ones we are aware of, but ultimately it is up to you to check with the local laws concerning the legality of stun devices in your own area.    

Stun Gun Laws and Restrictions 

Table of Contents

1. How Does a stun gun work?

2. How much voltage do I need?

3. Can I get shocked if the attacker is touching me?

4. How fast does a stun gun work?

5. Has anyone ever died from contact?

6. Can I hurt myself with a stun gun?

7. Do Stun Guns Work Through Clothing?

8. Stun Gun Technology the latest and the greatest (article)

How does a stun gun work?

   Good question.

   Stun guns use high voltage and low amperage to temporarily disable an attacker for several minutes. Basically the charge from an ordinary battery goes through a set of coils that increases the voltage dramatically. Stun guns have two metal prods or electrodes that transfer the current to the target. For the stun gun to be effective both electrodes must be touching your target. Although a stun device does cause a certain amount of instant pain, the stun gun does not rely solely on pain for results. 

   To put it in simple-easy to understand language... the voltage coming from a stun gun causes some instant pain at the point of contact. This is because you are actually giving the person an electrical shock. But even more importantly, Stun gun technology uses a high-voltage current to override the body's muscle-triggering mechanisms.

   You see in order for us to move our bodies, our brain must send electrical impulses back and forth to our muscles. Now the voltage from a stun gun interrupts the electrical impulses that control voluntary muscle movement. So when the voltage overwhelms the attacker’s neuromuscular system, their muscles spasm uncontrollably, they lose their balance, and become disoriented.

   This rapid work cycle also depletes the attacker’s blood sugar by converting it to lactic acid, he is unable to produce energy for his muscles, and his body is unable to function properly.  

   The voltage in stun guns can range from around 50,000 volts to 1,000,000 volts; with the most common being in the 100,000 to 300,000 Volt ranges, but the amperage in stun guns is relatively low at around 2mA to 4.6mA (electrical current above 100mA is considered to be potentially lethal). However, because the amount of current in stun guns is relatively low, they are considered to be non-lethal to humans.

   The effects generally last for about 5 to 10 minutes. And don't worry if your attacker is touching you. The voltage dissipates instantly within the muscles of your target so you will not receive a shock back.

In summary: It hurts, it causes weakened muscles, and temporary loss of muscle control.

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How much voltage do I need?

At one time the amount of voltage a stun gun had was directly related to the size of the device. But with newer technology, this is no longer the case.

Today there are stun guns with upwards of 1,000,000 volts that are as small as a deck of cards.

Now an 80,000 volt Mini Talon will stop an attacker just a surely as a 975,000 volt hotshot stun gun

The main difference is the more powerful stun guns can produce a more intimidating crackling sound when fired. This alone can often stop an attacker. Also the higher voltage stun guns can cause more instant pain at the point of contact, and they tend to work a bit quicker for subduing a person. (In an attack every second can count).

So to answer your question, you should get the one that's a size you feel comfortable carrying and with the highest voltage that you can afford buy

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Can I get shocked if the attacker is touching me?

Another good question.

Should the attacker be touching you, the current will NOT pass to your body!

Stun devices work on high voltage but very low amperage. Amperage is the current that can pass through one person and on to the next until it finds a ground to end at. 

The voltage produced by stun guns begins to dissipate immediately within the muscle tissue of the person directly contacted with the current.

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How fast does a stun gun work?

This depends on a number of factors.

The size of the attacker, the voltage of the stun gun and where on the body contact is made.  

On average, a stun device will work as follows...

1/2 second of contact will startle the attacker, produce some pain, muscular contraction and shock.

1-2 seconds of contact will cause muscle spasms and a dazed mental state.

3-5 seconds will cause loss of balance, loss of muscle control, total mental confusion and disorientation.

Generally speaking, the higher the voltage, the quicker the results.

The best place to make contact is on the midsection, neck or face of the assailant. But anywhere on the body will produce results.

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Has anyone ever died from contact?

Stun devices were originally marketed as "non-lethal" devices. However, based on the judgments of the SEC, this has had to be amended as "less-lethal" devices.

Between September 1999 and October 2004, there were 73 cases of deaths of people soon after having been shocked with Tasers.

About 45% of these were attributed to excited delirium (caused by a subject's interaction with high levels of drug-use), around 30% were as a result of pre-existing cardiovascular conditions or other pre-existing medical conditions, The remainder occurred as a result of head injuries sustained due to falling after being shocked.

These incidents relate to the use of TASERS, and form a very small percentage of the many tens of thousands of operational uses of Stun devices.

Taser International has recently settled a lawsuit as a result of some of these deaths, although the courts did not declare that any of the deaths were directly caused by the stun devices themselves.

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Can I hurt myself with a stun gun?

Yes you can, but we don't recommend it.

Unless you're into that sort of thing. In which case you just need to touch yourself with the business end and push the button.

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Do Stun guns Work through clothing 

Stun Devices will work through several layers of clothing depending on the type of materials.

They will easily work through denim or cloth in multiple layers, up to up to 1/2 or even 3/4 of an inch thick...Of course the higher the stun gun voltage, the thicker the clothing they'll go through.

However, stun guns don't work very well through rubber rain coats, and they may have minimal effect through heavy leather jackets. But remember...stun devices are effective nearly anywhere on the body, So if your attacker is wearing one of these garments, you're better off aiming for the face/neck area, or even their  legs.

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Stun Gun Technology The Latest and the Greatest

Being in the self-defense and security industry, I’m always looking for new innovations in the self-defense weapons market. I’ve spent a lot of time and money over the last few years researching and buying stun guns. Some of them are truly awesome; some of them are truly lame.

It never ceases to amaze me at what some manufacturers will develop in an effort to stay ahead of the market. The next few paragraphs will attempt to describe some of the more innovative ideas and try to steer you away from some of the less effective ones.

To begin with, let’s first describe what a stun gun is and what it does.
A stun gun is a self-defense weapon that takes the electrical energy from an ordinary battery and increases that energy through a set of coils to produce a high voltage current. The energy from a simple 9 volt battery can be increased to produce as much as much as 400,000 or 500,000 volts, and with multiple 9 volt batteries or lithium batteries, some stun guns can produce as much as 1,000,000 volts of current.

When a person is touched with the electrodes of a stun gun, and the button is pushed, the current does a great deal of work very quickly. The electrical current overloads the neuro-electrical impulses from the muscles to the brain causing muscle spasms, loss of muscle control, mental confusion and loss of balance. These effects can last for about 5 or 10 minutes, allowing you to get away from an attacker, or allowing law enforcement officers to handcuff an assailant without much resistance.

Nowadays, stun guns do more than just produce high voltage for self-defense. Many of the newer stun devices on the market also have added features that make them even more useful.

Some of the newer technology has produced stun guns that have flashlights built right in.  So you can carry an inconspicuous flashlight while walking at night, and still be prepared to deliver a shocking surprise to any would be attacker.

Other stun guns have built in personal alarms that allow you to draw attention to your situation, and if that doesn’t scare off your attacker, the high voltage electrical shock will stop them in their tracks.

I’ve even seen stun guns with pepper spray built right into the device, although the few that I’ve actually purchased have turned out to be inferior quality and I would never sell them on this website.

Some stun guns are rechargeable so you don’t have to purchase batteries, just plug them into a wall outlet and recharge the internal battery. Although, this technology is still fairly new to me so I can’t personally testify as to how long the battery will hold a charge, or how many times it can be recharged before it stops working. If any of these rechargeable stun guns prove themselves to be worthy, then I will certainly add the best of them to our line of products.

One other great feature on some stun guns is the wrist strap disable pin. Put your hand through the wrist strap and if the stun gun is taken away from you, the pin comes out, disabling the device so it can’t be used against you.

In my opinion, the most interesting thing about the newer stun gun technology is the ability to disguise a stun device as an everyday object.

In my travels, I’ve come across stun guns disguised as cell phones, pagers, flashlights, pens, umbrellas, and even gloves with a stun gun built right in.

I can only imagine what someone will come up with next. But if it’s out there, I’ll find it, and when I do, I’ll let you know about it.
 

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