Has anyone here ever used a stun gun?

Question

Stun guns are legal where I live and I was thinking about getting one. Are they really an effective means of self-protection?

Answer 1

I own two of them and it went off in my pocket one time.  I will say that it IS effective and WILL get someones attn.

Answer 2

My department experimented with stun guns back in the early 80's. It was an immediate flop. You had to get to close to the subject and hold the stun gun on them for at least 3 seconds (try counting to 3 slowly and imagine you are being punched during that time, it is long). Yes it hurt but not enough to disable the attacker or in our case the non compliant one. Most hit thought they were stabbed and fought even harder.

I once sat on mine triggering it. I danced a bit but never even lost control of my car.

Bottom line they are useless, especially for self defense.

I heard that taser has come out with a civilian unit, one that can be safely left on the scene so the civilian can run away. Well that might be good because tasers do work. I have used the police model a couple of times and have been shocked myself.  

Answer 3

Might consider pepper spray as well. Dont have to let the person get as close to use that, and it is downright painful. Have never had a stun gun used on me but had to get hit with the OC for training. I didnt like it one little bit.

I didnt mention this before because you are in California, dont know how hard it is to get a CCW permit but to me a compact pistol in your pocket beats em all.

Answer 4

have not used one, but have had one used on me.

EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE. them suckers hurt like a...

EDIT:pepper spray is really effective too.  my buddy took my wife's out of the center console in the car and thought it was air freshener.  that was interesting. (and funny, now.)

Answer 5

I have carried a stun gun and have been hit by them several times (not to the point of paralysis - just a quick jolt). In *most* cases they are very effective, but there are some significant caveats to keep in mind.

First, they are NOT immediately effective. So forget what you've seen in the movies about the 300 lbs guy being thrown 50 feet into a wall.

From the first moment you hit the trigger, the attacker will feel the pain of the electric shock, but it can take several seconds before disorientation or paralysis takes place. And during that time, depending on the psychology of your attacker and his motivation (anger, drugs in his system, etc.) he may either try to run away (great!) or keep on fighting.

Also, different people have different tolerances for pain and electricity. If your attacker is immune to pain due to drugs or whatever, then you have to wait for the electricity to work against his nervous system. You should expect to wait about 7 seconds for this to take place, but it can certainly take longer, and you need to keep the stun gun on him (i.e. if he knocks it away and you make contact again, you may lose a lot of the effect from the first shock). What I am trying to get across is that even with a stun gun, you should expect to have to fight. Hopefully the sight of the stun gun will send your attacker packing, but you can't rely on that. If it comes down to a fight, the stun gun will give you an edge, but it will not win the fight for you.