Stun Guns | Frequently Asked Questions
It is recommended that you have your stun gun out and ready when walking through a potentially dangerous area such as parking lots, the beach or while walking your dog. Always keep it handy and ready in your car while driving and in your home at your entry door. Make a habit of it.
Q: Stun Guns - What are they?
A - Stun guns are legal, electronic devices that put out a high voltage shock to an attacker. Touching an attacker with a stungun will immobilize and incapacitate him. A stun device does not rely on high amperage for results. It is designed to key into the nervous system, interrupting the tiny neurological impulses that travel through the whole body to control and direct voluntary muscle movement. When an assailant's neuromuscular system is overwhelmed and controlled by a stun device, instant disorientation and loss of balance occur. And even if the assailant is touching you, the voltage will not pass to you. Stun devices are not toys; they are a great device designed for self defense and should only be used to fend off an attacker. Stun guns are well known for their incredible stopping power.Q: What is the difference between a Stun Gun and a Taser
A – Stun guns need direct contact so that the two electrodes can make contact with the attacker and allow the electricity to pass through the nervous system. You can protect yourself against multiple attackers. A warning ‘fire’ will deter most attackers. Stun guns are fully rechargeable and very affordable.
A - Tasers shoot out two electrical wires that sticks or implants into the skin and high voltage is transferred from the weapon to the attacker over a distance of wire. Tasers only allow you to shock up to 2 attackers (if you don’t miss) as it works with a cartridge in which the wires are stored. After that you are in trouble as you first need to replace the cartridge with a new one in order to use again. They cannot fire off a warning ‘fire’. Genuine tasers sell for approximately R3500+ and the cartridges for around R500-R750 each. Tasers are subject to requirement of a handgun license.
Q: How do Stun Guns Penetrate Clothing?
A - When the two pairs of electrodes on either side of a stun gun are pressed against a clothed person's body, this completes an electrical circuit, enabling a discharge of electricity into the body. The ability of a stun gun to penetrate clothing has to do with a simple physical rule - resistance. In lay terms, resistance is simply a substance's ability to withstand - "resist" - electrical voltage. For instance, the power cords in your home are most likely coated in rubber or some kind of plastic polymer, which have excellent resistance to electricity and keep the current inside the cord. With the voltage of stun guns being so high, their ability to send electricity through most types of clothing is nearly as effective as if the clothes weren't there. The body itself is an excellent conductor - which means it's good at letting electrical currents flow through it - and that, combined with the inadequacy of most types of clothing to resist voltages between 300,000 to 2,500,000 volts, is why stun guns can work through clothes in most cases. Thick leather jackets, layers of clothing over 5cm thick and rubberized raincoats are the only exceptions, although they don't guarantee safety against a high-voltage stun gun.Q: Are Stun Guns legal?
A - Stun Guns are legal in South Africa as they have no permanent effect and cannot cause death or serious injury.
Q: What are the effects of a stun gun?
A - When a person is stunned, he receives a series of rapid bursts of intense energy that are quickly released into their nervous system, greatly affecting the muscles. The high-frequency pulses cause all of the muscles in the body to contract rapidly, overproduce and build up lactic acid, and become completely drained of energy. The results vary from being startled and instantly repelled with stun bursts under ½ second, to pain, muscle spasms, confusion, and mentally dazed with a sustained stun of between one and two seconds, and three or more seconds can cause loss of all muscle control, loss of balance, mental confusion, and a disorientated state. The debilitating effects can last for up to 15 minutes, but overall experience can be mentally draining and emotionally traumatic for some people.
Q: If the aggressor is touching me will I be stunned?
A - No! Even if the aggressor is physically touching you when you fire the stun gun into them you cannot suffer from a charge back! The current does not run in reverse, nor does it travel through several bodies. The only way a user could be shocked is by accidentally applying the shock to themselves.
Q: Will a Stun Gun work through clothing or on those under the influence of alcohol or drugs?
A - Absolutely. The only exceptions are thick rubber jackets, but then again, who wears that?Q: If the attacker is touching me will I be stunned?
A - No. If the aggressor is physically touching you when you fire the stungun into them you cannot suffer from a charge back!Q: Are Stun Guns safe to use and could it kill someone?
A - The medical and scientific industry have determined that stun guns are completely safe because they cause no permanent damage to the attacker. They have no effect on involuntary muscles such as the heart and lungs. Stun guns will not permanently harm someone with a pacemaker. When properly used, a stun gun is a non lethal device that will not cause permanent damage. When used, a stun gun is not electrocuting a person - the voltage produced is causing physical and chemical reactions in the body which includes the rapid dump of lactic acid into the muscles creating an extreme state of cramping that can last for anywhere from 3 minutes to an hour.
Q: What if a child gets their hands on it?
A - A stun gun is much safer to have in your home than a gun. If you accidentally stun yourself, remember that the muscles go limp in one millisecond (1/1000ths of a second), so that the button is instantly released (it’s not like putting your finger into a plug). Stun Guns are not toys and should thus not be treated as such; they are highly effective self defense devices that should be taken seriously.Q: Where are the best points of contact on the assailant?
A - The best points of contact would be the upper hip, below the rib cage or the upper shoulders as there are nerve centers at those points. With that said, it doesn't matter where on the body a person is stunned; the effect on the nervous system is the same, since it affects the entire body at once.