In today’s article, we will delve a little bit more into the differences between a stun gun and a Taser® to get a better idea which one you might need for your self-defense.
If you ever want to find out how something works, the highly respected website called “How Stuff Works” is the place to go. They tell us how stun guns work. To put it in its most simple terms, the body uses electricity to communicate and sends signals to different parts of the body. Stun guns disrupt this communication system. They “generate a high-voltage, low-amperage electrical charge. In simple terms, this means that the charge has a lot of pressure behind it, but not that much intensity. When you press the stun gun against an attacker and hold the trigger, the charge passes into the attacker’s body.” It causes the body to become temporarily paralyzed and the victim may become confused and unbalanced.
So the stun gun keys are:
- High-voltage
- Low amperage
- Must be physically applied.
The Taser® International website comes this information. “The TASER® CEW (conducted electrical weapon) pulsed output is really an elegant approach to incapacitating violent persons. The TASER®CEW pulses mimic the electrical signals used within the human body to communicate between the brain and the muscles. The TASER® CEW simulates the pulsed communications used within the nerves and interferes with communication. TASER®CEW carries fine wires that connect to the target and deliver the TASER into the target’s neural network. These pulses delivered by the TASER® CEW overwhelm the normal nerve traffic, causing involuntary muscle contractions and impairment of motor skills.”
The Taser® gun shoots out two darts up to 15 feet away (for civilians) and as much as 30 feet away for law enforcement. The darts are attached to thin wires that conduct a low-voltage high amperage electrical charge.
The Taser® keys are:
- High amperage
- Low voltage
- 15-foot range
The amperage, voltage, and range are three of the major differences between a stun gun and a Taser®. The other major difference is: cost-some stun guns are available for less than $20. Our Tasers® range from $379.99 for a basic Pulse+ model to $997 for the Taser® X2 with a laser.
For a variety of reasons Tasers® are used more by law enforcement personnel in the performance of their duties than stun guns. At last count there were more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States and in at least 11 foreign countries using Taser® guns.
One of the main reasons for this is the fact that tasers are nearly 100% effective. When a life is on the line as in law enforcement situations, a Taser® can save lives, both suspects and officers.
See our article entitled ‘Please Taze Me Bro’ where we site four instances that happened recently where suspects were shot and killed when, at least in our opinion, a Taser® could’ve been used and four lives could’ve been saved. The most famous was in Ferguson, MO where “hands up, don’t shoot” became the war cry for outraged citizens.
In our article called Taser® Is A Stun Gun But A Stun Gun Is Not Necessarily A Taser’® we talked about the differences and the similarities between the two.
Have you ever used a stun gun or a Taser? Which one do you prefer? Please share your experience. We want to hear from you.