Hello again. Here’s a little bit of information on the “stun gun!”
First of all, even though the word “gun” is in the name of the thing, it isn’t a gun and it doesn’t shoot anything. That thing that “shoots” and shocks people is actually called a Tazer. We can go over those in a different post.
So any of you who have purchased or even looked at the MANY stun guns available on the market, you have seen a WIDE range of voltages on those different models. And while it might sound better to zap a bad guy with 5,000,000 volts rather than 200,000 volts, it probably won’t make much of a difference anywhere other than your pocket book. What?
stun gun
That’s right. You see, electricity has several different aspects to it. Without getting too technical, let’s see if we can figure this electricity thing out (as it pertains to stun guns). A good image to use in understanding the “voltage” issue of stun guns is a garden hose. The water going through the hose is the electricity. But there are 2 very important aspects we need to understand. First is the amount of water coming out of the hose. This aspect is the amperage of the electricity. Second is the force of the water coming out of the hose. This aspect is the voltage (volts).
The amount of voltage will determine how far out of the hose the water will shoot. In a stun gun, that means how far will the electricity penetrate (usually clothes) to get to the body of the bad guy. It only takes about 25,000-30,000 volts to get through ½ inch of clothes. But that doesn’t mean that 1,000,000 volts will get the electricity further INTO the bad guy making it more effective.
Stun gun
What causes the bad guy to be stunned is the amount of “water” coming through the hose, or the amount of “amperage.” Generally, one ampere can kill a person. So stun guns use a range of 2.5-4 milliamps to stun a person without killing him. So 3 milliamps is .003 amps or 3/1000 of an ampere. As you can see, it doesn’t take much “water” coming through that hose to be effective!
So don’t get too wrapped up about needing to buy a 10 MILLION volt stun gun to stop an attacker. You don’t have to spend a huge amount on a stun gun to get one that will do the job. If a stun gun is your self-defense tool of choice, buy the one that fits your hand the most comfortably and the one you will actually carry with you, since that fancy stun gun you bought but left in your car won’t do you much good (unless you’re in your car!).
Until next time,
Cranford
13 comments
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Thank you so much! We try to create posts and articles that will help people learn to be safer and to protect themselves (and their families) while still being fun to read. I’m glad you enjoyed it and thank you for sharing it with others. Its great to think that someone might be safer because of what we do and because YOU shared it! Thanks again.
Honestly no Comment on his anology. Very knowledgeable example. I just wanted to underline his last comment about if it’s in the car it’s useless unless that’s where the attack is. I just want to say, look both guns and stun guns are time sensitive. Meaning your attacker is already set and ready to go. Especially if the attack comes from behind. Regardless of how skilled you are, fear is quick and blinding. So even if you are focused, remember the amount of time it takes to prepare your weapon is still too long when needed. So people, if you’re alone day or night and in a place with no immediate help. Please already have said weapon in your hand concealed as best you can but ready to go with no hesitation. Even if you’re grabbed from behind. Your attacker can still be tazed in any part of the body. And pleas stun at least 2 times to make a good escape. That’s all.
Hey there Terrence, You’re absolutely right about the “readiness” issue. If a stun gun is in the very bottom of your bag when someone grabs you or it’s in your glove box under a pile of papers and ketchup packets when someone decides to carjack you, then it doesn’t really matter whether you had a stun gun or not. Many of the stun guns on the market (including the ones in our website store) come with a wrist strap or a carry holster to help keep them accessible. Use those accessories to keep your tool handy. We teach that “situational awareness” is the basis of all safety. If you’re not aware of where your personal protection equipment is, or you have it somewhere you can’t immediately get to it, then you have put yourself at a disadvantage. Keep your tools of self-protection in the same easily accessible place all the time so when a bad guy (or girl) comes to you, you don’t have to spend any time trying to find that tool that could be what saves your life! Over the past several years, the quality and styles of stun guns have increased while the cost has dramatically DECREASED. That being the case, everyone should consider buying an extra one to keep in their car, along with the one you carry on your person. Thanks for your comment, Terrence. I hope you’ll read our other articles and share them with the people you care about.
Stay safe,
Cranford
I’m still learning from you, as I’m trying to reach my goals. I certainly liked reading all that is written on your site.Keep the stories coming. I loved it!
We are so glad you are learning from our posts. Don’t forget to check out our other posts for more information on self-protection!
My stun gun says its current is not greater than or equal to 2.5A. And Power output is 1000KV. How lethal would be the effect?
I’m sorry it’s *greater than or equal to (≥)
Hello and thanks for reading our articles. Stun gun voltages range from 50,000 to over 10,000,000. Even at that high voltage level, a stun gun is still safe. The amperage level is the one that sun gun manufactures must be careful of. The common range of amperage for stun guns is around 2.4 – 4.3 milliamps. That is a safe range that will give the stun gun “stopping power” without causing a fatal shock. So, excluding you using your stun gun on someone with a serious heart condition, your stun gun should be safe to use and NOT lethal.
Thanks for asking and I hope you’ll read and share our other articles where you will learn about other options to stop or avoid an attacker.
Cranford
Here’s my question, everything that I’ve read on here is 100% correct whether it’s from the website operator’s and or “regular” people like myself. It is for the most part true that you can have all the voltage you can-10, 000 or 100,000,000, that high number of volts is just for conversation sake but you can have the highest amount of volts possible but if your other output is only let’s say . 5-1.5 amp there’s not to much action there. But here’s my real question, they say 1 real amp can possibly kill someone, so what if you were to be shocked by 2 different stun guns that were . 50 amps a piece. Would that make it more lethal than or no?
That is beyond my knowledge, but thanks for reading the article. And if you do find and answer to your question, I’d love to hear it!