Defend Yourself, Girl! (Taser vs. Stun Gun Differences)
Wanna carry a non-lethal weapon for safety, but not sure about the law? Clueless about Taser vs. stun gun differences? Well, today I’m going to tell you because I “aim” to please…
Lately I’ve been really wanting to make a post about self-defense for women, since this is the kind of stuff that literally saves lives!! (Usually I’m just saving lives in the long term when I talk about health and fitness, yanno? 😉)
But I realized that a lot of women, including myself, didn’t know a lot about the basics either of self-defense fighting or self-defense weapons! So I might actually turn these lessons (teaching myself, too!) into a continued series…Let me know in the comments if that interests you!
For now, I want to go over a distinction that seems to confuse people: Taser vs. stun gun differences. That way you can see which is best for you…And I HIGHLY encourage you to have one of them!!
So then, what the heck is the difference?
Well, a stun gun has a couple of prongs on it, and when the stun gun is on you’ll see an electrical current between the two prongs. However, the way you use a stun gun is to thrust it into your assailant’s side.
It’s NOT like a Taser, which shoots the probes out at the assailant.
Does that mean you’d rather have a Taser than a stun gun, because with a stun gun you have to be up close to the attacker and touch them with it?
Not necessarily, because of my next point:
Are these things even legal?? Or CAN they be legal with a license?
Unfortunately, despite Taser vs. stun gun differences, both weapons are illegal in:
Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. And stun guns are also illegal in Michigan and DC, and restricted in Illinois.
So Tasers are sounding even better now, right? Well, the thing is, in the states where it’s legal, Tasers still require registering and background checks. They’re also larger than stun guns, and so they’re harder to hide, especially for a woman who doesn’t have big pockets or carry a big purse!!
HOWEVER, the reason why stun guns are the ones that don’t require getting registered, getting background checks, or training…they’re cheaper, but they may not be as effective. Because stun guns are just designed to, well, stun and shock somebody really hard when you touch them with it. But Tasers actually interrupt the signal between a person’s brain and their muscles, which means that your attacker WILL go down. Plus, again, there’s the fact that tasers work at a distance and stun guns don’t.
So it’s a lot to consider!! And of course, Taser vs. stun gun differences are not as simple as, “Stun guns are cheaper and don’t require background checks, but they may not incapacitate the attacker; Tasers are more effective but you have to go through more to get one.”
A stun gun that you know how to use properly is way better than a Taser you’d handle wrong; but on the other hand, you have to be right next to the attacker to use that stun gun!
