When you were a kid, maybe you remember watching the classic TV show Star Trek. If you did, then you also surely remember Captain Kirk and his crew members always keeping in hand their trusty phasers. Long before stun guns were widely used, they had their TV counterparts with the said “phasers.” One of the coolest functions about these phasers were that when the crew of the Enterprise was in trouble, they could always them to stun their enemies, turning them unconscious on a temporary basis, rather than actually killing them.
At present, it can be said that we’re still a long way off from actually replicating the futuristic weaponry of Star Trek, but we do have our own version of the phaser in the form of the stun gun. Today, millions of people carry these stun weapons in order to protect against personal attacks and, in the case of police officers and soldiers, enforce the law and restrain criminals. Like the Star Trek phasers, these stun guns were created and designed to momentarily incapacitate a person without injuring or causing them permanent damage.
While they are by no means perfect as weapons, they do indeed save lives in specific situations. Indeed, there have millions of lives saved and risky situations averted thanks to these stun weapons. So how do these weapons work, and why are they able to do what they do?
It’s All About Electricity
When we say the word “electricity,” what do you think about? For most of us, we think of electricity as a useful force that operates our appliances, gadgets, and vehicles as well as lights up our homes. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to function well on a daily basis. However, when said electricity is applied to our bodies, it’s a destructive force; it can cause physical injury or even death. But that is not true all the time.
Of course, when lightning strikes or if you happen to touch an electrical outlet, the electrical current alone can maim you and possibly even kill you. However, in smaller doses, the effect of electricity is just about harmless. In some cases, as in electrocardiograms, it can even be said to do the body some good. Even our body uses its own form of electricity to send signals to the brain and communicate with each other. Think of it as the body’s own version of the Internet.
What the stun gun is created to do is to interrupt this communication system temporarily by generating an electrical charge that high in voltage but low in amperage. In layman’s terms, this means that the charge generated has a high pressure but is low in intensity. It also means that the charge will be enough to shock a person, but not hurt or kill him. When you hold a stun gun against a person and then pull the trigger, the charge will automatically pass into his body, Because it’s high-voltage, the current will pass through his clothing and skin into his body. However, as the charge is just at 3 milliamps, it’s not strong enough to cause damage to the person’s body, unless it is used for long periods of time. At its simplest explanation, the stun gun is able to incapacitate a person by applying electricity to his muscles and nerves. And because a person’s body has muscles and nerves all over, it doesn’t really matter where you hit a would-be attacker.
The Advantages of Stun Guns as a Tool for Self-Defense
Because of how they’re designed, stun guns are the perfect self-defense weapon, when a bottle of pepper spray is not enough for you or when you don’t know any form of martial arts. Indeed, there are many advantages you can gain from owning a stun gun.
1. They don’t permanently harm or injure a person.
Unlike bullets fired from a gun or even direct bodily blows, a stun gun will not cause permanent harm to the person it’s targeted. This is because the amperage rate is much lower than the lethal electrical rate of one ampere. It won’t hurt or kill a person even if he had a preexisting condition, such as a heart illness.
2. They don’t require you to be a sharpshooter.
Unlike a gun where you’d need to have perfect aim to take down your opponent, all you need to do is to get close to him and aim it anywhere at his body. Because nerves and muscles are found all over a person’s body, the electrical charge supplied by the stun gun will shock him even if you were to stun his legs or his head. In short, you’ll be able to turn your attacker powerless even without having the skills of a sharpshooter.
3. They don’t require you to get a permit.
One of the many reasons why people prefer not to own a gun is because of the discouraging amount of paperwork that they have to accomplish before they’re given the permit to own a gun. This is aside from the intensive background checks they’d have to go through to prove they have the right to own a gun. With stun guns, many states in the country don’t require you to take out a permit in order to carry your stun gun.
4. They are a much safer option for your family.
There have been reports in the news about children getting hold of their parent’s firearm and accidentally firing or a father cleaning out his weapon and accidentally shooting his child. In either cases, somebody gets hurt; and sometimes, the results are fatal. With a stun gun, you won’t have this worry. Even if the worst happens and somebody in your family misuses it, the mistake won’t ultimately hurt him or cost him his life.
5. They’re much easier to carry than guns.
Stun guns are much easier to carry than actual firearms, and they also weight a lot less. They’re also a lot easier to disguise, unlike guns that come in easily recognizable forms. Nowadays, there are many stun guns that come in various shapes and sizes. Some modern types are even made to like cellular phones. Plus, their small size ensures that you can easily stow it away into your glove apartment or bag.
Traveling Safely with Your Stun Gun
There are times when you would need to travel, and it’s important that you take your stun gun along with you as a form of protection. However, other people can possibly take interest in your weapon and can steal it from you so they use it on hapless, innocent people. To avoid such an incident from happening, you must have a method to keep track of your belongings, especially your stun gun.
Keeping track of your possessions when you travel can be a struggle. But it can become even more stressful if you need to keep track of your personal defense weapon. A stun gun is small and can be lost or misplaced easily; you don’t want it just lying around for anyone to find. One of the ways you can do this is by getting a GPS tracker for your possessions. With this device in hand, you can easily keep track of your belongings should anyone attempt to take them from you.
You can place your stun gun and your tracker in a pouch together; in the event that another person steals them, you can access an app connected to the device and check the database for your pouch’s exact location. This makes it easier for you to recover your belongings more quickly.
In the tracking industry, Trackimo is known to have the smartest, most compact, and most cost-effective tracking devices. Aside from offering the basic features like real-time tracking, geofencing alerts, and speed and motion alerts, it also boasts other features that a lot of other trackers don’t have. For one, there is its audio monitoring feature, which allows you to listen in discreetly to the surroundings of the tracker. This helps you in quickly identifying the environment the thief could be in. Trackimo’s trackers also boast the longest-lasting batteries in the market. On a single charge, it can last for up to several days of use. On battery-saving mode, it can even last for up to thirty days. Using Trackimo technology, you can easily track your possessions such as backpacks, bikes, and belts.
On a last note, if you’re traveling overseas or within the country, you’ll definitely want to know where your stun gun is, and you’d want to keep it securely with you. However, you need to make sure you’re aware of the laws that regulate stun guns and know for certain if you can travel with it. The good thing is that stun guns are allowed on planes. However, you must comply with the rules and restrictions the TSA may place on you.
Take a look at this guide to find out more about how stun gun laws can affect you, and learn how to travel safely.
tucson.com
Image by jasonesbain
Watch the video below
