Stun Master Stun Guns And Myths

Updated 02/12/2022

The stun gun is an excellent self-defense product choice and lately, it has been seen on television more than other self-defense products.

Hollywood has appeared to have embraced stun guns. Stun Guns and Taser like non-lethal products have been seen on TV shows using them as props in their plots:

Several episodes of recent shows have characters using a stun gun for self-defense investigating bad guys.

A group of bad girls used a Lipstick type stun gun on the show hero.

A Law and Order episode had a female character using a double shot Taser-type prop.

An episode of CSI had two different Stun Guns types suspected in controlling women pretending to be cats.

In an older Hawaii Five-O episode, Ninja fighters use a stun gun prop to knock out Steve McGarrett while they were stealing his father’s toolbox.

The important thing to remember in these shows is that they are fiction. While the stories in some shows may be based on real-life, the effects are sometimes greatly exaggerated to enhance the experience for the audience.

Watching these shows can give a stun gun user a false idea of how these self-defense products work.

Which leads us to stun gun myths:

Myth: On TV, you may see a scene where an attacker is knocked unconscious by touching him with a stun gun. The story may continue when after the person shocked has been tied up and moved, he/she regains consciousness.

In real life, the Stun Gun will put down an attacker when used correctly, but will not knock them unconscious. A one-second contact to an attacker with the device will repel, startle and trigger muscle contraction. One to two seconds will cause muscle spasms and a dazed condition. Three or more seconds will cause loss of equilibrium and muscle control, mental bewilderment, and severe disorientation. The attacker will be unable to recover for several minutes and effects may well last for up to fifteen minutes.

A stun gun works by generating electrical pulses designed to incapacitate the person by electrically overwhelming his or her control of the skeletal muscles.  A three to five-second shock can incapacitate an attacker so you can get away and get help.

Myth: You can cause a heart attack when you use a Stun Gun on an attacker.

In real life researchers have said “stun gun pulses are designed to act only on skeletal muscles and to not affect internal organs such as the heart.”

Keeping in mind that depending on the heart health of a person and drug use, just the stimulation of a struggle can cause a heart attack or death. Stun guns cannot deliver the amount of energy required to stimulate the heart.

Myth: You must touch the skin for a stun gun to work and you can shock yourself if you are touching an attacker while using a Stun Gun.

In real life, stun gun electric pulses can travel through an inch or so of clothing as long as the stun gun leads are pressed against the attacker. The electrical pulses will not transfer through a body back to you.

Myth: Stun guns will kill a person because of the high voltage that they use.

In real life stun guns are designed to use voltages up to 4,500,000 volts and will travel through an inch or more of clothing. The voltage is not what needs to be considered when thinking of death caused by electricity. High amperage is what can cause death and stun guns use only a small amount of milli-amps.

Myth: Stun Guns are hard to use.

In real life you don’t need much training to use a stun gun. Most stun guns have a safety lock so they can’t be accidentally activated in your purse or another storage container. Deactivating the safety lock renders the product ready for use.  A simple push and hold of a button activates the stun gun. Practice activating the stun gun and you will be ready as adrenalin kicks in if you are attacked. Remember to hold the stun gun against the attacker for three to five seconds to disorient, confuse and knock him/her down. Have the stun gun ready and with you at all times when in a situation of any risk, and check the battery charge often.

Myth: Stun Guns are illegal.

In real life most states, counties, and cities allow stun guns. Refer to our Stun Gun Laws Tab and contact your local area laws before you purchase a stun gun.

After writing this article, an episode of NCIS LA aired showing SAM using a stun gun on a bar manager/bouncer attacking him. Sam held contact against the bouncer for several seconds, which knocked the bouncer to the floor. Afterward, the bouncer got up but was dazed and hurt. It looks like this show got it right.

Now that you have information on stun guns, you can check our models to see which is best for you.