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|  | Pepper Spray, Stun Guns and TASER® devices
by Michael McBee What are these weapons? There are many self-defense weapons on the market and many our considered non-lethal. For this discussion we will talk about Pepper Spray, Stun Guns and TASER® devices.
Pepper Spray is the most widely used of the above mentioned weapons. The reason is for many it does not carry the personal uncertainty of a weapon like a gun or knife. Also pepper spray is really a generic term. Pepper Spray can be the more commonly known name, Mace. Most have all heard of Mace, it has been a term very much associated with law enforcement.
But what really are the sprays (in some cases foam)?
Pepper Spray: a non-lethal aerosol spray made with the pepper derivative oleoresin (a naturally occurring mixture of a resin and an essential oil; obtained from certain plants) capsicum (the substance that surrounds the Hot Pepper Seeds); used to cause temporary blindness and incapacitate an attacker; it is also used as a bear deterrent MaceTM is a brand name. You can find
Mace as a pepper spray, OC (also know as pepper spray) and other protection products. Pepper Spray or OC (Oleoresin Capsicum) is a derivative of hot cayenne peppers. Contact with mucous membranes (eyes, nose, throat and lungs) will cause immediate dilation of the capillaries of the eyes, resulting in temporary blindness and instant inflammation of the breathing tube tissues.. They are considered a civilized way to temporarily immobilize an attacker so that you can get away or in the cases of Law Enforcement subdue or take in to custody. The sprays begin working in seconds and give you a clean and non-violent way to avoid a dangerous situation, in other words “to get away”. Tear gas sprays are self defense weapons with similar effects to pepper sprays. Tear gas that you hear about on the news, in the form of CN (chloroacetophenone) or CS (chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile), is often used by law enforcement when they are faced with a combative crowd. The tear gas is launched in the form of grenades or aerosol cans so that the liquid becomes an aerosol. Both CN and CS are irritants -- they irritate mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, mouth and lungs, and cause tearing, sneezing, coughing, etc. Its really nasty stuff, when I was in military (many years back) basic training we actually had to breath the stuff, not much fun at all. The last of the self defense weapons we will cover are
stun guns and TASER® devices.
Stun Guns (though considered safe are some what controversial) release an electric discharge into the assailant, temporarily stunning and immobilizing them. The electric currents overload the connection from the brain and the muscles, forcing the victim to just drop down and not move. The basic idea of a stun gun is to disrupt this communication pathways of the nervous system. Stun guns 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. Since it has a fairly high voltage, the charge will pass through heavy clothing and skin. But at around 3 milliamps, the charge is not intense enough to damage the attacker's body unless it is applied for extended periods of time. Stun guns are a non-lethal way to subdue your assailant but require you to be close enough to use it, you must be able to touch the attacker in some way
TASER® devices work basically in the same way except the two charged electrodes are not only permanently joined to the housing, they are also positioned at the ends of long conductive wires, attached to the gun's electronics. This allows the user to have distance from the attacker, typically 12-20 feet. Pulling the trigger breaks open a compressed gas cartridge inside the gun. The expanding gas builds pressure behind the electrodes, launching them through the air, the attached wires trailing behind. The force of the gas pushes the electrodes to the assailant with force to implant in clothing or skin there by delivering the high-voltage, low-amperage electrical charge to the body, debilitating the attacker. The above self defense weapons offer non-lethal ways to immobilize an assailant and escape a threatening situation. However, you shouldn't just rely on these products because there can always be a case when you don't have them near you. For those types of circumstances, you should learn other methods of self defense to protect yourself. Self Defense weaponry is a quickly growing field of innovation. Law enforcement and military forces need non-lethal weapons to subdue angry mobs without increasing civilian casualties. Many who are concerned for their safety but aren't comfortable with firearms are looking for reliable safe and easy to use weapons.
*Registered Trademark of TASER International, Inc.
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