Hi! In this post I'll explain non-lethal self defense alternatives available for personal protection. There are many reasons to pay attention to non lethal self defense options. As for myself, I was first interested in my childhood after being jumped at a New Year's Eve fireworks display. My friends, one of my friend's father and myself were jumped by a street gang. We believe it was more racially motivated as they did not try to get any money, but yelled racial slurs as they jumped us and broke a Kahlua bottle over one of my friend's head. He went to the hospital that night to receive much needed stitches. I forgot about the experience and found myself in the position of being held at gun point in an armed robbery just a couple years ago. Needless to say, I became interested in ways to be prepared for unexpected violent crime that could happen to anyone, anywhere at anytime. This time it happened in a nice, new, quiet neighborhood. The last place I would have expected. The robbers weren't from the neighborhood, but followed me in at a distance by car and jumped me when I least expected it. The fact is, these types of unexpected crimes and occurrences like hate crimes and home invasions are on the rise and they often happen in very nice areas and neighborhoods. The last place many people would expect.

There are many forms of non-lethal weapons available today. Lethal weapons are always an alternative, but I prefer to explain non-lethal weapons as most people (including myself) are more comfortable having something that will protect them, without the added baggage and legal implications that could come from using a more lethal self defense weapon like a firearm. The main non-lethal weapons available for self defense today are stun guns and pepper spray. All of these are available in many forms with many different options and produced by many brands. Here are there definitions:

• Stun Gun – A self defense weapon which delivers a non-lethal (painful) high voltage electric shock meant to temporarily immobilize and incapacitate an attacker. The traditional stun gun is a close quarters weapon which must make contact with a target.

• Pepper Spray- A nonlethal spray made with the pepper derivative oleo-resin capsicum; used to cause temporary blindness and irritation of the mucous membranes and respiratory tract. Used in self defense against people and animals as well as crowd control. Can also be delivered in gel, foam and cloud forms.

Stun guns and pepper spray all have unique advantages and disadvantages. Some can be stronger or shoot farther than others.

Stun guns come in a variety of voltages starting at around 80,000 volts and going up to over 1,000,000 volts. The voltage of a stun gun is equivalent to the speed at which the electricity travels. The higher the voltage, the easier it is for a shock to pass through an attacker's clothing. The amps are equivalent to the power behind the shock. Most stun guns are set at around 3 amps. It typically takes over 100 amps to kill a person. Stun guns should still never be used on the very young or someone with a weak heart or heart condition. They could be affected differently than a healthy adult. Stun guns come in many forms and styles. There are the traditional hand held stun guns which could be carried in a pocket, purse or holster. There are also miniature stun guns and stun sticks which are more easily concealed. Baton and flashlight stun guns have also become quite popular. Even more interesting styles like stun knuckles (watch the video by clicking the link below) have recently become available. A stun gun will incapacitate an attacker, but it must come in direct contact. Stun guns are not legal everywhere. Anyone considering purchasing a stun gun should check local laws in their area before buying or ordering.

Pepper spray can come in many forms and sizes. The most common form for personal self defense comes as a small spray container made to fit on a keychain, in a purse or a small holster. There are spray containers ranging from 1/2 ounce to up to 16 ounces. Pepper "spray" can also come as a foam, gel or cloud formula in similar small containers. Each form has it's advantages in specific situations. Pepper foam can be advantageous where air circulation and cross contamination is a concern. for this reason it is ideal for use indooors (hospital security, hotel security) or anyplace indoors where exposure to pepper spray can cause breathing problems or panic. A pepper "cloud" formula would be better for outdoor use or for crowd disbursement. Pepper gel is similar to foam in that it will stick to a target like the pepper foam and is less contaminating than other forms. Besides small spray type containers, pepper spray can come in a pepper spray gun, pepper spray grenades for crowd disbursement and clearing buildings as well as other forms of delivery like walking weights, lipstick containers and pepper pagers. As with all self defense weapons, pepper spray should only be used in life threatening self defense situations. There is no perfect "non-lethal" weapon and even pepper spray has been blamed for deaths.

How To Use Stun Guns Effectively!

1) Have the stun gun ready in your hand if you know you are in a dangerous area or may be in a dangerous situation.

2) Turn the stun gun on and do not touch the trigger until you are ready to use the stun gun.

3) Hold the prongs away from you, making sure it does not touch any part of your body. If the gun touches you, you can  be temporarily incapacitated.

4) Hold the stun gun against the attacker's hip, shoulder or core of body before firing it. These are the best areas to target to incapacitate your attacker.

5) Hold the trigger down until the attacker is downed.

6) Run to safety and call 911.

Additional Information:

Make sure to test your stun gun frequently. Touch the prongs to something metal after turning the gun off to release any residual charge.

Keep extra batteries on hand so your stun gun will always be ready to use. Regularly check your stun gun to make sure the batteries are fully charged.

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Stun guns work by delivering an electric shock by coming in direct contact with an attacker. They are meant to temporarily incapacitate a person without doing any real damage. This is achieved by using high voltage, low amperage electrical charges. The high voltage is needed to help pass through an attackers clothing, but the low amperage keeps the charge from doing any real damage. If someone is struck by lightning or otherwise electrocuted, they can easily be seriously injured or killed. In low doses; however, electricity can be harmless. The human body needs and uses electricity to perform motor functions. When you want to move your finger, your brain sends an electrical signal to the appropriate muscles in just the right way to perform the desired movement. Stun guns work by sending a disabling charge to "disrupt" the normal electrical communication in an attacker's body. The electrical charge from a stun gun mixes with the electrical charge from an attacker's brain to "garble" the signals in the attacker's body. This makes it very difficult for muscles to decipher what they are supposed to do. This disorients and can even temporarily paralyze an attacker. Stun guns should never be used on the elderly, the very young or anyone with a weak heart or heart condition. Used correctly, they can be a very affordable, safe and effective self defense weapon. 

Pepper spray has become a very popular self defense weapon . Although pepper spray does not have immediate stopping power like a large caliber handgun, it is effective enough to bring most attackers to their knees in just a few seconds. Most people are much more comfortable using a weapon with no permanent effects on an attacker. Just one, one second burst is usually enough to cause serious pain and discomfort. The effects can last up to 45 minutes. This gives a victim plenty of time to get away from a dangerous situation.

Pepper spray should be aimed at someone’s eyes and face (shown above) . This will cause irritation of the eyes and mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. This causes temporary incapacitation and can cause temporary blindness. At such a high level of pain and discomfort, it makes it nearly impossible for an attacker to think about harming you. It is an effective affordable choice for personal protection at any budget. 

Are you like I used to be? Always thinking that violent crime is something that only
happens to other people and it will never happen to you. Or always thinking that it's just
something that occurs in the "bad" areas of town and it will never happen to you. Trust me
on this point. This is EXACTLY how I used to think about the possibility of getting mugged,
assaulted or robbed. That kind of thinking changed for me about 2 years ago when I was
getting out of my car in a nice new suburban neighborhood of Charlotte, NC. AND it happened in BROAD DAYLIGHT. I was getting out of my car and getting something out of my back seat when a car came up and stopped about 20 feet away. I heard some footsteps pound the pavement as someone jumped out, ran up behind me and demanded "Give me all your money". "I want all of it @#$^%&", he said. Luckily I was able to stay calm enough to hand over my money. After that I waited until he jumped back into the getaway car with 2 others and I called the police. I was lucky, but this incident changed my thinking forever. Things could have ended up a lot worse. I'm always looking out for my own personal safety now. That's why I created ExtremeDefenseShop.com. ExtremeDefenseShop.com offers many forms of personal protection such as stun guns, pepper sprays, personal alarms and more.