A Stun Gun making an electrical arc between its two electrodes (Photo credit: Wikiped
TASERs are great for law enforcement use as an intermediate force option to subdue a suspect to reduce the possibility of a Rodney King type incident.
TASERs must be carried in a manner that is different from how a handgun is carried.
Officer Johannes Mesehrle learned this the hard way when he went to prison for manslaughter for unintentionally shooting and killing Oscar Grant.
TASERs are the only electroshock weapon that I recommend at this time simply because of the ability it has to shoot a projectile and its proven effectiveness.
It’s better than nothing!
I personally carry a can of pepper gas as a less lethal weapon that complements the handgun.
Pepper gas is less bulky than a TASER
TASER cartridges are not cheap and are not conducive to dry practice.
Places that handguns are generally illegal to own or carry are often the same places where TASERs are illegal to own or carry.
Think of Washington DC and New York City…
Pepper gas is legally allowed in places where TASERs are not legally allowed.
Off body carry of a TASER has the same problems that off body carry of a handgun or pepper spray has.
TASERs require a concealment holster that allows for the TASER to be readily accessed under stress.
TASERs give you one shot at fifteen feet and then it becomes a contact weapon, which makes it suboptimal against multiple assailants.
English: Police issue X26 TASER (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
TASERs can also be a fire hazard in certain circumstances.
Think about what happened to Michael Jackson when he filmed that Pepsi commercial back in the 1980s.
Vulnerable to thick clothing on the assailant(s)
Prods may have difficult penetrating thick clothing during the winter months.
After the first shot, the TASER relies on extended contact with the assailant
The point of a less than lethal weapon is to create pain to escape.
Most of the stun guns you see at gun shows, gun shops, and elsewhere are cheap junk that are more noisemakers or torture devices than anything else.
Electric weapon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)