Stun Guns: How much voltage is necessary?

Trashman

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How much voltage is necessary for a stun gun to be effective? Every now and then, I come back to checking out those "Small Fry" stun guns, which run off of three CR123s. They've got several models, including a 400,000, a 700,000, and a 1,000,000 volt model. They all run off of 3 CR123s. Would any of these really be more effective than the others, or would the 400,000 volt model do just as good of a job as the 1,000,000 volt model?

What other things, besides voltage, are factors in the effectiveness of a stun gun?
 

Sigman

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There's some interesting articles on the web in reference to how they work. Here's one...of course they're very, very, low amperage, but I too am curious as to how the higher voltage levels affect body. Maybe Sasha has studied a bit of this?

Here's a Wiki article that states, "...because the amount of current is relatively low, there is considered to be a 'margin' of safety by a number of medical experts. Experts generally agree that this margin is highly dependent on the overall health of the person subjected to the shock. Usually, the higher the voltage, the more effective it is. It may take several seconds to subdue a subject with 100 kV, but only about a second with 1 MV (1,000 kV)".

Perhaps some CPF LEOs could expand on this?
 

BrokenR1

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That last sentence is the main difference I've seen. The higher the voltage the quicker it will bring someone down.
 

PhantomPhoton

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While I will admit my understanding is limited, I believe there is a difference between a LEO Taser and the generic "stun guns."

Taser which comes with a whole bunch of copyright and marketing... actually drops people due to Neuromuscular stimulation. Essentially the current is produced in a way that interferes with the body's own nervous system. This generally results in most of the body involuntarily shutting down and contracting (falling into fetal position iirc).

Stun Guns are still generally first generation electronic devices that pass a lot of volts thru a person which then causes pain. Essentially it is a pain compliance device no different from a cattle prod. And the problem is some people can work thru pain very well, especially those who are under the influence. So while 400,000 volts may be enough to bring down one person, 1,000,000 volts may not be painful enough to stop another assailant.

I think later generation electric devices functioned similarly to tenz units in that they caused involuntary contractions of the specific muscle group where contact was made. So if you got zapped in the Leg the quad or hamstring may size up but the rest of the body was still able to function.

Modern generation ones including the above mentioned Taser seem to disrupt the neuromuscular signals throughout most of the body.

Volts aren't really the important thing IMO... just like watts or lumens in flashlights.
 
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