Advantages of a Stun Gun for Women

Stun guns are currently one of the most popular defensive tools around, especially among women.

While stun guns don’t have all the same advantages as a true firearm, like range and the ability to completely incapacitate your attacker, guns aren’t always accessible and they can’t be carried in as many places.

In this guide, I’ll talk about why you might want to carry a stun gun, then teach you how to comfortably and effectively use and carry your stun gun.

Advantages of a Stun Gun for Women

Legality is probably the most obvious advantage. Guns aren’t legal in all places, and women need something to protect themselves regardless of the law.

With that said, they are also illegal in some places. Make sure you know your local laws before attempting to purchase or carry a stun gun. Like with firearms, also check local laws before traveling with a stun gun.

For some women, especially young women who are more likely to be in situations where there’s a higher chance of being assaulted, cost of a firearm, is more than they can afford.

The cost increases once you factor in ammo and range fees to get in the necessary training to have the skills to use your gun if an emergency requires it. Not to mention the cost for any necessary carry licenses.

In both of these instances, a stun gun is far better than nothing, even if a firearm would be preferable.

Before carrying a gun, you need to be honest with yourself.  Would be able, both emotionally and in terms of skill, fatally shoot an attacker. If the answer is no, then you shouldn’t carry a gun and may want to consider a stun gun as an alternative.

Once again, a stun gun is better than nothing, but it’s also far better than a gun that you don’t have the skill to use or can’t bring yourself to use, which can be taken and used against you.

Using a Stun Gun

The first thing you’ll want to remember is to minimize your chance of needing to use your stun gun in the first place.

Remember to use common sense safety precautions like staying in well-lit areas, walking with other people, and

moving confidently. Unfortunately, there’s nothing that you can do to guarantee that you won’t be attacked, so it’s also important to be prepared.

When moving through a potentially unsafe area, keep your stun gun in your hand so you’re ready for an attack, and turn off the safety as soon as you feel threatened.

When it comes time to actually use your stun gun, depress the trigger, place the probes against the attacker, and hold the stun gun against them for three to five seconds. You may want to add a few seconds for an especially hardy assailant.

Where To Aim

The best places to aim are the neck, shoulder, underarm, groin, and belly because hitting these areas will do the most to incapacitate your attacker.

You’ll also want to try to aim for an area that isn’t as well covered by fabric. Bare skin is best and a tee shirt won’t be too much of a barrier, but if there are other targets available, choose them over somewhere covered with denim or several layers of material.

Of course, in an attack, things happen fast, so don’t waste too much time trying to find an ideal target. If one isn’t obvious or within your reach, just try to hit any part of your attacker that you can.

There’s also a myth that if you hit someone that’s touching you, you’ll be hurt as well. Emphasis on the word myth, because this is not at all true, so don’t miss a defensive opportunity because of misinformation.

You will, of course, want to avoid hitting yourself directly.

Practice, Practice, Practice

As I said, things happen quickly when you’re under attack, so regular practice with your stun gun is essential to make sure that you have the skill and confidence to use it when you need it. Plus, muscle memory is invaluable in a defensive situation.

While practicing, remember that you’ll most likely be shorter than your attacker, especially if you’re a petite woman like me. So don’t practice by aiming for targets for someone of your height. Make sure you’re accounting for the height difference to make sure that you have the muscle memory at the right angles.

How to Carry a Stun Gun

All the skill in the world doesn’t make a difference if you either can’t get to your stun gun when you need it or don’t carry it in the first place because it’s uncomfortable.

If you plan to carry your stun gun in your bag, don’t just toss it in and hope you can find it in an emergency. If your purse is like mine and seems to eat your belongings sometimes. Make sure your stun gun has a pocket, either without a zipper or kept unzipped so you can access it more easily, where it stays all the time.

A larger stun gun is often better for purses as well, so it can be more easily found. Plus larger stun guns usually have a greater ability to incapacitate.

If you either don’t carry a purse or prefer not to use your purse to carry your stun gun, you can either keep your stun gun in your pocket or carry it a holster. Considering the size of the pockets on most women’s pants, I recommend using a holster and carrying your stun gun in a similar fashion to how you’d carry a concealed firearm.

Wrapping Up 

While firearms are the most reliable method of self-defense,  we can’t carry them everywhere and all the time. Some people aren’t able to rely on firearms for self-defense at all.

These can be an effective alternative, though not a total substitute when we can’t carry a firearm. Even those of us that do carry a firearm regularly may want to have a stun gun as a backup. Having both is helpful if something stops us from being able to access our firearm.

In any case, make sure you’re prepared to defend yourself when needed.

For more women-friendly firearm information and more, take a look at PewPewTactical.com!