Pepper Spray Or Stun Gun?

People regularly ask: Should I get pepper spray or should I get a stun gun ( or TASER)? There is no simple answer to this question as everyone is different and each product
applies best to different situations. So, let's take a closer look....

The first question I normally ask people is, if they're attacked, do they have the nerve to stun someone. While the answer seems easy, if people really imagine themselves in that situation, its probably not as easy as someone thinks to "pull the trigger". While a stun gun is not a gun, it is a weapon. And, many people simply do not have the backbone to hurt another human, even if they're being attacked.

Now, this brings up another interesting point: Properly used and at the right time, merely flashing the stun gun and pulling the trigger can prevent the need to actually
harm another human. Activating a stun gun creates a relatively loud shocking/popping sound and creates a pretty large electrical flash. Pretty menacing to say the least.
And, quite possibly, this alone will prevent an attack. So, a stun gun can act as a preventative measure.

Pepper sprays are good in that they don't require quite the nerve that a stun gun requires. Someone comes close in a threatening manner and many people have the nerve to
spray. However, one should be aware of the possibility of a slight wind blowing some of the spray back into their face. This is generally not a huge problem, but does need to be considered.

Another pro of pepper sprays is that one doesn't have to make physical contact with an attacker to ward them off. Some sprays shoot better than 10 feet, allowing a nice
distance. But, if someone is caught by surprise and the attacker already has them in their hold, its hard to use the spray. Whereas, assuming one can get to their stun gun, a stun gun is much easier to activate.

Finally, there are some stun devices, like TASER and PHAZZER Dragons/Hornets which "shoot" the stun devices at a distance of 15' or better. This provides the distance
which can be good, but again, if you're wrapped up by an attacker, it'd be difficult to use.

This article is purposely written so there is much back and forth between which is best to emphasize the difficulty of the question. So, let me summarize:

If wanting a distance, both pepper sprays/MACE and TASER/PHAZZER can be good. However, to use the TASER, again, someone has to have the nerve to actually do it.

If someone wants a repellent if they're quickly wrapped up and in close proximity to an attacker, a stun gun would probably be the better choice, again, assuming they have the nerve.