Hi. For this hypothetical situation, please assume that using a gun is out of the question. Assume no martial arts training. Also, assume that it happens indoors with no escape route.
Which self defense weapon would you rather have and why: a stun baton, a regular stun gun, a telescoping baton, a baseball bat, pepper spray or something else? Thanks.
Other factors: the person attacking you is unarmed but bigger/stronger than you and the ceiling is fairly low.
pepper spray for me, thanks. I think that’s the one least-likely to kill the attacker
Depends, indoors you will probably be choking and puking along with the attacker …
I will stick to my rather lethal guns thanks. Being a gimp, I have no way of removing myself from the situation in an expedient manner, and letting him/her/it get close enough to use any of the other options is not going to happen.
I would take the stun baton.
Stun gun- My second choice, but if you miss (fairly likely) its over. However, if you do get a good hit the attacker is down no questions asked.
Baton- Assuming that the attacker is significantly stronger/bigger, I just don’t see a baton making the difference. You probably get one hit in at best and then its over.
Baseball bat- Same deal as the Baton. More unwieldy, but a good chance of a knockout hit if you connect.
Pepper spray- You are likely to be affected by the spray as well, and a blind attacker can still do a lot of damage.
The stun baton wins for me because you are almost guaranteed a hit, and if you do hit the attacker is going to be in a world of hurt.
Totally irrelevant to the OP but thanks for playing.
Stun Baton. Close order defense precludes baseball bat or pepper spray. If stun mechanism fails you still have a baton which can be used on the soft tissues of the throat which is as vulnerable to a large person as it is a small person.
If you have no training, then most of these are useless, or worse than useless.
I have training. Some people are drunk or on drugs.
Hit with Pepper spray, they or I might just become angrier and shove that pepper spray down your throat.
Baton or Bat: Good chance that it will be taken away from an untrained person and used against them.
Stun baton: you might hit and incapacitate, or I might grab it from the side as you ineffectually stab it at me, and make you play Stun Baton Sword Swallower.
Best option; Stab or spray whatever you have directly at their face, but only count on that as a distraction while you kick them in the balls and RUN.
A German Shepherd. A big one. That hates people who threaten his owner.
BTW, most of these are not non-lethal, but less lethal. You can certainly kill someone with a baseball bat or a baton even when defending yourself. It’s less likely than with a gun, and probably less likely with a stun gun, but it’s a mistake IMO to call them non-lethal.
I’m wondering why you specify non-lethal. In the scenario you laid out, I want to do as much damage as possible. I’m fighting for my life here, I’ll go as lethal as I can.
I’ve got my canes, I can jab and short stroke to vital areas. I also have a short prybar, one swipe with the hook end should even things up. It’s short enough (11 inches) to control and still heavy enough to deliver significant impact.
There’s also the kitchen knives if I can get to them along with a cleaver.
Thanks for the opinions.
Chimera, they make stun batons whose charge runs the full length above the handle. I suppose the aggressor could still try to grab the handle or your arm without getting stunned but I wouldn’t give him very good odds.
runner pat, I can think of all sorts of possibilities as to why one might want to use non-lethal force. Perhaps the attacker is a family member or a friend or your roommate’s friend and so on.
Pepper spray.
But, make your purchase carefully. Preferrably one that combines pepper spray, CS and mace…that emits a stream rather than an aerosol spray.
You can incapacitate with that pepper spray from a distance. All other deviced listed require that you actually get close enough to strike the intruder.
I used to feel that way about pepper sprays and tasers and such till I learned about them. I had a temp job in a bond enforcement agency and they showed me how it really works.
Sprays don’t work like on TV. On TV you see the woman spray the man and he goes down and she flees. In theory it works like that. But in reality all sorts of issues come in. First of all with sprays you get blow back, which can be a problem. Second of all you have to get pretty close to your target.
If you’re close enough to your target where you spray him, he’s gonna become enraged and grab you and suddenly you’re not only being attacked but the residual spray is now in your face. The further away you are form the target, the less effective it is. Those long range sprays are worthless, unless the guy attacking you has bad asthma.
A taser is similar you have to put ALL the electrode things on the person. If he moves and one isn’t in contact, it doesn’t work. As you can see you have to be right close to the person.
There are other forms of electric guns that don’t require that you be so close but those are not nearly as safe. It’s very easy to shoot the victim, people around him and yourself with those types of electronic guns
Any weapon that you need to be close to the target is problematic 'cause they can be taken off you. This is very true when you’re target is on drugs. Spray a guy who’s whacked out on drugs and it just enrages him to grab you and not let go.
So those type of weapons have uses, but they are not the perfect solutions as TV and movies portray them.
Related question - say its winter in Canada or some other really cold place, could a stun batons or a stun guns charge penetrate a thick fur or leather coat?
Clothing is no longer as heavy as you may be thinking. In a lot of ways , winter fashions have actually reduced winter weight fabrics.
Declan
Give me the pepper spray. I think you would have the better shot at distracting them from a distance long enough to do some harm. Stun guns can miss and the others can be taken from you…and could kill you. Some kind of training is needed with all because until you are in the situation, and scared shitless, you don’t know how you are going to react. An improperly swung bat is about as effective as swinging a piece of yarn.
None of the above. Run away. If your opponent is blocking you, cross your arms in front of your face like you would to protect your head from a falling object and shove into him/her, pushing up hard. They will fall unless they outweigh you by an order of three times or greater. But you specified some sort of magical room or inescapable crocodile pit so…
Given your constraints, I’d take the pepper spray. Since your opponent is physically superiour, you have to even up the odds a bit and pepper spray is the least likely to fail so long as you allow him to get close. After that, schoolyard tactics ought to be enough to secure your escape. Bite, kick, claw, and scream for help. If you are in danger, go apeshit.
I want to point out that escaping the situation ought always to be the goal of the type of person specified in the OP; that goes for trained people as well. Without any training and against an aggressive larger opponent, your chances are not at all good. These options are really only the best of the worst so to speak. I have some significant training down and can think of any number of simple, uncomplicated techniques to end a confrontation quickly. Even so, avoiding or escaping the problem is still the first tool in the box. If you cannot secure that, then the next level would be immediately breaking or dislocating a joint or bone. Grapples and holds are for more advanced students, and in a street fight you don’t screw around.
How about a plastic bottle filled with mustard (any kind)? You won’t be spraying it back in your face, it can’t be banned, and it’s really painful? Don’t ask me how I know this.
That should have gone without saying as my first choice everythime.