Friend wants to buy a Tazer - how to convince him to get a gun?

[henktermaat]

It sounds like your buddy is worried about doing anything "final". Looking at tasers is just his way of dipping his toe in the waters of self-defense without mentally jumping into the "I'm prepared to take a human life" mindset.

I'd work on his mindset, and let the rest follow.

I think you're right... this is a first step and I'm pretty they don't believe that there will ever be a need for the mortal force.

 

[henktermaat]

This is absolutely correct. If you somehow convince your friend to carry, but he still hasn't settled the issue of taking another life, have you actually made him safer? One might argue you've made him less safe.

No one is talking about carrying, or even purchasing a handgun... that's way off in the future. Read the first post - we're talking shotty for the bedroom closet vs. taser.

 

[dice dealer]

Shoot him....... then taser him!!! then ask which one stoped him the best!!!

 

[stilllearning09]

A friend of mine was thinking the same way, but instead of a taser, they wanted one of those mace guns, like they saw on Dog the Bounty Hunter. After doing a little research, and a couple of times at the range with friends, she finally purchased her first hand gun a few weeks ago. She changed her mindset from taking another life, to protecting her own.

 

[Archbishop]

No one is talking about carrying, or even purchasing a handgun... that's way off in the future. Read the first post - we're talking shotty for the bedroom closet vs. taser.

My opinion stays the same whether you carry or have it in the home. Possessing a gun that you're not willing to use is potentially dangerous.

 

[trnsplntfrmohio]

Is your friend that kind that could kill someone, or does he have sincere doubts about his ability to do so? Some folks just can't face the prospect of killing another human, no matter the circumstance. If he's unsure about his willingness to kill, perhaps the taser is the best choice for him.

I just tell myself that 80% of those shot by handgun ammunition survive. And I pray that God is watching out for me 24/7.

 

[CoyoteCreekGuns]

As for tasers, they are effective but it's all about the users purpose. Today's consumer tasers have an effective range of 15 feet plus a stun use (reach out and touch someone) and go for around $300.00 with both a LED light and laser for knowing where the barbs are going to land (think Crimson Trace Grips).

Now, as noted previously it's all about purpose.

Home defense: Probably not your best option for many of the reasons already noted but may be a good first step.

Personal defense / Car weapon: Sometimes... for instance for those that work at an employer that doesn't allow them to leave firearms in their vehicles, a taser may make sense.

Also as spoken by some above, this may be a great first step into learning and being open to the use of firearms.

I wouldn't discourage it, but I would make them knowledgeable about their options and show the intended purpose for it's use.

 

[esrice]

Possessing a gun that you're not willing to use is potentially dangerous.

I completely agree with this assessment. However, I see the better solution to be "change the mindset, then carry the gun" rather than "leave the mindset as it is, and carry a taser".

 

[Archbishop]

I completely agree with this assessment. However, I see the better solution to be "change the mindset, then carry the gun" rather than "leave the mindset as it is, and carry a taser".

You and I are in total agreement here.

 

[mercop]

There is a reason why police use the Taser with lethal cover.

 

[kludge]

A tazer is a compliance tool.

A gun is a tool for protecting life and limb.

Completely different applications IMO.

Scenario: BG breaks in. "Get out of my house! I've got a tazer and I'm calling the police!" You position yourself to defend the hallway to the bedrooms. He comes down the hallway. You tazer him. He collapses and wriggles on the floor.

You stop tazering him to see if he's compliant and will leave your house. He rips out the barbs and comes at you.

Now what?

There is a reason why police use the Taser with lethal cover.

^ that ^

99.99% of people have no desire to kill another human being. The very thought is repugnant. "What will I do if I or my family is attacked?" Many people avoid ever answering the question. The fact that people buy pepper spray, stun guns, tazers means they've already asked the question, detemined that they don't want to kill anybody, and chosen a tool accordingly.

No matter what tool is chosen, including a handgun, it may fail to give the desired results (the BG stops the attack and leaves your home). The next question people need to ask is "What tool is more likely to achive the desired results?"

FACT: The vast majority of the time when guns are used to defend life, the attacks are ended when the BG realizes you have a gun without a shot being fired. (Somewhere between 0.5 and 2.5 MILLION times per year in the U.S.) End result: the desired results are achieved and bonus: no one died.

FACT: Most people shot with a hangun survive. End result: the desired results are achieved and no one died.

So, when using a gun to protect your home and family there is a REALLY good chance that you will not need to fire a shot. There is also a good chance that if you must shoot, the BG will not die.

However in the exreme version of the self-defense scenario when the BG is either extremely aggressive or on drugs or both and does not respond to physical pain (and how are you supposed to know the difference at O dark thirty and he busts down the door?) and you don't have a half-dozen police officers available to subdue him (who by the way are backed up by other officers ready and willing to use lethal force), the less lethal options are simply not going to be effective tools in achieveing the desired result ("Stop. Go away and leave me alone").

 

[ocsdor]

Just keep telling him that Tazers are for sissies (or the synonym that starts with P) and keep calling him one everytime he brings it up.

 

[TopDog]

As for tasers, they are effective but it's all about the users purpose. Today's consumer tasers have an effective range of 15 feet plus a stun use (reach out and touch someone) and go for around $300.00 with both a LED light and laser for knowing where the barbs are going to land (think Crimson Trace Grips).

Now, as noted previously it's all about purpose.

Home defense: Probably not your best option for many of the reasons already noted but may be a good first step.

Personal defense / Car weapon: Sometimes... for instance for those that work at an employer that doesn't allow them to leave firearms in their vehicles, a taser may make sense.

Also as spoken by some above, this may be a great first step into learning and being open to the use of firearms.

I wouldn't discourage it, but I would make them knowledgeable about their options and show the intended purpose for it's use.

Agree with CoyoteCreekGuns. A taser in the hand going into and returning to your car in locations where you can not carry a gun (example your place of work) is better than your gun just out of reach locked in your car.

The consumer Taser looks very much like a remote control at a glance. So can be easily carried in the hand out in the open. And I don't know of anywhere that bans tasers, but plenty of business wont allow a employee to carry a gun. It's a good alternative when a gun is not allowed.

 

[youngda9]

It sounds like your buddy is worried about doing anything "final". Looking at tasers is just his way of dipping his toe in the waters of self-defense without mentally jumping into the "I'm prepared to take a human life" mindset.

I'd work on his mindset, and let the rest follow.

^^This

I'm not sure if this guy has considered a BG with a weapon(gun) of his own. A taser is not the great equalizer.

 

[Mike H]

Take him to the range and introduce him to a variety of firearms Get him shooting. If he is like most guys he will want to get one pretty quick!

 

[ChalupaCabras]

It sounds like your buddy is worried about doing anything "final". Looking at tasers is just his way of dipping his toe in the waters of self-defense without mentally jumping into the "I'm prepared to take a human life" mindset.

I'd work on his mindset, and let the rest follow.

This.

Too many people get hung up on the "value of human life"... They don't realize that its what you DO with your life that gives it value; its not inherited.

Being a loving parent, a caring spouse, working for an honest living, charity, and embodying other amiable values are what give human life value... not bipedal locomotion and opposable thumbs.

 

[Fargo]

It sounds like your buddy is worried about doing anything "final". Looking at tasers is just his way of dipping his toe in the waters of self-defense without mentally jumping into the "I'm prepared to take a human life" mindset.

I'd work on his mindset, and let the rest follow.

This. Let him get a taser, it seems clear that he is not at the moment competent or qualified to use a firearm for self-defense. There are many people like this and IMO a gradual approach is the best way. Let him get a taser and then have him take it with you out shooting. Let him shot a target at 15 ft the same time you light it up. An incremental approach is best.

Remember, a person convinced against his will is not convinced at all.

Best,

Joe

 

[Joe Williams]

Oh, btw, if he's not willing to kill to protect his family, I think he'd be better served with pepper spray than with a taser. The effects are longer lasting on the bg, and he'll have more than one use out of it.

 

[CarmelHP]

A tazer is part of the continuum of force, an intermediate choice between open hands and lethal force. If the intruder brings lethal force, then your tazer armed friend is now one step below the guy who "brings a knife to a gun fight". To me the role of a tazer is something that you buy after you have the gun you want. I have a ballbat and some pepper spray for intermediate force along with my guns as choices for home defense.

Precisely. The police carry them because it's just one stop on the continuum. If the taser doesn't work, the badguy IS getting shot.