First lets compare time to effect or in other words how long does it take for the full effect to be achieved, and by full effect I mean for the target to be completely incapacitated. Pepper sprays take effect almost instantly. The eyes shut involuntarily and within 1 to 3 seconds the individual is having trouble breathing, their eyes and nose are running and their skin is burning. This applies to any person of any size or strength even if they are on drugs or alcohol. The reason for this is that pepper sprays do not rely on pain but work on a purely physiological response.

It's much more difficult to determine the time to effect for a stun gun. There are many elements that come into play such as the wide range in voltage between different guns. The size of the person being stunned is also a factor in how long it will take to achieve full effect and even their mental condition can come into play. Some say that they are effective on people that are on drugs and alcohol others say they are not, I believe not. To make a long story short it can take anywhere from 3 to 12 seconds to reach full effect with a stun gun. If that seems like a long time to you then I think you're right.

Now let's look at effective range. Pepper sprays have an effective range of from 8 to 20 feet. For a stun gun to have any effect at all you must hold it against the person you're using it on, in other words an effective range of 0 feet. Is it just me or is there a pattern beginning to emerge here?

Another way to judge the effectiveness of these two self defense devices is duration of effect, how long they keep a criminal down. Pepper sprays disable for 20 to 30 minutes with residual effects lasting up to 2 hours. The effects of a stun gun lasts from 1 to 5 minutes with lingering effects up to 15 minutes.

I think we have a clear winner here folks. Pepper sprays:

1. Take effect faster.
2. Can be used from a distance.
3. The effects last much longer.

You would have to say that pepper spray is definately the better self protection weapon. Having said that, if you just can't get over how cool stun guns are and you just have to have one then make sure to get one that is at least 300,000 volts and be prepared for a possible struggle if you ever have to use it.

Hope this is useful in helping you choose, Mark