Review of the 500,000 volt Striker Stungun Pen

There's been a lot of news over the last year about how great the Taser is as a non-lethal weapon. Unfortunately, they are also prohibitably expensive for the average person, as in $1000 or more for the X26c and $400+ for the M18L.

stungun, case, and handcuffs

Granted, they have been extensively tested in the real world, but that's still a lot of money to spend on something that doesn't shoot bullets. So in the interest of curiosity, I recently acquired a Striker Stungun Pen from Cheaper Than Dirt (whom we are no longer affiliated with as they dropped their affiliate program altogether.) And at $40, I didn't think it was a bad deal.

Upon receiving it, I was impressed with the overall packaging and construction of the device, which was manufactured in Korea. Included was a professionally designed instruction card written in broken English, but which adequately conveyed the basic operation and care of the stungun.

stungun cap and switch cover

As you can see from the photos, it fits comfortably in the palm of the hand, with the controls easily accessably to your thumb. After fiddling with the switch for a bit, I realized that it worked better for me if I removed the small piece of plastic that covers the swith itself (see photo). I don't understand why it was put there in the first place, as it is not permantly attached to the swich and will come off easily if you insert a fingernail under it and gently apply upward pressure.

Batteries are not included, so you will need to buy two AAA's. After inserting the batteries, push the switch to the "ON" position, hold the stungun at arms length pointing up into the air, and momentarily press the round "ON" button. You will see an electrical arc between the electrodes and hear a loud zap.

stungun in hand

After conducting your test of the stungun, be sure to replace the electrode cover, which will safely discharge any electricity that may still be in the capacitors. If there is a discharge, you will hear a muffled pop when you replace the cap. Also, don't discharge a stungun in proximity to natural gas, propane, gasoline, paint thinner, etc, as the vapors could be ignited by the arc.

Now for a field report from Dustin:

I liked your article. I bought the exact same stun gun this past weekend at a local gun show. I felt the same, it was comfortable and had an impressive zap to it.
However, I have a friend who was brave/dumb enough to get stuck with it. He laughed, it did NOTHING, a slight pinch is all. So I tried it my self with the same result.
Don't count on it to work for you with out testing yours.
Dustin

PS- I used brand new duracell batteries.

And the follow-up:

No not at all. Please feel free to use it, I wouldn't want someone to count on it and not have it work for them. I also contacted the "Black Cobra" distributor (importer) and talked to him about the gun. He basiclly, in a nice way said "too bad".
He also mentioned that for a stun gun to work properly, the prongs need to be further apart and it should have a 9 volt battery. For future referance.... if you want a stun gun, stick with a traditional one that is a little more expensive.
So all in all I think we got a $40.00 stun gun that is all bark and no bite.

Dustin

Thanks for the heads-up, Dustin. It looks like Black Cobra knows they are selling a piece of junk. While producing this stungun if threatened and clicking it a few times in the air might be enough to end the confrontation, I would only use it as a last resort, and preferably, only for psychological effect.

It's been my experience that most people, when given the choice of either leaving or getting cut, shot, or otherwise damaged, will cease hostilities and leave you alone. But I hope you'll be packing more than this "stungun" if that situation ever arises.

Thanks for reading this article. Please let me know what you think about it and if you have a great tip to share, send it to contact@weapondoctor.com

If I include it in a future edition, I'll give you credit for it.

Last updated June 14, 2006

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