Years ago (I was a teenager - It was MANY years ago), a friend of mine had a home-made cattle prod, that would deliver a respectable jolt. I just remember that the main parts were a nine-volt battery and a capacitor.

I'm not looking for anything lethal; just something to give me an edge in a "hand-to-hand combat" situation.

Thanks

-- Bokonon (bok0non@my-Deja.com), October 12, 1999

Answers

Real ones are cheap enough from vet supply houses (planning on getting one if we ever manage to find a few goats to go with our chickens, ducks, and geese), but I built one as a kid too.

Although I built it from scratch, if I was doing it today, I'd cheat: find a used/scrapped (but working) strobe (either shoe-mount, or from a disposable camera), and gut it. Remove the flash tube and trigger coil (the one leading up to the wire looped near one end of the flash tube), and remove the storage capacitor (a large electrolytic).

Then, run the two leads that were connected to the end connections of the flash tube to your output electrodes. Replace the power switch with a momentary contact SPST/NO switch, and there ya go. You'll have something like 250-350 volts (or more) at your disposal, and it will pack quite a wallop.

If you don't remove the storage capacitor, you'll have something that will be capable of causing serious injury. You'll also have something that takes several seconds to charge up before you can use it. Neither of those is anything you want in a cattle prod.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), October 13, 1999.

A recent article in Acres USA told about using a stun gun to counteract the bite of insects such as brown recluse spiders.

jw

-- J Werner (jwerner15@hotmail.com), October 13, 1999.

Bok:

Why don't you just buy a regular stun gun? They're cheap.

I don't think I'd want to zap myself with one, but I once used it on my dog after she was bitten by a rattlesnake. She didn't like it much, but she fared better than some other dogs I've known who were snakebit.

Godspeed,

-- Pinkrock (aphotonboy@aol.com), October 13, 1999.

Ron,

My experience with my two milking goats is that you won't need a "hot shot". Mine now come when it is milking time and I call and seem much smarter than cows. Really the only time we ever needed "buzzers" when working cattle years ago was when you were trying to force the big buggars into chutes or trailers. I am having trouble thinking up reasons for goats to be zapped - they are basically like big dog -, big mischievous, munch-anything-in-sight, escape artist, dogs. :)

-- Kristi (securxsys@cs.com), October 15, 1999.

Just shoot the bastards.If TSHTF and someone is trying to hurt you or rip you off and you taze him or even kick the shit out of him,he'll remember it and want revenge.Next time he might not want to melee(a 5.56mm can eaisily reach out and touch you from 600 metres)Don't give an enemy a second chance to do it right.End the fight the first time.Self defence never requires an apology.You will incur less karmic stain wielding lethal force in self defence stopping a thief/murderer than they would if they successfuly rob/murder/rape/eat you.

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), October 17, 1999.

"The supposed quietude of a good mans allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside...Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them..." --Thomas Paine, I Writings of Thomas Paine at 56 (1894).

-- apokoliptik (apokoliptik@yahoo.com), October 17, 1999.