Other Weapons

People did not always have the luxury of firearms, and often times people still do not. The majority of the items found in this article are either improvised, or can be made at home with great ease, but one should never forget constant safety and precaution can usually prevent their need.
Many of these weapons may seem odd, or even downright ridiculous, and some very may be, but it should knowledge should not just be cast aside because someone feels that it's not good for anyone. One must decide if these weapons are right, and if so, then this article is here.
== Household Items Repurposed ==
=== Paint ===
Paint applied on a pig's facemask will mean he has to take it off, but if it gets in his eyes he is going to the hospital. But once he has his facemask off, it's a fair fight, so try not to make him blind in the process. It is easy to find non-toxic paints mix 50% with water and use a squirt bottle to project it, brown will really have a psychological effect.
Pink dye which doesn't wash out of skin will have a major psychological effect on homophobic cops especially if used exclusively to mark the most abusive skull cracker pigs, wear gloves to keep the evidence off of you. Like the kids in school who wrote on the bathroom walls, any trace of paint on your hands will make it damned hard to deny doing it.
=== Chains ===
As a weapon bicycle chain jewelry is sometimes mentioned. People have taken a 1-2ft long section of bike chain and turned it into a pretty sweet looking necklace with the help of a wire hanger with the intention of using it as a backup weapon. Flexible chains and such are very difficult to control in a fight and are mostly an expedient weapon for scaring off enemies. We have also heard of those who attempt the spiked necklace look with a segment of a chainsaw blade, very dangerous, odds are you might slit your own throat or snag it in your enemy loosing your weapon and part of your hand.
=== Bug Spray ===
A can of bug spray is an insanely potent defensive and/or offensive weapon. You can easily obtain it and it works at range of ten feet or so. To practice, get a can and shoot at a sweatshirt on a clothes line. It has been known to project much farther, and is much cheaper and more readily available than mace.
 !!WARNING!! many bug sprays contain organophosphates a deadly chemical similar to nerve gas in action, even though this usually doesn't poison someone instantly,
 you might go down for use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder.
=== CB Antennae Rapier ===
Another item that we have seen is a CB radio antenna. [The 6ft long metal rods you see undulating on top of Ford 4-doors and the like] Cut down to a 2-3 ft length, sharpened and fitted with a tape grip you have what is described by the user as a fencing saber that he can secret in a number of handy places. The downside is that cops can, and will, identify it as a concealed deadly weapon and if you use it it will not quickly stop an attacker who may not even notice a full depth puncture immediately but it can be deadly giving the police good cause to charge you with attempted murder if it is ever used.
=== Aircraft Paint Stripper ===
This can be bought at almost all car parts stores comes in a spray can or in gallon jugs cost about 9 bucks a can and will eat the paint or flesh off just about anything. DO NOT allow this stuff to get on the gun itself, as it dissolves PVC plastic even faster than it does paint! Now, imagine what this could do as a vandalism weapon. This is a particularly torturous idea, and it is not recommended as one's primary, or go-to weapon. Mindless brutality serves no one.
== Melee Weapons ==
Feeling nostalgic for the days long gone of cavemen bludgeoning each other with their bare fists and clubs? We've got you covered.
=== Swords ===
A sword is only good for deadly attacks and the occasional "dis-arming"... Open swing space is required so use in crowds is out, unskilled attackers have a very high risk of serious self-inflicted injury. They have almost no utility in a street confrontation other than terror, and should only be used for such a purpose: intimidation. High quality swords are usually expensive, too, so the sword is probably better suited to the medieval samurai than to the revolutionary.
=== Knuckle Dusters ===
Add to your pig punching power with a nice pair of brass knuckles. Get them in the face, and it will tear some of the flesh in his face away. As well as it could easily disorient them for a little while. These are, however, classified as a deadly weapon (but then again, so is anything else used in a fight so go right ahead). You can usually get a good pair at flea markets, sold as 'Paper Weights', or in some Head Shoppes and tattoo places as belt buckles. Wearing a pair right now myself, I can confidently say that they have saved my ass on more than one occasion. They don't look too bad, either. If you're strapped for cash or don't feel like getting hauled off by the pigs for having them, you can always just substitute in a roll of quarters, or a large socket drive, held clenched in the fist
=== Whips ===
The bull whip requires a good open distance forward and backward to be effective and about 1.5 seconds lead time between strikes it is not very practical against humans. A better whipping weapon is the African shambok, it is a stiff but flexible nylon stick about 15mm diameter and nearly a meter long tapering toward the tip to 9mm with a rubber one hand grip. The shambok was very painful but non-lethal although it had a reputation for leaving huge welts and sometimes even breaking the skin. Aim for unpadded backs, legs ,and buttocks for best results.
== Ancient Warfare ==
=== Maquahuitl ===
The Maquahuitl is another weapon used in Mesoamerica, it is basically a paddle with obsidian blades (sharper than surgical steel) attached to it. However, this weapon is in serious need of an upgrade. Go to your local hardware store, buy a couple sheets of wood, some gorilla glue, and something to put in between the wood (a machete blade on each side would work nicely). Cut the wood to shape, put the cutting object in the wood, and glue. Wait 24-48 hours for the glue to dry, and you have a temporary weapon. One thing I did to make it last longer is cover the wood with some fiberglass sheets, and let dry. The weapon is somewhat useless, because it needs a lot of room to swing. Feel free to make some adjustments, maybe use some screws and use when it's needed. The original weapon was said to be able to decapitate a horse, so you can see why I put the weapon here.
=== Tematlatl ===
A tematlatl is a sling attached to a large rod (at least 3-5 feet long) and when you swing the weapon like a baseball bat, the item you intend to throw will fly FAR. The only downside is this weapon needs a lot of room to swing, and you need a constant supply of rocks, or whatever you want to throw. This weapon was used in Mesoamerica, and if you hit someone with a rock using this weapon, the result can be fatal. To see what this weapon will do, watch the ballcourt scene in the movie "Apocalypto" and you'll see with a bit of training, you can hit a pig with deadly accuracy.
=== Atlatl ===
The Atlatl, (not to be confused about the above-mentioned tematlatl), is a throwing stick, meant for launching arrows and/or short spears. A stick has a notch cut into one end, and has an arrow inserted into the notch. With practice, one of these could be made very quickly from sticks found laying about.
General information about the Atlatl, including pictures, and more information on its use.
== Repurposed/Improvised "Firearms" ==
=== Paintball Guns ===
These weapons function very well for covering a pig's helmet, riot vehicle windshield, or camera lenses at a distance. With upwards of 250-320 pounds of pressure behind each paintball, these guns can do serious damage at close range. At a longer range, the best targets are groin, head (if you don't have any other choice), and occasionally torso; the legs and arms are too small of targets. In almost all cases, aiming for center-mass (the torso) will maximize your changes of a hit. Of course, there is always the option of shooting for the ass.
For less than lethal response a good marker gun with a hopper full of frozen paintballs (stick them in the freezer overnight) becomes a .68 caliber pain weapon. Avoid aim at the temples and neck this has a small chance of killing a person, hits to the eyes could blind a cop, frozen ammo or not. At close range, a few frozen paintballs to the lower extremities will disable a person (although, as mentioned before, it's not very practical to aim for such a small target at medium to long range.) Keep in mind, a paintball marker with a hopper of frozen paintballs is a potentially lethal weapon, so you should expect the pigs to treat it as such if you get busted (that is, if they don't just open fire with their real guns.) You should treat it with the same respect you'd treat any firearm.
If you see riot cops loading paintball guns it might be for marking protesters (beware they may use long lasting indelible dye or UV invisible dye) but it is likely police special hard plastic or rubber anti-citizen rounds which are classed as less than lethal. These rounds heavier and harder than the previous frozen rounds are sprayed into the crowd to cause a retreat. Expect large numbers to be fired to disperse an unruly demonstration. They do serious damage up close, so avoid letting the pigs shoot you. You can also find the cops using paintballs filled with a pepper-spray like mixture that they can fire into a crowd with chilling results. Consider loading your marker up with fitting bouncy balls and shooting back. They may also be loading it with "pepperballs" which are paintballs full of some irritant powder which claims to be more powerful even than pure capsaicin. Even when they use their "less than lethal" paintballs they probably won't accept your paintball gun as being nonlethal, that would be playing fair, as always expect the pigs to overreact.
=== Potato Guns ===
The pigs use a grenade launcher to brutalize activists up from a distance. If these heavy rubber baton shells hit you in the head or abdomen it's going to do some serious damage (potentially death.)
We have our own launcher that can be introduced into the fight and only costs a little money. We warn you that the appearance of a bazooka-like weapon will likely turn any demonstration into a police massacre and they will liberally use deadly force if they see or hear the spud gun introduced into a riot situation.
Popping a few of these at a squad car or a group of armored riot troops may be useful to slow down a police charge and cover a retreat.
A spud gun is usually made from what (in Amerika) is called Schedule 40 or Schedule 80 PVC drain pipe. DO NOT use pipe marked "DWV" or Drain/Waste/Vent. This material has much thinner walls than the other types, and can explode in your hands when fired!
Materials:
* 1-2 feet of 4 inch PVC (40 or 80 schedule) pipe
* 2-4 feet of 2 inch PVC (40 or 80 schedule) pipe
* 4 inch threaded cleanout
* threaded plug for 4-inch cleanout
* 3 to 2-inch adapter
* 4 to 3-inch adapter
* PVC cement
* electrical or flint igniter
* ram-rod
* combustible spray (Aqua-Net aerosol hairspray works well)
Assemble and cement in this order 2-inch pipe -> 2 to 3 inch adapter -> 3 to 4 inch adapter -> 4 inch pipe -> 4 inch threaded cleanout. Do not cement the threaded plug into the cleanout! Your spudgun now looks like a bazooka but needs an ignition system to light the spray fumes. There are two easy options a Coleman lantern flint lighter which could be bought in camping stores or the gas grill piezo-electric igniter. Placing the igniter as close to the front of the 4-inch pipe combustion chamber makes it less likely to foul from repeated spraying of hairspray. At the place where the barrel meets the adapters a long screw or two will prevent a spud from going too far and falling into the combustion chamber. Sharpening the front of the pipe will let you easily cut your spuds right from the sack as you are loading.
==== Coleman Flint Install ====
Drill a hole a little smaller than the threads on the igniter, you will not need the nut included just thread into the drilled hole. You might put a little plastic or aluminum can shield to prevent gunk from hitting the striker and getting it wet.
==== Piezo-Electric Install ====
Drill 2 small pilot holes 2-3cm apart and put long wood screws into the holes angled that the tips are about .75cm apart. Attach wires to these screws and connect to the piezo igniter, don't forget to insulate with tape to prevent shorts and misfires. Secure the wires and cover with tape to prevent snags, The igniter can be put into a bazooka handle like a trigger.
==== Camera flash ignition ====
This is probably the most complex, but reliable and high-powered ignition device that you will find used on potato cannons.
you will need:
* single use camera (should have a switch to charge the flash)
* solder/soldering iron
* light switch
* insulated wire
Install screws the same way as with a piezo-electric sparker, but make the gap about 1/16 of an inch(really small). Cut three lengths of wire and strip the ends. take apart the camera, you should be able to pop it open, since they are reused. The ends of two wires to the two contacts of the capacitor (the thing that looks like a battery inside your camera). Run these wires out of your camera's casing and reassemble it. You should have a camera with two wires sticking out of it, attach one wire to one end of the light switch, run the other to one of your spark-gap screws. take the remaining length of wire and attach one end to the switch, and the other to the spark gap. your results should be:
....(camera)
.....|..........|
(switch)....|
.....|..........|
(screw1) (screw2)
To operate, first you turn off the light switch. Next you activate the switch to charge the camera flash. Give the camera a few (5-10)seconds to charge(more is only better). When ready to fire you flip the light switch. You should hear a LOUD pop as a very bright, although short spark passes in between your spark-gap screws. Although the spark covers a short distance, it has a considerably greater current than a piezo, and therefore can be much hotter, in fact, it usually can melt your screws, and will throw sparks in all directions, these sparks are tiny pieces of molten iron. If this does not light your fuel, you probably have a bad fuel to air mixture and the fuel will not burn anyway.
==== Firing ====
Ram a potato down the barrel, prepping the barrel with nonstick cooking spray or oil makes this easier especially the first time. Spray your fuel for 1-4 sec into a open end, and screw shut. Fire the igniter and BOOM!! Practice firing and spraying but always expect misfires about 1 in 3 shots.
Canned hairspray is good fuel as it is high in alcohol and uses propane as a propellant you can try others but gasoline or ether/starting fluid don't increase your power just the fire danger and damage to your launcher. Hot wax or other lubricant is good on the cap threads before firing for the first time as the spray residue can stick it shut, don't tighten past easy hand tightness.
==== Alternate Ammunition ====
A plastic shopping sack is a good wad for putting just about anything into your spud gun. A golf ball or small stone works good for a projectile, just be sure not to put something too heavy as it won't get much speed and land near you. Your spud gun can make a useful mortar to lob your own tear gas shells into a pig assembly area or to disburse WTO delegates from a distance.
==== Alternate Propellant ====
If you can get your hands on any of the following and an effective way to control their firing you can make the spud gun much more reliable to fire.
Rifle blanks have enough powder to launch a potato with great force and excellent reliability if installed right. A length of steel pipe nipple that is drilled out to fit the blank cartridge can be PVC glued and threaded into the end cap of the spud gun. The firing will cause a high pressure in the cartridge blowing it open, the large spud gun chamber will reduce the pressure to safe levels blowing the spud out like a police baton round. Beware the recoil and try to remote test the first 10 shots if possible. the most likely failure is blowing off the barrel at the glue point which is weaker than the pipe walls. Use of a cleanout cap is still suggested in case a potato gets stuck in the gas expansion chamber. A spring loaded striker hammer attached creatively to the launcher or center punch tool will fire the blank cartridge.
==== Air Powered ====
For people who want a slightly more advanced version that is air-powered, you will need:
* 1x 1.5 inch ball valve
* 1x 1.5 inch sch40 3-5 ft. long
* 1x 2 inch sch40 2-4 ft. long
* 2x 2 inch sch40 4 inches
* 2x 2 inch sch40 90(degree) elbows
* bike tire
* pump or small compressor
* 1x 2 inch end cap
The idea is to use the two-inch pipe as an air chamber. One elbow is attached to the end, a 4-inch piece of pipe is inserted, this goes to the next elbow making an 180-degree turn. The remaining 4-inch piece is inserted in the elbow. then the ball valve is fitted within it. A 1/4-inch hole is drilled in the large piece of 2-inch pipe. the valve removed from a bike tire is inserted through the hole from the inside and duct taped in, be sure to allow the air to flow in. Now attach the end cap over the open end of the two-inch pipe. The 1.5-inch pipe is your barrel and is attached to the ball valve.
Use proper solvent cement connection on the pipes.
===== Operation =====
The ball valve is closed. Next, the ammo is rammed down the barrel( use any appropriate tool as a ramrod). Next the pump is sued to fill the air chamber to a decent pressure(say 70-100 psi). The weapon is now loaded. This process takes a while but the results are much more impressive when fired.
To fire:
* Point at target
* Quickly rotate ball valve
The air pressure is released from your chamber down your barrel and accelerates your projectile... fast. the caliber is smaller, but a level shot with a 2-foot barrel can go well over 300 feet (in a fraction of a second by the way). The longer barrels and larger chambers will yield even better results. I can say from experience that a 42" barrel and 42" chamber at 80 psi will fire a potato at 200-300 fps, depending on the barrel seal.
==== Dry Ice ====
Dry ice is a solid form of carbon dioxide, it should be pretty readily available at some supermarkets and camping supplies, it comes in either blocks or pellets, depending on what you want to use them for both can be useful, but pellets are good for stuffing into bottles or tubes. Be very careful handling dry ice as it is at -72 degrees centigrade, it will give frostbite after 3 or 4 seconds. When mixed with water, it will rapidly sublimate into gaseous carbon dioxide, if this is done inside a chamber it will build up a very high pressure.
In plastic bottles with the lids screwed on, chucked into a crowd of pigs it'll make a nice big bang, but without much chance of serious harm to them. Be extremely careful doing this as there will be enough pressure to explode in under 10 seconds, you don't wanna have it exploding in your hand. Never do this with glass bottles, unless you want yourself or others to die a painful bloody death.
It can also be a reliable 'fuel' for spud guns, just be very careful the pressure doesn't get too high, never store dry ice in a sealed container until you are ready to use it, it shouldn't sublimate too quickly at ambient atmospheric pressure if kept in styrofoam, bubble wrap, or a blanket for insulation but don't take chances, let it release pressure.
In use, dry ice propellant is mostly like a regular air powered spud gun with a few special rules. Build a pressure chamber and include a pressure gauge since the vapor pressure at room temperature is 830 psi at 20C(70F) higher as the temperature rises and it could blow most PVC pipe or glue joints apart as most pipe is only tested for up to around 450psi. Even more important than the gauge is either a pressure pop-off valve or a cap you only screw down before firing so you can load and fire without building up too much pressure. If you don't follow safety rules and use a good gauge to keep the pressure down to a safe level, you could end up with a bomb instead of a spud gun.
A great resource for more information about dry ice: DryIceNetwork.com
=== Baby Spud/Ball Gun ===
For a smaller, less-than-lethal riot weapon use nail gun .22 blanks and smaller diameter aluminum pipe. Thread a steel or brass pipe plug into the back and drill to tightly fit the blank and tape in with a thin tape. a PVC sleeve with a striker located correctly will fire the weapon when slapped. A safety pull pin through the sleeve will make this safer to carry as will a seal of masking tape. A rubber super ball can be loaded instead of potato if long-term stockpiling is required.
=== Flare Guns ===
Ah, the flare gun. Always the go-to in a horror movie when a regular gun wouldn't make sense. Of course, most people are going to try and use that movie logic, and pick one up. While it fires a projectile, (a burning mass of phosphorous), it is a sing-shot. While it might set someone soaked in kerosene on fire, it will definitely not kill a man where he stands. In our grab ass accidental test a standard marine Olin brand 12gauge flare gun just left a bruise and a circular cut at half a meter range against a human leg wearing denim, the flame even went out. It's probably best to leave it in the car unless signaling for a rescue or starting an intentional brush fire. While everybody who has ever seen a Vietnam film will probably still yearn for converting someone into bacon, the flare gun is incredibly inaccurate, and will drop off at short distances. The larger diameter 37mm flare guns seen in gun magazine ads require no license and are mostly in use at police departments to launch pain baton or tear gas weapons, or by survivalists who want a grenade launcher, some of these are even made to resemble a M203 grenade launcher and mount to assault rifles, they are easy to load with custom ammunition. The multi-shot flare/teargas units like in Terminator II are around $1000.
== Heavy Weapons ==
If a regular firearm is not enough, you need to step up a bit. Heavy weaponry is designed to take on military units, infrastructure, and armored or heavy vehicles.
=== Cannon/Fougasse ===
A piece of heavy pipe can be loaded with gunpowder, propellant, or explosives and used to fire heavy nuts and bolts or a shotput, this is a great way to knock out parts of a power substation, industrial plant, or utility station. be careful to avoid injuring employees.
Consider using chainlink fence posts with bolted on caps for a cannon. You'd need to figure out how to ignite the propellant powder, but these will allow for rapid mass production of a light artillery device for a resistance movement.
=== Thermite Device ===
Thermite is a non-explosive substance which creates a short burst of very focused heat. It is commonly used to weld railroad tracks and similar thick pieces of metal. Thermite reactions are hot enough to easily melt large holes in steel or severely warp or damage engine blocks and throw off large amounts of ultraviolet light which may damage vision if viewed unprotected. Thermite can also let off small streams of molten iron which travel considerable distance and may burn through metal containers or ignite materials contacted. Introducing water to burning thermite cases an explosion which throws hot fragments in all directions.
Thermite is a mixture of 3 parts aluminum 8 parts iron oxide (Fe2O3, commonly known as rust), both finely powdered as possible. Both can be bought on eBay, or similar online stores, as simple and click-click-purchase.
Due to the high temperatures needed to ignite the reaction, there are three common options for igniting the mixture: magnesium strips, sparklers, and a fused potassium chlorate/sugar igniter.
Magnesium is easy to obtain and can be bought in strips. This method is unreliable as magnesium itself is difficult to light and may be extinguished under windy or wet conditions.
Sparklers reach the required temperature and can provide enough time between the sparkler being lit and the burning point reaching thermite. This method can be dangerous as the sparks cast off by the sparkler may ignite the thermite even though the burning point is not in contact with the thermite. The risk of accidental ignition increases with the fineness to which the thermite is powdered.
=== Flamethrower ===
This is a classic, effective intimidation weapon. Flame-throwers are dangerous to both the target and user even with extensive training. There are those who have built flamethrowers from old garden sprayers, old enough to be metal with leather pump parts, military models are very expensive and rare collector items. A rag is tied to the tip of the sprayer and a small amount of fuel is allowed to dribble onto it and then lit, in most cases the atomizer tip is removed to allow a larger longer ranged squirt. Anyone using a flamethrower for any type of action should expect every military and SWAT team to converge with snipers and assault rifles to kill them without any questions asked, we see very few reasonable uses for this weapon, this isn't a Rammstein concert. Even without worrying about the cops, sudden wind and spreading fuel is a huge danger especially if the flamethrower tank leaks or some fuel drips onto the user causing terrible burns or a painful death.
The larger model described is very dangerous for both user and target. This is basically an amplified version of the time you took a lighter to mum's hairspray, and may not be taken seriously, but it, like any other weapon, should be treated with respect.
==== Materials ====
* Can of aerosol spray (anything with a high alcohol or volatile hydrocarbon content)
* Trigger type lighter
* Gun sprayer adaptor for spray paint
* Brass tube 4-5 in long (to use as the spray tube)
* Cotton ball or shoe lace
Snap the can into your trigger gadget, now you have a handy pistol grip and easy to control trigger, stick the brass tube into the end of the nozzle and put a cotton ball on the end of the tube. To use this weapon, spray a quick shot to wet the cotton ball. Light the cotton ball, and spray a puff of the spray. If everything goes well, you should have just launched a rather large fireball, the cotton ball will burn for a minute or two lighting the spray as you fire. Another alternative to pressurized aerosol cans is to make the real thing, one can use a pump-action sprayer like a garden mister. Simply press the trigger once per fireball. A thickened fuel like 50/50 diesel gasoline will work better for igniting material even better is to dissolve styrofoam into the gasoline making it sticky. This is the cruelest weapon to use against a human causing massive deadly painful burns, only use to destroy things.
These devices if used in a non-agricultural or forest firefighting role are classed as destructive devices and are regulated by the ATF.
=== Mortar Shell Launcher ===
A modern military mortar shell has a propellant charge in the tail and explosive, smoke, flare, tear gas, or other warheads. If we take a lesson from the fireworks industry we could make our own smoke and teargas mortars, perfect for disrupting police formations or covering escapes. Electrical ignition is a good idea as a fuse is unreliable and takes too long between loading and firing. DIY Defense mentions a way to launch military mortar shells.
==== "M-16" (Mortar) ====
Che Guevara described in his book Guerrilla Warfare, a weapon he called the 'M-16'. No, it has nothing to do with the family of military assault rifles, but I think it's still a funny coincidence. He called the "M-16", the M coming from Molotov Cocktail, and the 16 from the 16 gauge shotgun used. It consisted of a 16 gauge sawed-off shotgun provided and a bipod to hold the barrel at a 45 degree angle. This was loaded with a blank cartridge formed by removing the shot from a standard shotshell, followed by a wooden rod with a Molotov cocktail attached to the front. This will form an improvised mortar capable of firing the Molotov accurately out to a range of 100 meters.
== Less Than Lethal ==
While shooting to kill at all times is likely much faster and easier, it is not always the solution. Often times, one is left backed into a corner, but not wanting to end another's life. For situations like this; there are less than lethal devices.
A note: One should never combine the pepper spray/mace with the Taser/stun gun, as they have been proven to set a man on fire.
=== Tasers And Stunguns ===
Decent stun guns the size and shape of a pack of cigarettes are a relatively cheap means of bloodless clean, non-lethal, self-defense. Stun guns are close range point blank contact weapons designed for self-defense in cases of being tackled whereas the standard cop tasers allow for a little distance, range, and offense.
Stun guns significantly reduce the chances of rape, torture, kidnapping, and mugging much better than unarmed combat. If you are a non-violent person, but believe in self-defense, a stun gun will significantly reduce your chances of being taken alive and is less messy than stabbing or shooting the sick fuck that dare try and have his or her way with you.
Fastening a stun gun to a wrist with thin nylon rope and duct tape reduces the likelihood of the stun gun being knocked out of one's hand, but one should be very careful to understand the safety mechanisms, the battery life, and the triggers to avoid backfires or failure in matters of life and death.
Beware the sparks of a stun gun will turn away many attackers, but if it comes to actually using such a device the real and very expensive police taser puts out more knockdown power for a safer standoff. The stun guns are more for when you are already being tackled and touching is too close.
For the price of the typical cop taser that you hear controversies about in the American media, you could purchase powerful handguns which is known to take down quite well at a considerable range. However, firearms are difficult to get in some states, especially if you've been fucked over with a felony or a documented history of mental illness. Using a lethal weapon always entails much greater legal risk.
=== Mace/Pepper Spray ===
Pigs have this thing called pepper spray. It contains a high concentration of capsaicin. This is the stuff that makes Jalapeños hot. It WILL BURN LIKE HELL. More importantly, there is not a lot you can do about it. If you do get it on you DON'T try to rub it out, you will only spread it around. It can't be washed out with water. However, it will do the same to the pig too. Its also relatively easy to get or imitate (see Weapons for Street Fighting). It's also a very good thing to carry around since its so easy to conceal. On the streets, it is one of the easiest things to carry safely. Avoid using this in enclosed areas, as the gas tends to fill up the space and affect everybody in it, including yourself.
=== Homebrew Pepperspray ===
This frightening chemical weapon that police carry really contains only one active ingredient: capsaicin oil. Since it's found in plenty of hot peppers naturally, one can easily extract it and put it to revolutionary use. Similar to hash oil, we simply need to dissolve it in alcohol. Although i wouldn't recommend putting this on a joint. Well, not yours anyway.
Wear gloves during manufacture!
==== Equipment ====
* Knife, grinder, blender, or food processor.
* A tall, glass container.
* A shorter container (a normal cup should do).
* Some manner of sifter, or sieve.
* A turkey baster, or something similar.
==== Ingredients ====
* A quantity of hot peppers (the hotter the better!).
* High concentration alcohol of some sort (such as vodka, Everclear, or even anti-freeze).
(Be sure to keep a 3 - 1 ratio of alcohol to pepper mash)
==== Steps ====
1. Dice/grind/mash the peppers to increase the surface area. Be thorough, the seeds and the parts connecting the outside to the seedpod contain the most capsaicin.
2. Place this matter in a container and pour alcohol in to fully submerge the pepper material.
3. Leave this matter overnight; the oil will dissolve in the alcohol.
4. Pour the mixture through the sifter into the tall glass container.
5. Allow to stand for 3-4 hours. The oil should separate from the alcohol (floating to the surface).
6. Use the turkey baster to separate the oil (on top!) from the alcohol.
Now that you have this liquid pain (depending on how well the extraction went, it could be up to 16 million Scoville, (compared to 1.5 - 4 million in typical pepper spray), you should figure out how to apply it. A simple spray bottle can be used for self-defence. One could use a syringe to remove paint from paintballs and fill them with capsaicin for longer range (riot pigs love doing this one!). One could even improvise pepper spray cartridges for a spud gun.
=== Flash Guns ===
Electric battery-operated flash guns are available that will blind a power-crazy pig, thus distracting him long enough to rescue a captured comrade. Check out camping and boating supply stores.
== Original Other Weapons ==
If you are around a military base, you will find it relatively easy to get your hands on an M-79 grenade launcher, which is like a giant shotgun and is probably the best self-defense weapon of all time. Just inquire discreetly among some long-haired soldiers.