Could you use a flare gun for self-defense?

I was wondering, when i was watching a lifetime movie, if you could use a flare gun for self defense? Like could it impair some one, and if so how much damage could it do at close range.|||There%26#039;s been some tests in doing this. It%26#039;s not actually very practical because the flare will simply bounce off the other person, especially at close range. They will cause burns to the skin, but they are too large and too slow to pierce things or stick. Further, because flare guns are not designed to hit targets, they are incredibly inaccurate. They would likely fly willy-nilly all over the place if fired at a person, and you risk the round flying back at you. At best, aiming a gun-shaped object will scare somebody briefly, and if fired it will make them flinch, but it has no %26quot;stopping power%26quot; nor any real ability to deter their attack.|||Yes, you could use it in this way but it would be very nasty indeed. The flare will continue to burn for its full design time. That%26#039;s only if it takes hold on contact. If not you had better hope you are not in a confined space. Oh, and then there is the smell of burning flesh and the slow death.|||yes, and the target would suffer nasty burns of the 2nd or 3rd degree, generally effective to about 100 feet.