This week, UndeadReport.com reader Mr Match from Australia writes a thorough guide covering weapons and armament for your long term survival.
I am going to have to agree with ‘GoingToSurvive’ that everybody here is focused on how to fight zombies more than actually surviving a shit-hits-the-shit-that-hits-the-fan scenario. But I think that’s just because it’s the fun part, so that’s what I’ll be discussing first. My opinion is that your strategy, and therefore your tactics should revolve around lasting (as in living) as long as possible, in a zombie situation given that the majority of the population (whether local or global) has zombiefied, the cliché ‘the best defence is a great offence’ may not be the best, there are a number of reasons as to why avoiding confrontation can be beneficial but three of the main ones that I can think of are:
Confrontation will most likely draw attention to yourself, making you a target.
Resources i.e. bullets are finite, conservation will make them last longer, more so true if you only have what you have prepared.
Why put yourself in a dangerous situation and risk your life?
In my tactics, if you can call it that; it simply involves staying hidden and only engaging in confrontation if absolute necessary.
Some people have raised the point that you will be most likely taking on multiple targets if it comes to having a fight, yes it’s a good idea that you should have a proper force that is capable of take down large numbers of zombies and who wouldn’t love one of those full-auto shotties that everybody here goes nuts for, but if you try to avoid the zombies as much as possible then you wouldn’t need to fight them, and therefore the most common encounter involves you taking a zombie on one-on-one in sudden situations where you have been jumped by a zombie that you were unaware of, for example walking through the streets and there’s a zombie hiding behind a car or if you’re in the process of looting a building with many obstructions/obstacles, etc.
A good way to avoid the aforementioned situations is to stay in clear open areas i.e. in the middle of the street rather than next to a car or next to walls/buildings, however this also means that you will be spotted easier but lucky for you (or so I hope) zombies don’t use ranged weapons. If you really must travel in technical areas such as a trashed shop or a street full of crashed cars (for some reason movies love to depict the apocalypse as a destruction derby released onto the streets) then just ensure that you’re checking every single blind spot around you.
OK now to the fun stuff, Weapon selection!
Weapons
There are a few prerequisites for choosing firearms, the four major points of concern for me are: reliability, sustainability and compatibility, firepower and rate of fire, and finally ease of use. They are discussed in detail below.
- Reliability, speaks for itself however this is often subjective. A gun that is broken-in and shown faithful flawless operation that you commonly use is ideal for weapon. One thing you really need to do is ensure that you have a field cleaning kit and reasonable access to replacement parts if anything should fail or particularly susceptible to failure.
Sustainability and compatibility, choosing a calibre that is common is a double edged sword; it means that your choice of ammunition is widely available, from firearm stores, military forces, milsurp, police stations and even companions. However everybody with a gun has the same mindset as you, so it really is a matter of luck whether you can ransack the ammo before someone else does. It does however provide you the second chance to salvage/request ammo from other sources such as other survivor-turned-zombies or just plain survivors, military personnel/vehicles/compounds, LEOs and LE vehicles. However if you have some knowledge of firearms or even common sense then you should know that you should resort to ammunition of unknown origin last, particularly handloads. For you unawares, handloads are ammunition produced with simple machinery with commercial components, they are often produced to certain specs for utmost accuracy or stronger loads, or even both. However you cannot know what is inside, ‘hot’ loads could put much stress on your firearm, while component and manufacturing quality is questionable.
But when it comes to calibre choice, they are listed most commonly available from left to right.Small rifles: .22 Long Rifle, 9mm Parabellum, .357 Magnum .44 Magnum, 17 HMRRifles: .223 Remington (a.k.a. 5.56 NATO, beware they are not always interchangeable), 7.62×39, .308 Winchester (a.k.a. 7.62 NATO), 243 Winchester.
Larger rifles: 30-06 Springfield, .30-30, .303 (In Commonwealth countries). These rounds for larger rifles are widely available and often much cheaper for stockpiling. But they are excessive and probably more firepower than you need, not to mention they are all very old calibres too, bulky and much heavier to carry and WILL put much more strain on your body to carry/shoot.
Shotgun: 12 Gauge, 20 Gauge
Pistol: 9mm Parabellum, .45 ACP, .40 S&W, .357, .44 Magnum, .38 Super, .38 Special (Our police force are equipped with k-frame six shooters in Victoria, Australia)
- Firepower and rate of fire, Having the comfort of full auto is pleasing but probably not often utilized (from what I understand it’s not that easy to get in America either, near impossible in Australia =/) whereas sustained well-placed shots is always going to be better than sending as many rounds as you can downrange regardless of zombies or normal people targets. I think any of the calibres in the ‘rifle’ category listed above is capable of doing the job properly, on the other hand I’ve always thought that if you were to engage a low number of zombies (1-3) from a distance of around 50 meters/yards in offensive mode, then you could probably take them out with a .22 rifle, the abundance of these rounds and rifles means that you wouldn’t need to hesitate about taking as many shots as necessary, sure they’re a small round but if all you’re aiming for is headshots, they are fully capable of penetrating a skull. Think about this, a 50 round brick of .22 is almost as big as a 10 round magazine of 223. Remington
- Ease of use, this is one part many people overlook. BE FAMILIAR with your choice of weapon, and I don’t mean just reading the instructions once, know that shit. IT WILL save your life, proper and safe handling of weapons is of utmost importance, learn how to strip, maintain/clean your firearm, and of course learn how to hold your weapon properly with the proper stance, don’t fall into bad habits and get yourself into a shooting education program, especially organisations such as IPSC. Two things that you can benefit from learning is how to reload your gun on the fly in a high-stress situation, sure you can do a mag change on a bench at the range, but how about cowered in the drivers seat of your vehicle? Or bracing against a door with zombies trying to get in? OK these things might be a bit much to train for (IN FACT I HIGHLY DISCOURAGE YOU FROM TRAINING IN YOUR CAR, AND ESPECIALLY DO NOT TRAIN WITH LIVE AMMUNITION,) but the point is get familiar with using your firearm, become proficient and use it as an extension of your body. You don’t want to forget how to use your gun when you’re in the same room as a Zombie, you’d like to use it as if it were the index finger on your hand.
It should be noted that these are ALL equally important and not really written in order.
Australian Apocalypse Survival
Here where I live, Australia we have many restrictions on choice of guns. We pretty much have access to bolt action long arms, lever actions long arms, pump action ‘rifles’, break-open shotguns, combo guns. If you can be bothered, you can get a handgun, magazine limited to ten rounds, minimum barrel length is 100mm I believe, and some limits on calibre choice, I mentioned if you can be bothered because part of the licensing requires that you enter a certain number of ‘shooting competitions’ and ‘training sessions’ per every handgun category in which you a gun, i.e. IPSC 9mm, Metal Silhouette .44Mag. It works out to about 9 range sessions per category.
My current arsenal includes:
Ishapore SMLE in 7.62 NATO, 10 round bolt action rifle
Remington 7600 in .30-06, 10 round pump action rifle
Remington 7615 in 5.56 NATO, 10 round pump action rifle (My primary)
Marlin 81TS in .22LR, 17 round bolt action rifle
A .177 Air rifle
I am currently saving for a shotgun, IAC Model 87 which is a lever action shotgun with a 5 round tube mag, totally legit in Australia. It’s the shotgun Arnold has in Terminator: Judgement Day. It’s china build quality, but the highest cap, quickest action available to me. Look it up on YouTube and you’ll find a video of some guy who has become incredibly fast at it. When I get out of university, I will start attending my pistol range once again and keep my attendance up, I’ll probably go for a 1911 variant chambered in .38 Super.
I also have various china/eBay ‘samurai swords,’ knives, a long pole.
The American Option
Here’s what I’d get if I was in America,
Some kind of ar15 variant, I’ve never really looked into the brands because I have no hope of actually picking one up. If I had the option, then I’d take an m4 any day or failing that a burst fire or full auto sear will suffice.
I love 1911s, and would probably pick one up in .45acp however the relatively low mag count and functionality isn’t very convincing. But on a more practicality based recommendation I would suggest a full sized Glock in any chambering, some of the benefits are a higher capacity magazines, safety that doesn’t have to be disengaged manually as such and thus pretty much in condition 1 or other words ready to rock and roll anytime, it’s also lightweight and cheap to buy.
And to round it off, you need some kind of back up melee weapon; I’d suggest some kind of war axe with a spike on the top. I think these three weapons are enough to get you by; carrying more than one long arm and sidearm is ridiculous. You have a reasonable level of stopping power will these selections, keep in mind that your targets will not go down easily from being wounded, they will only stop from the quintessential headshot, so having the biggest calibre you can possibly shoot will not help at all, nor will a knife and a sword is unlikely. Try not to add too many accessories to your guns, sure all the add-ons look awesome but you really need to keep it light weight as possible, having said that a spotlight and quality sling is an absolutely necessity in my opinion.
Ok now you’re thinking these sounds like boring suggestions, everybody has one right? Think about it, that is exactly why you want one. Spare parts, magazines, ammo, knowledge, aftermarket support are all extremely plentiful. As you can see they can reasonably satisfy all the prerequisites mentioned above.
This all is of course dependent on whether Zombies are actually going to eventuate, logical? Not really, doubtful? Yes, possible? My logic also yes! but I’m terrified of zombies and thus I’ve given them some consideration in preparing my bug-out bag and home survival kit, which is catered for all situations, from earth quakes, floods, black outs, biological outbreaks etc. You should be prepared for almost any situation and ensure that you’re always aware.
But remember these are merely tools. Your most useful tool, weapon and advantage is your brain.
Hope this was helpful!
The post Apocalypse Survival: Keep Your Head, Know Your Weapons first appeared at The Undead Report.
57 million infected
The ar 14 or m4 would be my last choice. Monumental unreliability. Ruger 10/22 or a ruger mini 14. Both of witch use the extremely reliable gas operated twist bolt mechanism. And both use the most common ammo in their class. I doubt alot of pepole who want all these guna have fired any. Good luck fireing a 12 gauge faster than once every 2 seconds unless its gas operated. Id also want a pistol that shares ammo with my rifle. primarily rimfire 22. remember that your pistol is last resort and should ALWAYS work without worry. I have a heritage rough rider 22 and a ruger 10 22. 550 22s or 12 shotgun shells in the same space take ur pick. Maybe its just me but I value durability and reliabity over everything else when looking at a gun.
Hey, love the article, and you mention the American option for pistol being a 1911 or variant of such. I was wondering if you’ve seen the Para-Ordnance Warthawg, it’s a compact 1911 variant, with the biggest change being a double stack mag allowing you to load 10 into a space barely wider then a traditional Colt.
I do agree with Orange about the M4, they aren’t really all that reliable in a “real world” survival situation. Unless you have a chance to clean them after every engagement I would find something a little more robust.
One “safe” way to train to speed load your guns, is to find an exact replica of your weapon of choice in air soft form and set up games with your friends which will be inherently high stress simulating the stress of combat for survival.
That’s all the time I have for now. ZKA.
for “slow” zombies id take my marlin mod 60 .22 any day, got a speed loader for it so reloading is a snap.
for fast “infected” zombies im gonna have to go with my saiga. the reason being for these two weapons?
1. im a pretty damn good shot with a 22, i used to hunt rabbits when i was younger. now think about this, a rabbit is about the size of a human head. i can continually get them when theyre flushed from the brush and haulin ass. but if im scared shitless and fighting for my life, im not sure how accurate my shooting would be. not to mention zero stopping power
2. with a shotgun im much more confident in hitting something thats running at me, combine that with incredible stopping power and you got a winner.
i also have a sniper rifle but thats more of long term defense weapon.
one reason im so fond of shotguns, its one of the weapons we have to qualify with at the prison. (that and the revolver) of course at our facility all we have are pump actions. …..yes… i work in a prison, we have to requalify every year so it pays to practice.
Go 20 gauge
that gun’s the lr300 or whatever its called, right? i would pick a semi auto over a revolver, probably. the revolver has less moving parts and would jam a lot less often and usually carries a more powerful round (.22 excluded). Even though you can get some revolvers with 8 round cap, and the .22s usually have a 9 round capacity, you can’t (as far as i’ve seen) get an extended mag for them (something like bioshock). the colt 1911 may only have 7 rds, but you can easily aqquire a drum mag for it, containing around 30 rds. only low is, i think- like those doulbe drum mags for certain assault rifles. I’ve heard the since they weigh like, 3 times a regular mag (doulbe drum mag), they can weaken the magazine holder-in-place-thingy, and i’m guessing the drum mag for the pistols might do the same thing..:(…well, that’s why they make gorilla tape!….but, my arsenal for the undead apoc would consist of the following (more to come, a complete list when i inventory all the guns, have to get them cleaned though).
-12 gauge dbl barrel shotty
-30-30 lever action
-pump action .22
-a couple of single shot 12(?) gauges
-a .22 scoped rifle
– 1 (probable) broken .22 revolver, another with a hammer that doesn’t always hit the shell.
-.22 remington nylon 66 (have to get that fixed!)
-some sort of WW1 clip fed rifle i think
-some bolt action .22s
-some weird looking .22
I need an aa-12…
Oh santa….
Yea mike, i got a marlin model 60 to. Its the version with the tube under the barrel and i was wondering where you got the speed loader for it. Its more acurate than my 10/22 but i was hikeing to a abandoned strip mine with it a couple days ago and fell over and twisted my awsome 10 dollar scope lol. Gotta get a new one now.
also, isn’t an ak-47 more reliable than something like an m16 or m4?
the ak47 is largely considered the best assault rifle ever made because its so reliable and simple. The m4 and m16 are famous for their unreliability. But finding ammo for an m 16 is gonna be easier than ammo for an ak47. Id stay away from both and use a 22 rimfire rifle Oh and logan. If your useing a big 30 round barrel clip for your 1911 wouldent that destroy the point of haveing a small, light, last resort sidearm strapped to your belt that should only be used in dire situations? By the time uu use a clip of side arm ammo id wanna be out of there.
I got a ruger 10 22
marlin model 60
Benelli m1 (version used in vietnam)
Ithica 33 pump
A single shot 410 survival (aka backpacking gun)
Heritage rough rider
Ithica 10 gauge
A remington 243 with a scope set to 200 yards
Remgington viper 552 (worst gun ever made by remington. and im selling it.)
Imo ruger 10/22 is the best zombie survival weapon in the world. If you do get it id suggest buying a quick clip realease online for like 30 bucks. Marlin model 60 is second best but you should also get a speed loader for it. Thanks to mike for the suggestion i already ordered one.
yeah, the 30 round drum mag probably would…isn’t there something called like a hellfire switch or something that makes guns automatic? your 1911 could easily ecome a short range assault weapon..better to go with a basic extended magazine than a drum mag..my .22 main weapon would probably be my remington nylon 66 .22.
the AR-15/M4 are just as reliable as an AK-47 you just have to know what you are buying. The thing that most people don’t get is the main advantages to the AK-47 is how easy it is to field strip and yes they will just keep firing sounds good right? well not exactly the reason the AK-47 is not very accurate is because of the loose tolerances in the action assembly so dirt and excess gun powder don’t clog things up, but the down side to this is the accuracy. the way the action comes back on the AK-47 the rifle will always pull up and to the shooters left especially in full automatic operation. Also because of the design of the gas blow back system on the AK-47 the bullet traveling down the barrel warps the barrel creating inaccuracy. The AR-15/M-4 does not have these problems. The AR-15/M4 do require more cleaning, But this said your not going to be cleaning it more then 90% of the guns out there i clean my 10/22 more then you need to on an AR-15/M4. One thing to keep in mind when buying a is the gas blow back system there are two types found in AR-15/M4. The first being the old style where the gas blows back in to the chamber the unburned gun powder contained in this gas clogs up the high tolerances the AR-15/M4 have. The other type is more modern and it uses a piston toward the front of the gun. The gas pushes on the piston and a rod is attached to the piston and that pushes the action back and loads the next round. These (the second) type have proven extremely reliable. They both have there positives but because of how common the rounds are here in the states and the accuracy I would take the AR-15/M4 over the AK-47 as my weapon.
logan the 30 rnd mags for a 1911 are made by promag and they are absolute crap. they dont feed for nothing i bought one for my 1911 thinking awsome. but alas they dont feed and are very brittle, better off getting the 15 rnd steel mags.
orange glint, i got the speed loaders from cheaper than dirt, it holds 180 rnds 15 in each tube, very easy to use.
ah, yeah. sounds like the double drum mag. a great idea, but just not executed well.
Thats a lie the ak-47 is the most reliable assault rifle out there,in recent tests the ak could withstand a tank being driven over it and being kept in muddy waters for hours pulled it out and it worked like brand new.
Loved the article by the way man,
i want zombies to take over id just grip the 38. snub
I also have an old kar98k,from ww2
id be good with that,
maybe a baseball bat too.
but in a zombie situation ur gunna want a more reliable gun rather than a unreliable gun. Evan though you wouldnt want to lose bullets, i dont think your going to want your gun jaming while your surrouded by zombies. If i had a choice between a ak47 and a m16 or m4 or ar-15 i would pick a ak47. But if i had a chance to get my hands on an mp5 i would take that in a heart beat they take 22 cal. bullets so i would have plenty of ammo.
Mp 5 ‘s take 9mm bullets and the point i was trying to get across is that m-16 and variants are as reliable as Most guns are the market and are not prone to jamming and if they do they have a anti-jam button on them also ak’s tend to stove pipe when they jam sucky. and anyone who plans on using a 10-22 out there which is a lot of you guys you’ll need to clean those just as often if not more so then a m-16 because they tend to be more pron to jamming after 500- 600 rounds. where i can put 1000 rounds down range with the m-16 and not have a single problem
@ outlaw012. There are mp5s chambered for the .22 cal i think- like the ar-15 or such guns. and, i think when we’re talking about the reliability, we’re talking about how sensitve they are to field conditions- say, like snow, dirt, dust, zed blood..when you’re on a firing range, you’re just standing there shooting, probably in ideal conditions. there might be times where you’ll have to use a gun in a dust storm, or in the snow, or with dirt flying around you.
what .22 ammo does everyone use? ive been using the fedarel 550 value packs, most reliable ammo ive ever
shot. pretty accurate too. probably have abou 4,000 .22 rnds.(easy to stock up on)
i just use random boxes or lr bullets. some hollow point, some not. i DO make sure i use the right type of it for the gun, though :>
My gear for a zombie apocalypse would be a
Walther P22 with 22 chambers,laser and silencer attachments like this one:
http://www.dreadgazebo.com/gunporn/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/p22canned.jpg
A sawn off shotgun i don’t know it’s name but its small size is attracting me:
http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/sawed-off-shotgun.jpg
Flechette Shells for the shotgun:
http://weapons.travellercentral.com/tech/flechette.gif
And as a Melee weapon:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/Standard_Crowbar_Black.jpg
Like Mr.match said .22 Bullets can crack a skull and im pretty much sure a Flechette shell CAN reach the brain
through the skull.Although that in a zombie apocalypse any weapon you would find you’ll surely use it.
A picture for the lulz:
http://www.kneedragger.net/crowbar/Crowbar1.jpg
Not the GSG-5 .22LR thats what i meant its an exact replica of the MP5. Its just the american version of the MP5 it has a 22 round magazine.The price, its around 500 to 900 dollars. some day going to nevada to get one
i will use glock 45,ak-47,M1A4 with grenade launcher. i will use desert eagle to blow there fuckin heads off
What do you think about a Mk.23 with a flash light and a silencer ?
i heard the silencer is weakening the .45 ACP bullets but the flash light is pretty much of a good idea.
And do you think a AA12 frag shell would go well with that shotgun i asked last post ?
http://xmb.stuffucanuse.com/xmb/viewthread.php?action=attachment&tid=4916&pid=14183
Thanks for this article, I live in Australia and it’s so difficult to get guns
my first chioce is a saiga 12-k, because it’s a semi-automatic with the power of a shotgun and the reliable and sturdy design of a russian weapon. i’d also go for an MP5, with tactical lights and all those goodies.
had a desert eagle 50.ae, not that great.
Robert really where are u gunna get those guns. A M1A4 are those evan avable to the public, and a desert eagle they are very hard to obtain
desert eagle- Uses a wide variety of rounds- all or most powerful ones, but has a hell of a kickback, so, firing it at a high speed will just make you shoot at the sky, i’m guessing…
Great article. FINALLY someone answers all our questions.
On your 1911 .45 problem, try a doublestack. You can find STI’s pretty easily. They’re friggin AWESOME. And besides, I got my Edge pretty cheap.
no dont use a mp5, (although it would be nice to use) use a GSG-5 exaact replica of mp5 think i said that in my last post, But it takes 22LR bullets which are easier to find than 9mm bullets.I wouldnt use the aa12guage because it would be heavy to lug around when your running from zeds. saiga 12-k would be a good choice only 6.6 pounds i think very powerfull semi auto. good choice of weapons though.
yar…doublestack is the way to go :)
gotta be careful with those M4 / AR15’s. Just like he said in the article, alot of times and .223 and 5.56 arent totally compatible. The M4 will shoot .223, but due to the slight size difference between the .223 and the 5.56, you will get significatly more jams. Same thing goin the other way with the AR15. So you gotta ask yourself, which kind of ammo do you think you will find more of.
+1 for saiga 12!
Two words mosin nagant. eighty dollar bolt action rifle. the m44 variant comes with an attached bayonet. eight dollar rifle mean five rifles and ammo for the cost of one effing ar varriant. bolt action means ammo concervation. and its chambered in 7.62x54r cheap and available
josho- good thnking, but i just chose MP5 because its a common weapon, and easily reconised, and im pretty sure i couldn’t reconise a GSG-5, much less remember its name haha
to orange glint: AK-47’s are known to be the most reliable weapons on the market, yes, but they are also the most inaccurate weapons. and heres why. unlike the AR-15 or the M-16 variants, the AK-47 wasn’t built for accuracy in mind. Soviet Russia needed a weapon that can be massed produced on a short time scale to supplies the demand of weapons on the market for Russia itself and allies, although the AK-47 does have a vary simple bolt system and the field stripping is a breeze, but in my opinion id chop my hands off before picking one up to use against zeds, being a veteran of OIF/OEF ive seen one to many tali’s pick up an AK-47 and try to shoot, they couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn standing inside it, not to mention I’ve seen the actual weapon cook rounds off when it over heats pretty much shredding the user (true story lol) but anywho, back to the m-16s, the reason they were dubbed “unreliable” was during the Vietnam war when they first seen combat, reason for the jamming was because of faulty gun powder, poor craftsmanship (of the rounds) after the m-16 a1 ran its test trial with less then pretty colors, colt designed the forward assist, (that lil button on the side you slap and slams the bolt forward) after that and after fine tuning the actual rounds the m-16 became more reliable, as of todays m-16/m4 rifles are even more reliable then they were when they first came out. trust me i should know, i been carrying one around for almost 3 years now… my weapon never jammed on me, because i know how to maintain, it isn’t hard, just clean out the star chamber with pipe cleaners and bam, pretty much it, not to mention because the m-16/m4’s (and AR-15) have better accuracy then the AK, last i believe the m-16 has another 200 meters of accuracy then the AK, heck, a guy in my unit uses it as his primary sniper, i don’t see people running around with AK’s with scopes on it eliminating targets up to 800 meters, thats why Russia created the Dragunov sniper rifle lol
it sucks that an ak-47 has low accuracy. :( if it didn’t, it would be an almost perfect weapon..i think :>
i’ve also concluded that an M16 would be a good choice because it is powerful, but has a VERY low recoil. also, it is a lighter load, since its bullets are smaller ( and that would be a plus when running from hordes of zombies ) , but im not sure of how plentiful the ammunition is.
if someone could enlighten me that’d be cool
harry the m16 uses .223 or 5.56 nato. its one of the most common rifle rnds available
I generally use the same 550 remington value pacs depicted above but we have some federal to.
i prefer the federals over the remingtons. they seem to be more reliable.
Nice guide, to get more specific (and if anyone has a better site please post it)
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/59
which ruger 10/22 out of those is recommended?
For the Marlin
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/323/products_id/41694
Is that the one you guys are talking about?
And for both, do you really have to clean them after every shooting?
I have only ever dealt with shotguns, not rifles.
yeah that would be the one.
Hmmm….. No one has even mentioned the M1 or browning automatic… maybe because of the rounds being very scarce. I just hate automatic weapons. I prefer semi autos or automatics like the browning. But i fail to see why a shotgun is even a favorite during a zombie apocalypse… The fact that it is commonly has bead shot baffles me… what are the chances of the shot hitting the spinal column or head every single time?
To ryum: if i had a choice i would have the wooden stock stainless steel version with multiple after market upgrades. The reason the ruger is so popular is because its easy and fun to make your own gun out of it. The quick clip release should be the first thing you get along with larger magazines. Without the quick clip realease you have to use both hands and fiddle with the mechanisms to reload (unless your very skilled with it.) myself I would buy an extended barrel to and the common hotlips clips as they have speedloaders already made and slots on them so that you can put two of the clips together for fact reloading. There are also 50 round drums but they are difficult to use. The marlin is basically the same rifle but is tube fed and longer. I would highly suggest a speedloader for it. I don’t know how often its required to clean them but I clean them after every usage to a degree, depending on how many rounds I have fired. I like the marlin more though as it is extremely comfortable to shoot and becomes an extension of your body more than the ruger, “point and shoot” is allot more easy with the marlin (mine has a wood stock). But maybe thats just because ive had it a lot longer. Either way both are the height of anti zombie weaponry in my opinion (but only if they are shamblers or walkers)
To jon: I think the shotgun is a popular zombie weapon more due to pop culture than actual anti zombie tactics. Ill be honest. I’m no action hero. The chance of me picking up a semi automatic rifle and hitting 10 humanoids in the head as they run at me top speed is zilch. If the zombies are runners i hope to never encounter them. I would much rather have a shotgun as the spread and ease of use would heighten the chance of a head shot by a great deal. And even if I missed chances are that it would knock the target down or at least cause him to stumble. People are overconfident on how accurate they will be with their rifles against runners.
Ps: browning automatic is an awesome gun.
Good point, Orange Glint. A shotgun is pretty versatile and yes, a running target makes for a much harder kill, especially without years of training. The best defense is avoidance.
i agree with you sam and orange glint avoidance is the best with me and my group are going on a risky route when this happens we are driving in two convoys a van with supply and a truck i think with some people in the back loading the van with weapons/ammo/food/tents [knives] other survival things then the truck will just have people in it. It might have a cab on the back idk should i or not?
Well i live in the UK so guns are off of the list completely. Melee weapons are the best option and therefore i will have to be borrowing some knives on the night of 2012.
@josho: Go for the cab. I would even go with a pop-up trailer-hitch. You could always drop it if you needed to get out of somewhere really fast and it would always give more room. Tight spaces breed insanity.
yeah good idea purple eater
Cabs will provide better protection, but seriously lower your gas mileage. If you’re on a long trip, and don’t want to stop, keep the cab away- note, though, you could make an improvised one.
im not sure if i got on the subject of what is called the “dual gun thunder” (its what we call our guns after we got retrofitted with the new M-16/M-4 mods) but it completely eliminates the breeching and clearing weapon system (shotgun) for us grunts in urban combat, i think i mentioned it in the chainsaw bayonet thread, but ill bring it up here, perhaps it will be easier to choose primary/secondary load outs.
the “dual gun thunder” is configured much like M-16/M203 variant, the diffrence is instead of the M203 its a cut down shotgun, im sure if you google it, it will come up, but it actually saved us the trouble of lugging around our shotty as a secondary weapon, but the cool thing about this its pretty much two weapons in one, and it allows you to carry your primary side arm (pistol), so in all you have 3 weapons in total.
the undercarriage shotty does have some flaws though, small ammo cap, short barrel, and it is kinda awkward to handle if your not used to it, im not sure if it is out for the civilian market, i know me and 12 others just been assigned as breechers and i know the military has them, i think the Law Enforcement will soon get them as well but im not sure exactly when.
but i wanted to bring this up because it does come in handy espeacially for those who will need to be breeching a building for supplies or for more ammo, and it really does a number on close targets and doors if used as a breeching weapon. the shotty itself uses standard 12 guage shells, the recoil is in the acceptible range, it kicks harder then my M-4, but its handy to have.
so if it hits civilian markets ( IF ) it would be a good investment to purchase one or a kit that will convert a 12 gauge into it. just keep in mind if you do happen to get one, it has a short barrel so it wont be extreamly accurate in distance (wide shot pattern) and the short mag tube means not as much rounds as a normal shotty.
hope this helps a lil on weapon choice (or atleasts sparks some intrests)
Well, I am new to this Forum but I must say weapons and planning are as important as food and water. Number 1, I have a number of assault weapons. I have 2 sks’s and 2 AK-47’s along with 1 Ar 15 ( only one because the cost of this weapon is almost a 1000 dollars new. That was more than both of my AK- 47 or three times more than my two Sks’s. Cost is one of the things that can “cost” you your life in a situation like that. AK-47 are nice weapons. Not as accurate as the Ar-15 but extremely handy when holding off a offensive, of equal or more than your numbers. The Sks is extremely under estimated. Properly trained you can take out target at over 300 to 500 yards, depending on conditions. Sks’s are long guns and that means more accurately in your firing. 7.62X39 is in my opinion the most common ammo you can find. Go to any part of the world. The AK-47 is still used to this day, either in one altercation or another. That means that the ammo is still in use till this day. Not only that, it is cheaper and more available anywhere. You can run down to the local Walmart and pick up 7.62X 39 ammo at a really cheap price. I’m not talking about brand name ammo, but the military surplus ammo. As cheap as $4.95 for a box of 20 rounds. That is awesome, I have quite a stock pile of ammo that can really come in handy. Don’t get me wrong when I say this, I love my assault weapons, but for carrying, I would go for the 9mm carbine rifle. I have two Hi point carbine rifles, ones a tactical 995TS, the other is a classic 995. 9mm ammo is really cheap. 9mm ammo can be carried in large numbers with out totally weighing you down and 9mm hand guns and every where. So you don’t have to carry more than one type of ammo. As for hand guns I use the Kel tech P- 11 9mm with 3,15 round magazines. Two magazines for back up and one magazine in the firearm.
Our best weapon is also their favorite meal? That dosn’t sound good.
I am a big AR-15 guy, but I must say that my Rem 870 Tactical is probably my zombie gun of choice for close range. Shoot 00 buck shot or slugs through one, and you will see why. I also keep a tactical tomahawk around (yep, they exist): http://zombieattacksurvival.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=44