Poll: What weapons will you use in a zombie apocalypse?

[Jamieson 90]

Depends on he type of zombie really. If they're the slow ones that are particularly attracted to loud noises then guns are probably your worst choice. Then again you don't want to be up close with the type of rabid fast ones that will bite and cut you to pieces in seconds either.

 

[SuperSamio64]

Knives/a Hammer/Various Garden implements. Seeing as I live in the UK guns are pretty difficult to get hold of, and if I do try and raid the air rifle shop near my house, the owners will probably shoot me.

 

[The Heik]

So, what will you do in the zombie apocalypse? Melee weapon or gun? Or do you have another plan that doesn't involve either? Personally I'd rather carry around a sledge hammer. I've never used a gun before in my life and I'd probably use half a clip just to take down one zombie.

Why do people always default to guns when it comes to ranged weaponry? I'd take a composite recurve bow over a gun any day. Need to take out a zombie silently? Bows are damn near noiseless. Don't have many spare rounds? You can retrieve and re-use the arrows you've fired. Lost your melee weapon in a tumble? The arrows can double as melee weapons. It's the best of all worlds for the Zombie Apocalypse.

However, I'm a bit of a redundancy fan so I wouldn't just stick to ranged weaponry. A good crowbar not only does horrific damage to stuff via blunt force (I've seen one take chunks out of concrete) but it's a versatile tool that can get you through innumerable situations via proper application of leverage.

 

[MorganL4]

I think the show walking dead made it very clear that the best weapon to use in a zombie apocalypse would be a crossbow....

Yes you may want something with a few more rounds per second if you are living somewhere like, Chicago, or London. But if you make a point of living in rural areas (which would be the smartest course of action) Then you can count on only having to deal with 1-5 at a time, which a crossbow would be best for, due to the silent aspect, no loud gunshot to alert other zombies to your presence.... And unlike a long bow, most people can learn to use one effectively pretty fast.

 

[DANEgerous]

There is a good reason Shotgun is the zombie killing classic. Mainly because it does away with all the cons.

It is easy to miss without training or when you panic With a 3 foot spread? I hope not

Ammunition will most likely be limited True but it would still be easy to find 100+ rounds i can name several people that have this many

A gun can jam at a crucial moment Even if it did "makeshift club"

Zombies feel no pain, so a shot to anywhere but the head will be a waste of ammo This is a game forum, we all know they have the power to stagger foes

 

[aba1]

I would go further north to cottage territory and hang out in a abandoned restaurant till all the zombies staved to death. I would use a spear so I can stab through fences and keep my distance. I would carry a axe for closer range and prolly a shield block and slash. When against a zombie I would imagine defense would be more important since they only have to hurt you once while you have to kill many.

 

[Aarowbeatsdragon]

Id prefer to use guns but i live in ireland and to be honest i dont think theres a single gun shop in the entire damn country, also, the noise would attract the infected.

 

[X10J]

- Are fairly easy to find > The only exclusive pro, but it assumes we aren't in America where almost every walmart carries some sort of firearm

I disagree with this rebuttal for a two reasons. 1.) The assumption that a person in the zombie apocalypse won't be in America seems reasonable. The U.S. population is about 350 million or so, compare to the Earth's population of about 6.7 billion. If you picked a person at random on the planet, odds are they won't be in America (I've not taken into account tourists, business people, etc, but I think the estimation is reasonable).

2.) While the idea of going to the nearest grocery store to stock up is a popular idea, it's also a stupid one. And its popularity is part of the reason why it's such a bad idea. Once the zombie apocalypse takes place, everyone's first instinct is to go to the nearest Walmart to get supplies, everyone's. So, assuming your party isn't the only one out there, which is almost always the case, your local Walmart is no longer a supply depot or an armory; it's a battle ground and a slaughter house. And, after the first few days, it's a barren slaughter house, having been raided and held a few different times by a few different parties.

Of course, if you do happen to be in the States, especially the South, firearms shouldn't be too difficult find. I just wouldn't go looking for them at Walmart.

1) Its a fair enough point, but I'm sure if you took a poll of everyone on the site you would see that the majority of people come from 1 of 3 countries (namely the stats, Canada, and the UK, with Australia probably following after that), and maybe with the exception of the UK and possibly Australia, it shouldn't be too hard to find a gun in at least the other 2 countries.

2) I don't think this would be everyone's first idea. I think everyone's first idea would be to leave the city, and the only way I see the Walmarts getting raided is if you know the apocalypse is coming ahead of time. Besides you don't have to raid immediately. Me I live in a site that is on the Great Lakes, and has plenty of marinas and harbors for both recreational, industrial, and shipping boats. I would personally head down to one of those and grab a nice decent sized sailboat, and swim out into the middle of the lake to let everything cool down, and see how it is in a weeks time. Also I think if we're going traditional zombie apocalypse, 99% of the civilization is dead after the initial outbreak.

1.) I think you're right, but I was speaking in a broader sense. After all the point you were making was "guns are the best option during the zombie apocalypse," not "guns are the best weapons for the zombie apocalypse, for everyone on this site." Or at least, I thought it was, it would certainly be reasonable if you were arguing for the latter (anyone who read your post would have been on this site, after all), but I thought former former was the case.

2.) I'm afraid I disagree here. You said, "everyone's first idea would be to leave the city," but the first step in any evacuation is gathering supplies, which brings us back to Walmart.

As far as having to know ahead of time, I disagree with that because, after all, you are going to raid the Walmart (not you specifically, but anyone who is going to raid a Walmart is able to raid a Walmart without foreknowledge of the apocalypse). And if you're going to raid a Walmart, then any others out there will too.

As for going later, in a weeks time - yeah that might work - I doubt people could go through an entire Walmart in a week, but I know that they would definitively clear out the gun racks. On the other hand, I had the pleasure of being in a town on the outskirts of New Orleans just before Katrina hit, and let me tell you, humans can clear out a Walmart pretty damn quick when s*** gets real. So I think that would depend on how much we know, and when we know it.

Personally, I never liked the 99% thing, it greatly reduces my chances of survival during the initial outbreak. But, even going with 99%, if we take a fairly middle-of-the-road U.S. city, like Seattle whose population is around 600,000, that still leaves us with just over 6,000 people. There are 7 Walmarts within 20 miles of Seattle. I don't like those odds.


Captcha: "jump off" I suppose suicide really is the best zombie plan. Or maybe not, that captcha just errored.

 

[Azuaron]

I'm a trained archer, so composite recurve bow. Slower than a semi-automatic, yes, but absolutely silent, and you can retrieve your ammo (and even make your own ammo easier than making bullets). Beyond that, most people aren't going to be raiding the sporting goods store for arrows, so I should have less competition for ammo than the gun crowd.

I would also, of course, have an aluminum baseball bat for up close. They weigh less than a pound and have more than enough power to break skulls.

The best offense is a killer defense.

I would opt for armour. Full plate would be best with a decent sized shield.

So you want to be slow and tired without a way to kill the zombies that are tearing open your armor and eating you?

 

[Lonewolfm16]

If we have learned anything from the past 300 years of warfare its that guns are much more effective than melee weapons. I don't think a zombie apocolypse will change this. Plus I don't want to get within groping range of zombies.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I repeat what every fellow gun user said: melee weapons aren't going to help much against other survivors.

 

[Rule Britannia]

Guns....Why would I use anything else? If I really wanted to use melee weapons I would duct tape a knife or something to the barrel of the gun...unless it were a pistol.

I'm far more likely just to run away from them than to fight them though. I would only kill if I have to. I don't not want to kill them for moral reasons (this used to be a person etc.) but because I don't want to.

Not sure if that last sentence is a double negative or w/e.

 

[Lt._nefarious]

Pistol tucked into my trousers along with a small hammer, a bow slung around my torso, knife in my sock, machete dangling from a piece of rope tied to a belt loop on my trousers, shotgun and baseball bat stuffed into a backpack, knuckle dusters (or possibly a chain of some sort) in a large pocket, a small weapon taped to an area near my left shoulder for quick use and a large(ish) piece of wood/metal masking taped to the backpack.

If I could find a handbag/small satchel I would store surplus ammunition and possibly a second small handgun and I would also keep enough rope/string/thread to hand other things from different belt loops such as diving knives/grenades/syringes.

On top of all this I would tear and sow back together the straps of the backpack so much that it sits comfortably on my shoulders but I could break out of it with minimal effort if it was grabbed by a walker.

And finally, as the icing on the cake, I would try and get steel toe cap boots and bond some metal studs/scrap metal/knife to the end.

Am I putting to much thought into this?

 

[Attercap]

Surviving a zombie apocalypse seems like a zero-sum game, so I'd choose a gun. I'd only need one bullet, too!

 

[cerebus23]

4 foot katana for up close, handgun, shogun would be my load outs of choice, handgun and shotgun ammo should be pretty plentiful. katana i just need some oil and a cloth, and we know from dead island that there is nothing quite so satisfying as taking the head clean off a zombie while it charges you, and then you got legs and arms that are nice targets also.

bow and arrows are nice and all that, but the amount of skill it takes to use a bow and arrow, is a pretty large hurtle for most people and depending on if we got the classic zombies or the 28 days later zombies hitting a fast moving target with a bow and arrow is a rather larger degree of difficulty. fatigue is also a concern when firing heavy bows or lots of arrows.

all the reasons why we left bows for guns a few hundred years back. any idiot can fire a gun, but a bow users takes training.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Any melee weapons will do for me (hammer, sword or even an shield) considering the fact I never used a gun before and throwing me into the deep well feeding frenzy size will NOT make me a quick learner. Beside a gun is only good if there are ammunition around. Even then if the zombies are attracted to sounds then the gun is only a double edged weapon. Yes I know both weapons need some time to reload/ wipe the blood off so it's no longer blunt.

 

[loc978]

I have all of the above within arm's reach. So... all [http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n182/loc978/Photos/DSC02954.jpg] of [http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n182/loc978/Photos/DSC01162.jpg] the [http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n182/loc978/Photos/0603081544.jpg] above [http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n182/loc978/Photos/DSC01160.jpg].

 

[Gaiseric]

Guns. I have plenty of 'em(10) and around over a 1000 assorted rounds for them.

A .22 isn't too loud and still can penetrate the skull of a shuffler and is very easy to find.

Of course I'd keep some sort of melee weapon as a back up.

 

[ElPatron]

- Much longer range Duh.
- A single heatshot is fatalThere are a lot of places in the brain that are not required for immediate survival - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage
- larger guns can be used as makeshift clubs sure, if you want to get them dirty and obstructed

Cons
- It is easy to miss without training or when you panic If you're not trained you shouldn't be holding a gun anyway
- Ammunition will most likely be limited that's why you stockpile it beforehand
- A gun can jam at a crucial moment AHAHAHAHAHAH OH WOW. So can any mechanical component, the difference is that if you maintain your weapon (much easier than say, a car) it won't malfunction
- Zombies feel no pain, so a shot to anywhere but the head will be a waste of ammoBull. Any shot can destroy muscle and tendons, which will hinder the movement and attacking abilities of any zombie

Melee weapons

Pros
- Can be used more often will also get you severely tired
- The blunt force is usually strong enough to break limbs, which can hamper a zombie's effectiveness and a single swing to the neck will most likely be fatalSo a gunshot can't cause that kind of damage?
- Are fairly easy to findSpeak for yourself. I can think of two places near me to break in if I want a gun. Can't think of any that sells anything beyond chainsaws and bats

Cons
-Require you to be close to the zombie to use
- Bladed weapons (such as an axe) can get stuck
- It is possible to break them


So, what will you do in the zombie apocalypse? Melee weapon or gun? Or do you have another plan that doesn't involve either? Personally I'd rather carry around a sledge hammer. I've never used a gun before in my life and I'd probably use half a clip IT'S CALLED MAGAZINE just to take down one zombie.

Thanks for your try but please try to inform you about what the hell you are talking about.


5.56x45 is small but deadly. Heck, I would post actual pictures of what happens when you get shot, but they are quite graphic.

This little guy is almost capable of ripping a whole leg off, and breaking bones without even touching them - trough the means of hydrostatic shock.

This thing is plentiful for "zombies". And the most common hunting calibers are a lot more powerful than 5.56.

Heck, get a shotgun and buckshot. If you have enough standoff a single shell will cover a whole human torso.

 

[Patrick Buck]

I live in Britain, so getting a firearm would be difficult enough, so melee for me.