Zombie Apocalypse scenario: What will you do?

[The Heik]

-I have no intention of carrying everything around with me, only having it available if a situation calls for it. The riot gear for example would only be donned if poking into a close quarters area. I'm also a big strong guy used to lugging crap around to little purpose.

Strength is not the issue here. It's more about how much endurance you have. You see, a lot of muscles aren't trained for exerting lower level force over extended periods of time, say for example holding a pencil out to your side for five minutes straight (seriously try this. most people can't do it without their arms becoming ridiculously sore because of it, if they can do it at all). Now imagine trying that with a 13.6 pound USAS-12 shotgun for the better part of a day. It may not seem to bad at the start but constant wear and tear does a number on you. That doesn't include the 4.4 pound .44 Deagle you'd carry with you, plus two spare clips for each weapon in case (amounting to another 5 pounds), and any water or gear you'd need for your excursions away from your base camp. All these little weights nickel and dime you in terms of endurance, and unless you make carrying constant weight a part of your daily routine, it's gonna tire you, especially if you have to sprint around because the undead have discovered you. And speaking a a person who loves to sprint, I know that every little bit of weight counts in determining how long or fast you can move.

-I've packed for major outdoor trips using a vehicle roughly the size of the FED before, the guns, armor, and compact generators being the only items I haven't had to account for before. Somehow I think I can get them to fit into the roughly 40 cubic feet of space I normally leave empty (to be later filled by other campers and their personal stuff)

I'm sure you have, but then again, most civilian vehicles actually have more room for storage than most military vehicles, which were designed for durability over room. Check out the Fed's compartment space compared to it's actual size.

Spoiler

despite it's overall size, it's not very roomy. The drive train has been moved higher up to protect it from fire, which means that you not only lose a whole seat's worth of space, but all other seats lose a bit of space too. Also see the trunk in the back, which not only is placed at an angle, but has a significant portion of it dedicated to the gas tank. Overall, it's space is internally several cubic feet smaller than a civvy truck of the same rough external proportions, as it was designed for short jaunts around a central point of operations, carrying only what it needs for the direct mission. You'd be hard pressed to carry what you've listed even if you hitched a trailer in the back, and that's assuming that you're bringing only one person along in the vehicle.

-When push comes to shove, that list is what I would take if all preparations go perfectly (a somewhat unlikely scenario all things considered), fully intending to leave some behind if and when necessary. If forced to pare that list down only to the absolute bare essentials, I could still make the plan work with a little extra luck while bringing only a hiking bag filled with 60 lbs of gear. Of course, I would be stealing a few cars from the dead on the way, and scavenging quite a bit more than intended in that case, both actions increase the risk substantially. Also, if that occurs, I might actually change gears and head south, hot weather gear has less mass and bulk to them, and heat can do the same job cold will, although not nearly as cleanly.

Well it's reassuring to hear you can cut down if necessary, but I thought that the point of this thread was what you'd take under ideal conditions. My point throughout this whole thing is not that none of this was necessary, rather that on the whole the implementation seemed a bit impractical. You could have accomplished equal or better results with more commonplace stuff, and saved a lot of space and weight taking everyday things over specialized equipment.

But hey, if that's the way you want to ride the zombie wave, go nuts. It's not anyone is going to be in any position to complain, and I can think of worse ways to combat the undead masses. Should the ZA actually happen I hope that you will come visit me on my newly-annexed Police HQ, and we'll share a couple of beers and some oatmeal whilst watching the zombies chew in vain on the steel bars of my fortress.

That shall be a good day (relatively speaking)

 

[Nouw]

I would build bigger fences around my house and stock up for at least a month. The zombies will kill themselves, nature and all.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

Climb a nice tall tree.

Zombies can't climb trees right?

No, but they could probably huddle together and knock the tree down eventually. As a single zombie, they are quite harmless at a distance, but as a unit, they are quite dangerous.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

This is what I would do:
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs21/f/2007/291/f/a/Fetal_Position_by_Pixel_Sage.jpg

Zombies scare the crap out of me.

Yeah, me, too. But I'd rather go down fighting and try to take down as many of those brain munchers as I could with C4 strapped to my chest.

Their dinner would just be...

*puts on sunglasses*

...too hot to handle.

 

[Gatx]

If I had a gun, probably shoot myself. I mean, damn, the alternative is being eaten alive so...

But if I had to survive I'd probably for sure take a crowbar. Useful tool to have for scavenging stuff from the modern, abandoned landscape and a good weight to be used as a melee weapon. Guns are too noisy, take training to use, need reloading, and not to mention you'll eventually run out of ammo. For everything else I'll just take whatever I need from wherever my crowbar can break me into.

Realistically, a zombie apocalypse wouldn't last two weeks before they're all dead. Consider the following:

Their food source is us, and we're pretty damn good at survival. And, you know, we can fight off the hoards with any number of methods, almost all of them are effective against zombies.

Zombies aren't all that good at fighting back. Unless they're smart enough to think of defending themselves, and unlikely possibility, considering the brain rot, we can mow through them easily enough. Sure, they might try to eat us, but that's where our defensive measures come in.

Zombies can't fight off the little pests that eat dead and/or rotted flesh. Simple enough. Mostly insects, some small animals... and bacteria! The littlest bit of rotted flesh will fester like mad, quickly crippling the zombie.

Zombies can't regulate their body temperature, and don't know when to seek shelter from the elements. Too cold, their bodies freeze up and lock up. Too hot, they'll decompose really, really fast, if not something more gruesome.

Zombies can't feel pain, and don't know to avoid hazards. Zombies have no problem walking off a cliff. If they step on a nail or even a sharp rock, well, they fall apart all the faster.

So, realistically, I would stock up on food and chill for a while.

Well it depends on the rules of the specific zombies we're talking about.

As for us being good at survival, I'd say the comforts of modern living have actually made most of us not as fit for surviving under harsh conditions.

As for pests, if we're talking about virus zombies (which most zombies seem to be nowadays) then of course once anything from the zombie enters another entity they'll become infected, whether it be by the zombie attacking them or them attacking the zombie (talking about pests of course).

As for environmental effects, yes they'd stop moving in the cold, and they would rot faster in hot, humid areas, but this would also only apply for where and when the zombies appear.

And for not feeling pain, well I'd argue that's what would make them more dangerous. If you had one coming at you and you had a gun. If you shot a human in the chest or anywhere they would react to the pain and stop, a zombie would continue to come at you. Not feeling pain would also mean they would be able to push their bodies longer and harder than we can, making them harder to outrun. When you stop to rest, they'll have time to catch up.

 

[Aetera]

I may have access to anything, but I am a completely out of shape smoker and have never shot a gun in my life. Realistically, if the zombie apocalypse happened right now and I had access to anything, I'd shoot myself in the head.

Unless you have the skill and training to shoot a gun and have at least moderate real survival skills, you're zombie food.

 

[Psychedelic Spartan]

Item A: One incredibly sharp knife
Item B: Another incredibly sharp knife
Item C: Hoping that package from that website comes soon
Item D: Twinkies
Item E: A longbow
I'm prepared! Bring it!

 

[Vanitas likes Bubbles]

Buy a lot of treadmills and place them round my house like so

Hmmmmmm..... seems legit.

OT: Well the first thing I'd do is grab my dads repeater rifle, grab the pickup truck, then drive down to a military base new Brisbane. Grab a bunch of their weapons and make my own little base. Seach for people that survived then make my own little government and rule with an iron fist.

Realistically: I'd be eaten within a second of the outbreak.

 

[Ix Rebound]

Mostly likely for me:
run down to the gun shop.
grab some guns and ammo
turns out i made too much noise and now im surrounded
hopefully i get a couple before im overwhelmed
pop myself in the head(zombies aren't getting me!)

 

[Ix Rebound]

Like anyone else here, I'd most likely die. My goal before I die though would be to gather as much explosive/volitile material as I can, hook up a generator to run a stereo/spotlights, get as many zombies as I can to congragate on my position...blow everything up.

If I'm gonna die it might as well be in a big ass mushroom cloud.

Damn right!
when i die (hopefully natural causes)
thats what i want done with my body

the mushroom cloud part, not the C4 strapped to chest part

 

[Ix Rebound]

Realistically? I'd grab the bayonet I have in my drawer, the small first-aid kit, and pelt down to the local supermarket, which fortunately has a gun shop nearby. Only air rifles and shotguns though, few guns in the UK.

You have a bayonet in your drawer?
please explain

 

[Matt King]

I'd probably die.

Why?

Because I have no illusions of being some sort of zombie fighting expert. I have no combat, survival or weapon training.

I'd try to survive, of course, but it probably wouldn't end well.

Inb4 "I grab my katana and herpa derp"

Yes, because your mock sword that you bought for 50 quid is totally combat worthy.

this, i would like to survive, but i would get the shit kicked out of me

i could just walk 5 minutes and be in the country side so that would be my only plan

 

[tlgAlaska]

No guns and no big blades for me.

Guns in untrained hands would be useless in this situation. If I don't hit the head, what do the zombies care about bullet wounds? And by the time my ammo runs out all the zombie I just lured to my position would scuffle around the corner to have a snack. Maybe I would carry a small handgun, if I'd find one, to scare off dangerous survivors (looters, murderers and so on).

Blades big enough to cut off heads would be unnecessary weight. If they are close enough to cut something off they are too close! I think the smart thing would be to stagger the zombie with a blunt weapon and get out of arm's reach quick. And in the worsed case the blade could get stuck and leave me without a weapon, few have the strength or technique required to cleanly cut through any body parts and I'm certainly not one of them.

I would want to avoid the zombies, not fight them. So my weapons of choice would be a crowbar and a heavy bolt cutter. Both can be used as weapons in a pinch, but more important, I can use them to create shortcuts or to get into places.

 

[WaReloaded]

Well, I just moved to the suburbs of Melbourne, so my chances are a lot slimmer than they were when I lived by the lake in regional Victoria. In regards to a skill set, I have reasonable leadership skills, but that's about it, I'm fit enough but I'm not incredibly athletic or anything like that.

My plan would be to hole up in a Foodworks (medium-ish sized store) and to block the entrances with shopping carts. I'd have enough water for a few months, I'd start by eating the perishables and then I'd try to ration the non-perishable foods. It's more about survival than "zombie slaying", here's to hoping that I have some company, too.

 

[Rumpsteak]

I'd take my minecraft sword and pickaxe replica and go to town. Those are effective on non-block zombies, right?

 

[Heronblade]

Guns in untrained hands would be useless in this situation. If I don't hit the head, what do the zombies care about bullet wounds? And by the time my ammo runs out all the zombie I just lured to my position would scuffle around the corner to have a snack.

Yes and no, it depends on the caliber of weapon and ammo used. A typical small caliber handgun is indeed useless without near perfect accuracy, since they'd just be able to shrug incidental hits off. High caliber hollow point rounds on the other hand are liable to render anything they hit physically useless, while knocking the target to the ground. If you can't reliably hit the head, aim for the lower abdomen and pelvis, its a much larger, more stationary target, and one or two solid hits there means the thing won't be able to use either leg.

As for the noise issue, you can actually use that to your advantage. Plenty of locations within an urban area can be used to physically trap and kill a small horde that think's they're following a noise to dinner if you rig them up properly. Just off the top of my head, empty and deep swimming pool plus a fifty gallon drum of fuel plus physical obstacles to funnel them in equals a really nasty burning stench you won't be able to get rid of. If you attract a big horde, you're screwed of course, but that's why I chose to stay out of even the small towns, since you can attract quite a few zeds even while remaining perfectly silent.

 

[Wintermoot]

finally get some use out of my Zombie Survival guide!
1.store water
2.move food to second floor
3.destroy the stairs
4.hang up sign,s on the roof asking for help
5.wait it out.

 

[Toaster Hunter]

Grab my E-tool and other gear and survive. I know that sounds open ended, but there is no telling what I would do. Actually, zombies aren't that big of a threat. Its my fellow survivors I'd worry about, and unless they have guns I wouldn't worry too much about them. An E-tool to the head works on anything.

 

[Aprilgold]

I have no combat, survival or weapon training.

You just need an AA12 bro. That weapon is easy to use and impossible to break.

Sure, I'll just pop down to the AA12 shop around the corner...

Funny thing is you can probably do that in the US.

lolmerica

Only if its a shop for...COMMUNISTS!

Well first I would kill their vodoo masters... Oh you mean that newer, shittier version? I'm just messin with ya'.

Simple, just go to a island that is mainly deserted near the coast of America where survival would be easy. Since Zombies have no clear rules we really can't say what else to do. But just grab a silent weapon and do a few chops off the top to get by the occasional zombie.

The amount of people saying GUNS and SWORDS is kinda scary. Guns will only get you so far, it has a ammo limit and you can only shove so many clips up the ass. Swords are better but you can't go buster swording everything unless your a professional body builder.

 

[oktalist]

I'm fully redneck, so I'm well equiped for the Zombie Apocalpyse.

I was thinking about this the other day, what would be my plan?
Rob the gun shop? Raid the school armoury?
I was thinking Windsor Castle would be a good place to hold out, defensable and all that.

And then I thought, sod it. That's too far for me to drive, I CBA. I'm going with the axe in each hand kill 'em all.

Bring the Zombies! I could do with the exercise.

...Your school has an armoury.