Zombie Survival - Choice of Firearm

[Gunmaster45]

I read the zombie survival guide and while it was amusing, it was pretty stupid. They say zombies have super hearing so you should use a suppressor. If their whole body is a decaying corpse, what the hell would make their hearing improve?! They also used "clip" instead of magazine when refering to the M1 Carbine use during an outbreak.

M1 Carbines are a great choice... 30 years ago, back when ammo was available. A Ruger Mini-14 is almost the same thing in a more readily available caliber. Not super accurate but effective enough. I have one handy so I'm set for the zombies.

A good sniper rifle, even a .22 would work well on zombies if you were in an elevated position they couldn't reach. Take your time and rack up the head shots!

I'd like to think zombies are what everyone usually thinks of, a slow moving, stupid corpse that moans and can't sprint. I'd hope only a bite would contract the "zombie virus", as it is hard not to be touched by zombie blood. As MPM mentioned, everyone has their own ideas. I'm making a zombie movie this summer, I'll add caps from it on my profile (and try to use as few airsoft guns as possible!).

[Yournamehere]

Since I am a huge fan of zombies and firearms I have thought of this countless times.

First of all, the Zombie Survival Guide suggestions are not very educated, as the man seems to have never heard of modern assault rifles (come on, an M1 Carbine? Good luck finding ammo and mags in a pinch. You'd be better off using a .22 and gambling head penetration with the punier, more common round.) If you're picking a gun, you aren't just picking what gun you'd like to shoot. The gun has to be able to adapt to the environment, and there are few that can actually do that.

For a sidearm, 1911s are good. They will last and are good shooters generally, and you can find a helluva lot of magazines for 'em wherever you go. This also goes for my other choiced, Glocks (lighter, hypercapacity pistols) or Berettas (Military issue, so if you stumble upon dead soldiers, chances are they have ammo for ya). A small .38 is also good for use as a last resort, be it for the zombies or yourself. There's little that can be done to a revolver to make it stop working, so if you plan on using it, on whoever, it will work.

Which brings me to my rifle choice. Yes, rifle. I might have a sawnoff shotgun for breaching or absolute last resort (with the stock still on, mind you, aiming from the hip is nigh pointless when you need a headshot). I'd choose an AR-15 build gun, and I will tell you why. Normally I argue against 5.56/.223 Rem and it's chambering in the AR-15 as it has less energy than my champ, the AK 47, but it has what has always had, accuracy. Zombies only go down with headshots, so additional stopping power doesn't matter. What does matter is precision, as well as penetration at distance, not that you'll be sniping or anything, but 5.56/.223 will do this at insane ranges. Not only that, but everyone and their grandma has an AR-15, so ammo and mags are everywhere for you to take and use, and since it's lighter than other rifle rounds, you can carry a lot more ammo. In short, it's a good balance considering all the bonuses and all of the negative things that become null and void.

Also, full auto is not intended for zombies, but potential renegade groups that may try to kill you for your stuff, as seen in the first Dawn of the Dead. Other than that, keep your selector on semi.

Also, I did a thread on my forum about this a while ago. While not strictly a gun forum, we do sometimes have good gun threads. Feel free to browse at any of the arguments presented there.

http://diseasedboard.proboards.com/i...ad=1261&page=2

[k9870]

P&R mod 47, revolver that can feed so many different caliber, youd always have ammo

[ManiacallyChallenged]

Fantastic response!

My theory is as follows:
Despite what the literature may tell you, there will never be an instance in which people must be shot in the brain to be killed. Muscles do not work if not being delivered oxygen by the blood stream, and therefore blood loss will affect them the same way.

If anything, the zombies will be like feral humans, with their logic centers of their brains deteriorated by fever and disease, they will be little more than animals.
Animals feel pain, animals can not live without blood, animals can be crippled. And animals can be eaten if you are deperate.

Therefore any weapon would be serviceable to take them out, as long as it was effective against a human target.
I would choose for myself and friends a cross section of bolt action hunting rifles, and buckshot 12 gauge shotguns, whichever available.
For handguns, a single .45 1911 and a backup revolver in .357 each, again whichever type available in your area.

Now, in World War Z the rifle they issue was supposed to be a modified version of the AK-47 which they had tons of lying around somehow.
But I find the classic interpretation of zombies to be mildly ridiculous.

[k9870]

best survival would be to go with a group, hole up somewhere, and don't send 4 people out after one, we all know from the movies that that doesn't really help....

Lots of food, ammo, medical supplies. Rotate watches. All the guns in the world can'tt help without teamwork and strategy

[k9870]

gunmaster, wondering what the movie is like? How many people in it, basic plot, special effects? Ill definitely watch it. Ill be In Class A school all summer, and get to bring my laptop with me, too bad its 56 bucks a month for internet....

[Gunmaster45]

So far we have 5 main characters and am looking for extras for zombies. We have lots of real guns, but little blanks so expect lots of CGI muzzle flashes . I have a good video editor and people who know how to use them, so editing will be decent. We have a decent budget since a few people on the team have jobs, so we can buy lots of corn syrup and red dye (a must for a zombie movie is BLOOD). We need a decent camera, the hand cam we have can only allow us nothing more than a crappy "Clover Field" style rip off.

The basic story was written by me in 20 minutes during a study hall, but someone else wrote a script out of it which I still have to read and revise.

Zombie makeup will be hard to get but we'll figure it out.

I'm very pleased with the story, and the ending is cool (I'm the last one alive in the story, yay!)

I'll try to make a dvd out of it, or send you a copy to download on the net so you can watch it. But first, I have to make it.

Two things worry me though. Acting and gun handling. Most of the people I'm working with on the movie aren't very good with guns (except one who is airforced trained, but don't ask me how since he's 16 ), and some parents won't let their kids use real guns, so I have to give them airsoft guns (which I hate doing). Also, even MY acting is a little wooden.

I know I'm taking this too seriously, but I wanted to show this to some people who could get me a better chance at becoming a film director.

[ManiacallyChallenged]

Hey GM, nice to hear about you making a film. I love making movies myself, although due to living in a smallish town with few willing people I always had pretty small casts and small stuff.
I took a film class once, made a crossover of Mario and The Sopranos, which was entertaining to say the least.
Weapon of choice? .45 ACP Fireflower.