The zombiepocalypse!

[Mystic Muse]

okay. we all really know how the world is going to end. It's only a matter of time. So what are your guys's plans for the zombiepocalypse? I'm going to put a couple limits on this theoretical exercise so that it's fair. You're also free to state your own IRL plan if you have one. here are the limits.
only 2 weapons per person.
one vehicle only.
no electricity. There aren't going to be people running power plants in a zombie apocalypse now are there?

now for the zombies. One bite and you're one of them. It takes about an hour for the infection to take over but after that you're gone. During this time you can still fight other ones but they'll realize you're a threat and eat you alive.
They're slow. These are the classic super slow easy to rip apart zombies. however They have some brain function and there are just so many it doesn't really matter.
their weaknesses. Fire, being frozen and Decapitation. if you decapitate them their bodies stop functioning.

anything else I'm forgetting? you get to choose where you make your possible last stand. If you choose a military base or something similar all you get is ammo. NO BAZOOKAS!

[Cryssandra]

Do exactly as this tells me...

http://abuggedlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/zombie-survival.jpg
Did I win?

[Innis Cabal]

http://abuggedlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/zombie-survival.jpg
Did I win?

No, as the book only pertains to his own zombies, and has some frankly terrible advice. You get eaten. Good try though

[Cryssandra]

*Sniff*

Yeah, some of the advice in the book is quite dis-advisable... However, in my humble opinion, his zombies seem to be more logically put together than the zombies in movies such as Resident Evil, Shaun of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, etc.

His Zombies make more sense to me....
The survival tips, some have quite a bit of merit to them....

[Mystic Muse]

Resident evil zombies are really more infected humans. at least in the two games I played.

[Innis Cabal]

The fact he advises against conventinal fire arms is rather silly. At least, he does several times. The book itself is filled with glaring inconsistancy. The man's no survival expert. And it shows. A good and fun read though. Just don't trust your life on it.

[EndlessWrath]

I learned that moving from one spot to another, having rooms that are open but protectable, and not blocking yourself into a corner are pretty strong strategies.

Stay with friends. gain skills for construction, accuracy and precision in marksmanship. Learn how to make bombs, and get food. Stock up quickly on canned goods. build fort. supply it with water. and many hidden exits. (exits not accessible till opened.). Stay moving. Make attachments to car and get lots of fuel (stealing if have to. its apocalypse. survival necessary). make car armored. make body armor that doesnt slow me down. Zombie bites can't be too hard to resist. especially if old zombies. they're probably smarter, like you said...but even then i don't think they'd try to knock off body armor (head to toe) before taking a bite.

goal: keep moving, search for survivors and supplies and kill as many zombies as possible.

[Dvil]

In the zombie apocalypse, I'll meet up with a couple of friends before enlisting the aid of a guy who sells weaponry in our nearest city, before taking a car to a nearby garden store, stocking up on seeds and other plants, then hot-footing it to the nearest castle. We would then block the doors, quickly rid the place of zombies, and start planting the food, in an attempt to survive for a long period of time. It isn't perfect, but it's as good as we have so far.

[Etcetera]

Oi! Castle was my idea!
Well, I'm sure you didn't copy it but I posted it in a different thread first.
[end childishness]
Someone aught to do a study of all the castle in England and find which one would be best for resisting zombie invasions? In terms of local resources, state of repair, armouries and wells and other such advantages. Boiling oil, anyone?

[Extra_Crispy]

Well I am going to be realistic as to what I can get my hands on easy. As many people would have already looted gun shops and such I would go out to my parents, after seeing if my sister and her family are ok/picking them up. There I would grab a 12 gauge pump shotgun, the scoped 30/30 and (I know only 2 weapons but) the two swords my dad has. Using his sharpening stones I would sharpen the swords between using some of the metal he has lying around to armor my 4x4 chevy blazer. Collect the gas cans he has and go to the general store and fill every thing up. Now hopefully my parents are not infected (probably not) and we would take my truck as a blocker/distracter if need be and use his larger truck towing their 5th wheel stocked with all the food we can scavage, and other equipment like a gas generator, and head to the middle of NO where. Collecting other not infected people, I am a nurse so I would check everyone completely for ANY wounds that could be a infection site. When we got away from all people we would set up a little community using axes and such my father also has to build a little fort and houses from the trees and at first live off the land and then grow food and live untill the plague has exhaused itself.

I find that moving around alot is ok, but better to get to an area where there are/were very very few to no people thus minimal chance of more than a few zombies. I am much less worried about killing as many zombies as possible as the will die soon enough as zombies are not known for inteligence they will either starve to death or to prevent that eat each other, as well as accidents and other viruses/disease killing them I really dont need to. Just wait them out.

[V'icternus]

Step 1: Learn to use a sword.

Step 2: Learn to not get dizzy when you spin.

Step 3: Get a sword.

Step 4: Ensure that when you spin with your sword, it is at zombie neck-height.

Step 5: Draw attention to yourself to attract zombies.

Step 6: ???

Step 7: Profit!

[Extra_Crispy]

Truethfully as I think about it, what would happen to me if there was a zombiepocalypse? Probably become a zombie. I am a RN and work in a hospital in a city of near 1 million people. Before it was truely known what was happening there would be a flood of injured, bitten people into the hospitals. If I was not already working I would be called in and as I live 5 min from the hospital I would get there quick. One of the "patients" (zombies) would probably bite me as I would be trying to hold them down so that another nurse could restrain them. 1 hour later, bingo bongo and zombie RN. That unfortunatly would be the probable outcome.

[Etcetera]

But you're in Australia. If you can survive droughts, uranium-enriched duststorms and wildfires you can survive zombies. You partically got your own defence system. Could a zombie beat a kangaroo?

Edit:

Truethfully as I think about it, what would happen to me if there was a zombiepocalypse? Probably become a zombie. I am a RN and work in a hospital in a city of near 1 million people. Before it was truely known what was happening there would be a flood of injured, bitten people into the hospitals. If I was not already working I would be called in and as I live 5 min from the hospital I would get there quick. One of the "patients" (zombies) would probably bite me as I would be trying to hold them down so that another nurse could restrain them. 1 hour later, bingo bongo and zombie RN. That unfortunatly would be the probable outcome.

Ditto. I'd either get bitten and become a zombie or starve to death. Such is my lot...

[Anuan]

Weapons: Viking style sword, Steyr AUG.

'Armour': Leather jacket with inbuilt bike-armour on the back and arms, Jeans, Leather Gloves. These zombies don't have super-strength; ever tried to bite through leather or denim? Also, bike helmet.

Plan: get my friends and myself to my parents' place. Extensive homegrown food (fruit and vegetables and herbs), along with cattle, kangaroos, rabbits, goannas, snakes and bush-honey to eat. They're also on a hundred acres on top of a hill, out of the way of many zombies, and fairly defendable from any who manage to get there.

If we're limited to one vehicle, we'll take either my dad's work Hatchback or maybe the old blue truck; it's practically indestrucable, and if we had time to knock some stuff to the back of it, it would be easy to defend during transportation.

[Fan]

If it came RIGHT NOW?

I'd be relatively okay, I have a scoped rifle available to me, albiet with a lack of training, and the number of people who live near me is staggeringly low.

[_Zoot_]

Well, i would return home as fast as i could, when i got home i would find my anti-Zombie weapon (a gardening tool a bit like a pickax). After this i would look about to see if there were many Zombies in the area and if there were not i would go about putting a sign on the roof to tell any rescue that i was there. If there were a lot of/to many Zombies i would barricade the house as well as possible, this might mean that i could have the whole house Zombie free or it might be just the basement. The fall back area is the basement, this already contains a large store (probably not enough mind) of food and water (you know, in case of some apocalypse like circumstance) and i would then wait until the supply's were exhausted or the Zombies moved on and then attempt to break out into the Bush land out side the city.


I like my plan because it doesn't rely on finding weapons/food after the apocalypse has started, I see a reliance on this to be a critical flaw as the rest of the human race will also be after those good and if you are dependent on them for survival, you are in big trouble...

[Jack Squat]

I'll go off of what I have set in place now. This situation pertains to a local outbreak where there is no governmental support (police, military, etc.) and not a world-wide pandemic (where the general plan is GTFO).

Weapon 1: Remington 11 12 ga. shotgun w/ 20" riot barrel.
Weapon 2: IEDs (which are fairly simple to make, though not advisable outside of absolute emergency scenarios such as this)

Vehicle: 1997 Jeep Wrangler.

My general plan is to join up with my group and rig an area (or areas) to contain the outbreak and destroy them. Given references, zombies are attracted to loud sounds, so it's possible to work to herd them.

Shotgun is chosen because it's what I have, a high capacity semi-auto carbine would be nicer, and that's what my brother will be equipped with It won't be used offensively, so the lower capacity doesn't worry me. IEDs should be fairly self-explanatory, and the Jeep is because it can be kept open (top & doors off) to allow quick entry and exit should the need occur.

I will be based out of one of several areas (depending on where the outbreak is, where possible containment is, etc.), mostly relying on my house and that of friends (who are included in the plan) for food & supplies. Communication will be done over radios. Crappy FRS ones now, CB once I can get enough people to buy/set them up, and outside communication will be done over amateur radio.

If containment isn't deemed possible, the plan is to get people up to a family farm in Indiana. It's pretty hard to secure because of size, but the fairly rural location should help. In this situation, I'd switch vehicle to a Chevy Suburban due to increased capacity and range.

If there's military support, gather up a few friends, secure our house, and let them take care of it.

[Kaelaroth]

Zombies, you say? (http://www.collegenews.com/index.php?/article/university_of_florida_zombie_preparedness_document _removed_from_website_1073587987927837/)

[Felixaar]

The big question for me is "can zombies climb stairs?" because if they cant, all I have to do is make periodic raids to the supermarket, and then wait it out playing videogames.

If they can, I just collapse the staircase. That would take a bit of work, but they can feed on the people in the lower levels while I do it.

[raitalin]

Vehicle: Horse

No gas, all terrain.

Weapon 1: Ruger 10/22 with a 50 round drum magazine.

Most common ammunition around, accurate within 100 yards (if they're further away than that, you just leave) and a head shot kills just as good as with higher caliber ammo.

Weapon 2: Machete

You don't need to stab and you won't be dueling other people with swords, so a sword is unnecessary. You need a slashing weapon that won't get stuck, which is pretty much exactly what a machete is designed for. A calvary saber might be better for some extra weight behind the swings though, but tougher to find.

[Stormthorn]

Im pretty sure that can climb stairs.

[Eon]

a fort made of chairs, pillows and blankets. oh and a shotgun.

[SurlySeraph]

At home, I would have been pretty well prepared for such an event. Here at college, I have nothing remotely weapon-like, very little food, am in the middle of a city with which I'm not familiar, am surrounded by students, and am otherwise completely ill-prepared.

As is, I'll get down to the river, steal a boat, possibly link up with my friend at the college downstream, and then float down to the airport. If it's not already in chaos, I'll attempt to barter my entire life savings for a ticket to a different continent. If it is already in chaos, I'll try to sneak onto a plane, hopefully one leaving for a different continent or to a much more rural area.

[Ganurath]

Magic Zombies: My response would be to acquire better zombies. Either through developing magic abilities from the sudden swell of dark power flooding the land and open-mindedness flooding the human conciousness, or by running to and hiding behind Rabbit.

Disease Zombies: I'll take one from the book of Johnny Cash and have a moat of fire surround my survival base, with a secondary facility outside called the Waiting Room where survivors would sit in isolation for two hours before being let in. I'm going down, down, down, in a burning ring of fire...

[Fiendish_Dire_Moose]

So, if chickens can actually live without their heads, where do you shoot a zombie chicken?
I need to know so I can reinforce my current model- I mean, prepare for the horde, oh nos!

[Ganurath]

So, if chickens can actually live without their heads, where do you shoot a zombie chicken?
I need to know so I can prepare for the horde, oh nos!Well, a zombie chicken would have no way of being aware of what's around it or be able to infect something, so they're pretty much nonthreat anyhow. Unless, of course, the blood pressure has been spiked and the blood itself has been made corrosive, at which point the infectious spray would be able to break the skin, providing an effective take-down against melee types. Otherwise, the only danger would be against the obscure few with open wounds that weren't already infected.

[Eldan]

2 weapons and a vehicle?

Easy. With this green-glowing brain serum (weapon 1), this deathclaw gauntlet (weapon 2, stolen from fallout 3) and a pair of inline skates I'll not only be one of the widely loved Fast Zombies, but also intelligent and armed.


Wait, I was supposed to be a survivor? Where's the fun in that?:smallconfused:

[chiasaur11]

Any weapon?

Well. Well well well.

I get the blood gun from Infected, for the PSP.

It makes zombies explode, and you immune.

Add in a blaster bomb launcher and flying suit from X-Com, and I'm golden.

More realistically:

Huddle up at Costco.

[Fiendish_Dire_Moose]

Well, a zombie chicken would have no way of being aware of what's around it or be able to infect something, so they're pretty much nonthreat anyhow. Unless, of course, the blood pressure has been spiked and the blood itself has been made corrosive, at which point the infectious spray would be able to break the skin, providing an effective take-down against melee types. Otherwise, the only danger would be against the obscure few with open wounds that weren't already infected.

Silly man, that's what computer chips and dynamite are for- I mean....CRAP! You tricked me.


2 weapons and a vehicle?

Easy. With this green-glowing brain serum (weapon 1), this deathclaw gauntlet (weapon 2, stolen from fallout 3) and a pair of inline skates I'll not only be one of the widely loved Fast Zombies, but also intelligent and armed.


Wait, I was supposed to be a survivor? Where's the fun in that?:smallconfused:

How would you like a job as an entry level zombie minion?

[Eldan]

Hey, hey, hey. As an intelligent, armed, fast zombie, I'm inherently at least seargent level.

[loopy]

I think my survival time would really be based on how quickly news of the infection spread, public knowledge of zombies effectiveness of quarantines, etc.

I live about an hour and a half north of Sydney, largest city in Australia. Thats a negative in the case of zombie attack. Good news is, theres a whole lot of nothing between the city and my area, the Central Coast, so the zombies would not have any particular reason to stagger southwards (no town-hopping crowds of zombies, as explained in World War Z).

If you had people trying to high-tail it out of Sydney (which you would, no way I'd want to be in a city without firearms in the case of a zombie apocalypse), it would depend on how effective the roadblocks (that have hopefully been setup) are, and how fast traffic backs up (zombified drivers losing control of cars, simple cases of panic, etc).

If the road doesn't block up quickly, there will be drivers turning into zombies just as they hit the local towns around the Central Coast region. This would still give me some time, as an hour-infection-to-zombie time would put them in a town about 15k from my house, and assuming zombies only shamble about 2 klicks an hour, that'd still give me 7.5 hours to get the hell out of dodge.

The problem now is that the zombies are already (I assume) running rampant around the towns of Woy Woy and Gosford, Sydney is a deathtrap, and if any infected flights went to Newcastle before Sydney airport closed down, there'd be a bunch of townhopping zombies slowly advancing from the north. (Not an immediate concern, seeing as Newcastle is about an hour north by car, but still something to be aware of when planning).

My plan, such as it is (and assuming that I'm actually at home when this happens), would be to get to this little isolated town about 10 mins drive from here, where a bunch of yachts and motor boats are moored. Now, there is nothing of any real importance between here and there, so I don't really forsee traffic being an issue, but if there is, I'd be sure to ride it anyway.

Once in that waterside suburb, start raiding houses (I know which ones) and marinas to get supplies I/we need). Things like canned goods, water (and those plastic barrel-y things to hold it in), other essentials.

Steal a yacht (this is the part that I really hope to God my dad is with me, him being a career shipwright and all),and sail it one of three places:

If zombies CAN'T swim:
-Theres a nearby island full of residential housing, with only one bridge for entry. Provided we could blockade or destroy that bridge, it would make an excellent short-to-mid term fortification, though providing sufficient quantities of non-seafood nutrition would pose a problem after several weeks.
-If circumstances are more dire (or that island is already full or infected), there is another isolated island close to the ocean called Lion Island, which only has a lighthouse on it, and little else. Unreachable except by boat, nothing really worth seeing. Short-term lodging only, as the lack of fresh water and food would be an issue (though the fishing is good there).

If the zombies CAN swim:
-Set out onto the ocean and hug the coast doing raids for supplies. I'd probably use that second island for lodging though.

Now, people I'd want or hopefully have with me:
-I'd bring my parents if I were at home, my dad for sheer usefulness (he's a tradie, a font of useful information, and a physically fit guy, all things that I don't really posess). Mum I'd bring cos she's my mum, and I love my mum. :smallsmile:
-Hopefully my sister would be at home when the zombie apocalypse strikes, because she is currently in training to be a nurse, a very useful post-apocalypse profession. She's about to move down to Sydney though... Maybe I should warn her against it. :smallbiggrin:
-As soon as we got our hands on a boat, I'd convince my parents to pick up my best mates (and their families, because my friends wouldn't leave their families behind, as far as I know), for several reasons.
--Matt, because he and his dad have been sailing their entire lives, they are both trained in some martial art form which I can't recall at the moment, are both rather intelligent (both being teachers). His mum also happens to be a nurse, very useful. His sister... Well, I'm not entirely sure what talents his younger sister posesses, but she's gorgeous, so woo. :smallbiggrin: Only negative with Matt is that his diabetes will require raids for insulin occasionally (I assume).
--Laura and Emily (sisters), not for any real reason aside from the fact that I love them both to death and can't really stand the thought of them getting munched. Negatives to this, 6 more mouths to feed (Dad, mum, and younger siblings aged 6,4).
--Gemma, who also has the advantage of bringing a dad who knows a bit about construction along. Not entirely sure about the rest of the family, haven't gotten to know them very well yet.
--All of them live on the same stretch of coast, so it would be easy to pick them all up.

Now, hopefully the power/water/phone grid would be up for a couple days or weeks after the zombie apocalypse begins, which would help coordinate the plan with my mates.

Of course, if I was at Sydney I'd just go to the nearest supply of medical supplies, down as many pills as I could, then open a vein and hopefully go out on a high before the zombies got me, because being trapped in a sprawling semi-familiar city of 5 million people with no access to reliable ranged weaponry would suck about as much as being eaten by zombies.

So yeah... thats my plan. :smallredface:

I just came up with all of that while I was sitting here writing, haha.

[Froogleyboy]

So, if chickens can actually live without their head

Um, I live on a chicken farm and they can't live without theyre heads. they just jerk around in death. That's all.

[loopy]

Um, I live on a chicken farm and they can't live without theyre heads. they just jerk around in death. That's all.

Besides, zombie headless chickens... not really much of a threat. Basically the only way they could zombify you is if you bit THEM.

[Eldan]

Some Insects, on the other hand...

[Fiendish_Dire_Moose]

Hey, hey, hey. As an intelligent, armed, fast zombie, I'm inherently at least seargent level.

Fine fine fine. But you'll be paid the same as entry level. I don't have tiered pay for my employees. Pay is based on how many more zombies you create on a per month basis.

[Yora]

Strange that nobody ever mentions it when it comes to a zombie apocalypse. But knowing how to wield a naginata would come in really handy!
It's a machete on a pole. It doesn't need ammo, it can chop zombies, you don't have to get within their nasty arms reach, you can stay mobile, and does not require much strength to use. As naginata fighting has become the martial art for small japanese women, even geeky wimps with no strength and stamina could use it somewhat effectively. That is, if you happen to have years of training. :smallbiggrin:

Also, my very first action would to grab some supplies. And then my very second action would be getting the hell away from places with many people! Cities are a zombies perfect environment. You can't see more than 20 or 30 meters ahead in most places, the floor is even and mostly clean of obstacles, and there will be some few thousands other zombies to help you hunt the living. Assumed zombies just wander around aimlessly in circles, very few of them will get more than maybe 1 km from the place they died. So just leave the end of town 2 km behind you, and chances are you will only see a single zombie every couple of days.
If you have to get supplies, there will usually be some stores at the edges of town. In some cases, poor planning by the city administration will have put large, well stocked stores almost in the middle of nowhere. It's still a store and a potential zombie-nest, but much better then trying to salvage stuff in the city. And if you're lucky, there will allready be other survivors having a camp nearby and clearing the area of zombies.

[BatRobin]

-Get a bunch of survivor friends
-Hide in Mall/Costco
-Give everyone one katana and one energy gun
-Take one katana and one energy gun
-Get minivans for everyone
-Get in one minivan with 4 friends
-Roll down windows
-Take off and kick zombie butt



(btw, I'm making a game in the Silly Message Board Games section with this premise, but more weapons and we act it out and stuff. It should be up later today.)

[McBish]

Well it depends on where I was living. I had plans set up for my college to go and live in the theater because of knowledge of the area and it is directly connected to the scene shop to reinforce the heavy doors, also has lots of areas only reachable by climbing ladders, which in my mind slow zombies can't get up. This is after breaking into my friends house and taking his horde of weapons: clubs, swords, all sorts of stuff. And my own machete. Only disadvantage is a lot of doors, but I could weld them shut.

Here at home I would rush out and gets some plywood and and other building supplies, then swing to the grocery store and get as much can food as possible while the infection isn't fully spread. While I am doing this, others would be destroying the stairs to our upstairs. So we can get up only using a ladder which we can pull up. Then after covering windows and reinforcing doors we lay low, make as little noise as we can and wait it out with our shotguns.

If I hit the road I would take our truck for the 4 wheel drive and because I think it would run over zombies better then our little car, but it has worse gas millage, so I would make sure to get a rubber hose and a gas can so I can siphon gas out of abandoned cars so I don't always have to go to gas stations.

[TehSheen]

Weapons
I'd get a nice battle rifle and an axe. If I could, I would arm my survival group with any weapons they can get, the guideline being "Take a melee weapon and a ranged weapon".

Allies and Friends
I would start a survival group consisting of my family and some of my good friends. If I see anybody on the road, I'll possibly communicate with them, exchange weapons and supplies, and talk about nearby settlements.

-Myself, for obvious reasons.
-My good buddy Conner, who is known to have combat expertise. (Fighter)
-Dad, who is a good strategist. (Planner)
-Mom, because she can make some GOOD meals. (Cook)
-Sisters, for obvious reasons. One of my sisters is a engineer, and the other is a doctor. Good for building and reinforcing, and for patching up the wounded.
-Bennett, who is a crackshot with guns. Also a pilot. (Shooter and Pilot)
-Brennan, is known to have some experience with melee weapons. (Fighter)
-Dane, my good ol' baseball bat slinging friend. (Fighter)

Vehicle
A nice trailer which would be modified to withstand assault from zombies.

Armor
Come on, we need armor for defence. Not just from zombies, from people as well. I'll get some bulletproof vests and some leather armor for basic defence.

Plan
Alright, as soon as I hear strange reports of a "Sickness", I'll go and gather up my friends and family, start a group, and meet at my house. From there, we shall gather supplies and weapons and start putting them in my trailer. I shall then go to the grocery store and buy a LOT of supplies from there. Then, I'll go to the gas station and buy some gas for my trailer. I then go to the local weapon stores, possibly a gun store.

I then go to the local WalMart and buy some stuff, plywood and some other stuff. At this point, I have already pooled in my money along with everybody else's, and I'll buy a HECK load of stuff.

I go to a vehicle depot and rent some vehicles for my buds. No need to worry about the money, as this is a zombie apocalypse after all.

Water, electricity, and those kind of things will probably still be on for a couple of days, maybe a week. I'll use that time to make the most out of it, say goodbye to everyone, get more water, enjoy the last few days of my normal life.

Off to the countryside we go! I make sure that all the vehicles we have are fueled up to the max, and we take the roads to go to small towns. As we go, we'll pass other towns and we'll trade, and I'll give them information about the zombie apocalypse and vital survival tips, in exchange for food of course.

After a while of just cruising on the roads, time to start thinking about fortifications. I'll go to a known settlement that has good fortifications, supplies, and friendly people, and start fortifing a abandoned house.

I'll start getting more people to join my survival group, and have them help out by scavenging for supplies and acting as scouts. I'm going to be picky, as it's one more mouth to feed.

Also, the settlement must be near water, so it's easier to get fish. I'll also find a ship, possibly one that ISN'T destroyed. If more and more zombies are popping up, my survival group is getting in that ship and going to an island.

An island would be very useful to live on, as there are animals, fish, and fruit to eat. At this point, I'll maintain a permanent residence on the island after making sure there are no zombies there, easily defendable, and plenty of supplies. We'll build a fort and make some regular trips to the mainland to gather up people and supplies.

That's my plan, looks like a pretty good one! :smallbiggrin:

[BatRobin]

Ok guys, there's a thread in Silly Message Board Games called Zombiepocalypse! (The game). Go check it out, and make a character!

[OverdrivePrime]

Vehicle: Kayak
Weapon 1: Bastard Sword
Weapon 2: 60lb recurve bow

Head up north along the Lake Michigan coast, at noon each day come ashore to raid a grocery store or a camping supply store. The bow is for hunting edible creatures and killing feral humans. I can outrun or out paddle any zombies that I can't kill with my sword. Eventually I'd make it to the peninsula islands where I should be safe for as long as I need.

[tribble]

Weapons: Not even bothering with ranged weaponry, getting a polearm and a long knife. (I coudln't hit the broadside of a barn with a gun or bow, honestly.)
Vehicle: Camel If I find one. if not, yoinking a horse from one of the local ranches.
Plan: get some buddies, head for the Llano Estacado a week's ride or so from my home. ride around stabbing zombies for lulz and people for food and water. good times.

[Solaris]

anything else I'm forgetting? you get to choose where you make your possible last stand. If you choose a military base or something similar all you get is ammo. NO BAZOOKAS!
Of course no bazookas. We haven't used those since the World War.
I'm bringing a coupla AT-4s.

Weapons
M4 carbine, plus my trusty crowbar. They got me through Iraq, they'll get me through the zombiepocalypse. You try telling me the M4 is unreliable, I'll laugh in your face. The AK-47, now that's unreliable. You can't shoot with that thing, you can only spray and pray. An M4's got pinpoint accuracy (in my hands, up to a hundred and fifty meters from the kneeling/braced with a bipod). Outside that range, Zed's not really a threat. Plus, y'know, the M4 takes 5.56mm NATO and .22-cal rounds. Those are about the most common rounds ever, and they're lightweight. If I can only loot for ammo, then all I need to do is hit up any US base. It's not much for melee, which is a weakness of its collabsible polymer buttstock, but hey - that's what my crowbar's for.
These are just weapons currently located in my building, mind you.
If possible, I'd pick up a good semiautomatic shotgun. A pump-action shotgun is slow. A semi is a killing machine. We clear rooms with those things. I wouldn't mind supplementing the crowbar with a trench knife, either. Frag grenades, of course, are always fun - especially if our grenadiers are using their M203s to fling those things. They like to have competitions to see who can be the most accurate out past the weapons supposed maximum range.
Just try and tell me that grenades/explosives are pointless. C'mon, I can use a good chuckle. A legless/limbless zed's not a threat, he's a terrain hazard.
By the way... our section's machinegunner can shoot down power lines with one shot. I'd put money on him being a frikkin' harvesting machine against Zed. Others are less skilled, but that's what you've got lots of bullets for.

Allies and Friends
My battery. You ever seen what a howitzer does loaded like a blunderbuss? That's 155mm of shrapnelly death for everything in front of it. Stoopid Max Brooks and his being unfamiliar with the evil that is the US Army's Field Artillery branch. We'd've schooled the infantry as soon as their line got overrun.
Also, Paladins are for pansies. Real men use the M198.
Sadly, we're all up in Alaska, so nobody's family is anywhere close. Bear in mind we're artillerymen, not dedicated infantry, so we're not the best of the best... even if we do pwn the crap out of the infantry up here. There're over a hundred of us in my battery alone, and we have experience fortifying a location against a hostile force in subzero temperatures with no power. The fact that we have six months of winter only makes things easier.

Vehicle
Well, barring vehicles looted from the motor pool just down the street... hm. Semi truck. Something Zed's gotta climb if he wants to get to me.

Armor
I have an ACH and an IOTV with DAPS and auxiliary pads. Also Kevlar gloves with anti-ballistic polymer plating, similarly-constructed knee/elbow pads, combat boots, and a uniform that humans can't bite through (we've tested it, hee). Mano-y-mano, unless we're looking at spitters or super-strong zombies, I'm all kinds of good. I'd jery-rig my DAPS/auxiliaries into protection for my forearms utilizing duct tape. Swarms are something to be concerned about, but that's why they train us to run wearing all that.

Plan
Survival's not my agenda.
Victory is.

Step one, we fortify our barracks. Done. It's already fortified. This building's designed to take bombs and laugh, plus the three doors are all quite strong. Worst case, a breach inside, we hole up in our rooms - which have very, very sturdy doors - and ready a counterattack by coordinating with cell phones/radios.
My base has independent supply systems. We're designed to be the last redoubt/hold up against an initial invasion. Just about all military bases are, but us being a theoretical front line against Japan and then Russia made it a priority. Therefore, our priority after securing our barracks as a stronghold would be expanding our area of occupation. I'd move onto the PX/Commissary, being that they're just across the street, and we have the benefit of having the infantry right across the street... and the hindrance of the other two batteries right next door.
I said we were good. I never said anything about those guys.
We can establish rooftop security, God knows I have enough experience standing on a roof looking for trouble, and take out any Zeds who wander nearby. We're close to the base's front gates, so I know we'd take most of 'em. Darkness? Piece of cake. We have NODs.

The local town being as small as it is, it's no sweat to mop up the infected. Just take FMTVs loaded up with riflemen and finally put our drive-by training to use. (They're fond of having us do convoy live-fires, which is where we sit in the beds of FMTVs and spew bullets at pop-up targets on the side of the road. It's even more pointless than it sounds on account of we don't take FMTVs into combat zones loaded up with troops... anymore.)

Once we've got the local town secured, we're pretty much good. This whole area is self-sufficient and heavily-armed. All we gotta do then is establish comms with what remains of the United States/Canada and make sure they're ready for us to come save their keisters along with the rest of the US military.

... Y'know, being military in the zombiepocalypse is just cheating.

[Eon]

hey solaris, make sure to visit minnesota during the zombiepocalypse so you can pick me and my pillow fort up so i can help fortify your base. :smalltongue:

[BatRobin]

Now if only you guys caried this to the Zombiepocalypse roleplay thread in the Silly Message Board Game section...


Because Solaris, Bandil, and me would make one kickass team.


*blasts zombie off its feet with bazooka*

*lights one zombie on fire and lets it walk through its horde*

*ducks into concrete base*

[Eon]

Now if only you guys caried this to the Zombiepocalypse roleplay thread in the Silly Message Board Game section...


Because Solaris, Bandil, and me would make one kickass team.


*blasts zombie off its feet with bazooka*

*lights one zombie on fire and lets it walk through its horde*

*ducks into concrete base*

try a normal PbP game

[The_JJ]

So yeah, my plan is to go hit up Solaris. :smallbiggrin:

If that's not an option, I can always stay close to home and get to Cheyenne Mountain. Barring that I can just head for the hills.

[_Zoot_]

Snip

Out of interest, what would you do with the civilians that wanted your protection?

Because if you had to feed say one or two hundred civilians that could cramp your stile.... Other wise i love your plan:

Fortify area

Kill Zombies

Save America (and Canada)

[CrimsonAngel]

I could build a tree house in an orchard and live of fruits and river water... I'm so going to die.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

I live in the largest city in Canada. Downtown too. I'm sorta screwed. Just make sure you take the trans-Canada, Solaris, and I'll try to hold out when you come calling.

[CrimsonAngel]

I'll come set them on fire. God I love fire...

[Bago!!!]

OHHH! I LOVE THIS!

Arsenal first!
I am TERRIBLE with my aim, even at close range so I think I'll go for a shot gun. Not much aiming is required and the zombie is either gonna die or be unable to get up for a while. And if you has buddies? Then hopefully I hit some of them.
Another weapon would be some sort of slashing weapon. Bullets WILL run out. A katana, or a scimitar. Preferably the katana. Course, an axe has its own uses outside of zombie slaying...

Now for the Vehicle!
All terrain jeep would be very favorable since its the slow zombies. Keep on moving whenever I could on whatever terrain I so desire (most of the time anyway). Or a giant snow plow. Either or.

Last Stand!
If I needed to make a last stand, it would be a Costco or some other place with LOTS of supplies, not just food or anything like that but things that can be used to be makeing traps and barricading myself. Not only that, but these places usually have more than one exit, security cameras, and different fall back points if set up reasonably well. Of course, this is assuming electricity or a generator is working. Failing that, I'd stay in a grocery store.
Course, I'd prefer to NOT be holed up in one place for long. Keep on moving. Avoid the hordes of the zombies and never stay in one place. Go to somewhere up north or something.

Getting bitten!
If I got bitten, then I'd probably cut off whatever appendage that got bitten. And then I'd bandage up, have my last bullet left, wait for an hour listening to some nice classic music or what not, looking at pictures of my family. Then, when I felt the coldness of death upon, BOOM.:smallcool:
Unless I was pissed, in which case I'd start making one big huge explosive and take as many of them down with me.

[Moff Chumley]

Weapons
Hmm... well, I'm going to break the two weapons rule, but all of these items are immediately available in my home or in neighbor's homes.
1) A nice, big knife. Good for ending fights with humans cleanly and quickly. (See below)
2) A good, solid Sig Sauer pistol.
3) En route to the next destination, a quick trip to the dojo gets us a big aluminum pole with a large blade on the end. Can't remember what they're called, but if anything can slice zombie heads at range, it's this guy.
4) My friend, who's meeting me, can provide me with a Kel-Tec RFB, and bayonet. It's a light, accurate gun. Should be perfect for picking off isolated zombies.

Vehicle
Well, I can get to my friend's place in any car, and then he has a truck we'll be taking.

Armor and other gear
Nice, thick leather jacket. Not bulletproof, but still pretty protective. As much water and food as we can fit, and a few extra gallons of gas. Coupla radios, flares, binoculars, shovels and such.

The Plan
Step 1: get the knife and pistol, get in the car, stop by Dojo and get other weapon, drive to friends place. Should take fifteen minutes max.
Step 2: drive into the hills. A road in the hills runs across the entire county, and there are very few trees, so we should be concealed from the outside and able to see within the valleys.
Step 3: Find out the status of other friends we've planned with. If everything is going according to plan, drive to a Costco and meet with other survivors. If Costco's been compromised, or no one else is heading there, start driving north. (Loosely populated for a few hundred miles until you hit the Oregon border)
Step 4: Gather supplies, other groups, and ammo at the Costco and nearby military base. Once possible, take off north (as above) and raid gas stations, supermarkets, and other survivors when necessary.
Step 5: Make our way to a geographically defensible village or small town the midwest, perhaps a three hour drive from a major city and a half hour drive from a larger town.
Step 6: Clear out zombies in the village, and recruit survivors. Fortify a small area, and begin conducting raids on nearby towns, gathering recruits and supplies all the while.
Step 7: Once we have a commune of several hundred, we begin farming. One Costco worth of food should supply a small village for long enough to get started.

The larger plan is iffy, but the beginning I have down solid.

[Eon]

the work some people are putting into these plans worry me. and i bet mine will work the best :smalltongue:. or if you don't want to go find it, make a pillow and blanket fort and hold out with a shotgun until Solaris comes and picks me up.

[Jack Squat]

I see a lot of problems with a lot of these plans.

Many of these rely on other sources for supplies. Legalities of looting aside, how do you know you'll get what you need? In a panic, everyone will be grabbing as many supplies as they can. We have it on a minor scale at the store I work at whenever there's a prediction of snow.

Chances are that by the time you get word of what's happening and get to the store, it'll either be already emptied or there will be a mob of panicky people who will be prepared to kill to get an extra case of Ramen.

What you guys should do is store up supplies of your own. I personally have a case of MREs, which I could easily stretch out to last at least a week so long as I'm not doing a lot of moving. My family keeps a relatively full pantry, and we could probably live a couple weeks off of the stuff in there, and can supplement it by hunting game with our lot of .22 ammo. When I move out, I'm going to have at least a month's worth of supplies.

If anyone wants to do it on the cheap, look at rice and canned goods. Rice is a great form of carbs, and you can really stretch out things like meant and cans of beans by adding rice to the mix. Keep a supply of vitamins to get necessary supplements, and keep a garden to cut down on the intake from your stores.

[Bago!!!]

Got it jack!
Still gonna head over to costco but growing food on your own is usually a bad idea if you buy most of the seed on the market, since their doing that whole genetic alteration thing to stop seeds fromg rowing, or so I beleive.

But supplies are fantastic!

[Eon]

I see a lot of problems with a lot of these plans.

Many of these rely on other sources for supplies. Legalities of looting aside, how do you know you'll get what you need? In a panic, everyone will be grabbing as many supplies as they can. We have it on a minor scale at the store I work at whenever there's a prediction of snow.

Chances are that by the time you get word of what's happening and get to the store, it'll either be already emptied or there will be a mob of panicky people who will be prepared to kill to get an extra case of Ramen.

What you guys should do is store up supplies of your own. I personally have a case of MREs, which I could easily stretch out to last at least a week so long as I'm not doing a lot of moving. My family keeps a relatively full pantry, and we could probably live a couple weeks off of the stuff in there, and can supplement it by hunting game with our lot of .22 ammo. When I move out, I'm going to have at least a month's worth of supplies.

If anyone wants to do it on the cheap, look at rice and canned goods. Rice is a great form of carbs, and you can really stretch out things like meant and cans of beans by adding rice to the mix. Keep a supply of vitamins to get necessary supplements, and keep a garden to cut down on the intake from your stores.

fine, i'll go and pick some apples, pick food from garden, plant some more... even though i never planned for that...

[Jack Squat]

Got it jack!
Still gonna head over to costco but growing food on your own is usually a bad idea if you buy most of the seed on the market, since their doing that whole genetic alteration thing to stop seeds fromg rowing, or so I beleive.

I haven't seen anything on this, though I've heard it.

I've got some plants growing in pots now, so I may try and test this, but I don't think it's true (afterall, the seeds you get had to come from somewhere). This may have come from how some plants don't grow true to type with the seeds, meaning that the seed can produce a plant that's radically different than the one it came from. Potatoes are a good example of this.

[Moff Chumley]

All I'm sayin, there's gonna be food in a Costco. It might be barbecue chips, or muffins, or hummus, but there's gonna be food. Not everything's gonna be looted. Also, I doubt there's gonna be a rush on the Karate place... e_e

[druid91]

Weapon 1: the piles of fire hardened spears I know how to make.
Weapon 2: combustible liquids and matches
Vehicle: an aircraft carrier.

Step 1:
Take a few spears and go to my friends college.

Step 2:
Take friend and others to an overrun navy base.

Step 3
Get enough coats and such to repel most zombie bites.

Step 4:
Launch an aircraft carrier. and then clear it of zombies.

Step 5:
Create a holding pen for zombies. With a mechanism for dumping zombies out onto other ships.

Step 6:
Catch zombies and have heavily armored zombie handlers strap explosives or some sort of collar that can cut the heads off put on them.

Step 7:
Use the zombies as a weapon to drive others away from supplies.


new!!
Step 8:
Attempt to team up with Solaris.

and then I don't know, play D&D with said friend or maybe watch the static on my tv.

[Jack Squat]

All I'm sayin, there's gonna be food in a Costco. It might be barbecue chips, or muffins, or hummus, but there's gonna be food. Not everything's gonna be looted. Also, I doubt there's gonna be a rush on the Karate place... e_e

Will what you end up finding have sufficient nutritional value? Can you guarantee there'll be enough to get you by until you're able to grow crops/ get hunting & gathering down?

As far as the karate place, it won't be the first place many people think of, but how many weapons are there in relation to how many people attend? You may find yourself out of luck.

[chiasaur11]

Will what you end up finding have sufficient nutritional value? Can you guarantee there'll be enough to get you by until you're able to grow crops/ get hunting & gathering down?


Trust me. There's, at least initially, more food than you could eat in a year. Although a lot of people could take it down a lot faster, and there's a fair deal of perishables, Costco has every food under the sun in vast quantities. And plenty of vitamins.

[_Zoot_]

I really have to agree with Jack here, depending on looting supplies is a bad idea, even in non-Zombie panics people will become extremely hostile in order to get some food/what ever the shop has, if you don't need to contend with them then you will find surviving much easer.

I recommend storing supply's over growing your own, this is because it can be really hard to fortify a garden and you rely on good weather to grow things. Storing supplies cost more but they can be used at any time, my family regularly uses and replaces our dooms-day supplies so that they don't go off.

[Jack Squat]

Trust me. There's, at least initially, more food than you could eat in a year. Although a lot of people could take it down a lot faster, and there's a fair deal of perishables, Costco has every food under the sun in vast quantities. And plenty of vitamins.

I know what Costco is.

Let me give some background. I work in a grocery store in Tennessee. This grocery store has roughly $400,000 worth of goods in the store (what we pay, not what you do), is the highest grossing one in the area, and I believe second or third of all in the chain - which extends throughout the south east. So we're good sized and get a fair amount of traffic.

If we were to get a prediction of snow for Wednesday, we'd be just about out of bread, milk, eggs, produce, and cereal by Monday. We'd also have a significant dent in the amount of canned goods, dried, and frozen foods. That's with a truck coming in Tomorrow. We'd remain fairly low on supplies until Thursday, and we'd only have anything worth getting left because a truck comes in on Tuesday.

If there were an actual world-shattering emergency, I give it 8 hours before everything's off the shelves. And that's if everyone paid, instead of just looting.

The problem is that stores now use something called JIT or Just-In-Time shipping. The back storerooms hold at most 3 days worth of supplies for normal operations. If anything happens that isn't predicted, even something as simple as an influx of people coming through during the summer, we run low on common foods.

Factor in the panic people will be under, and not getting food is the least of your worries.

[chiasaur11]

I know what Costco is.

Let me give some background. I work in a grocery store in Tennessee. This grocery store has roughly $400,000 worth of goods in the store (what we pay, not what you do), is the highest grossing one in the area, and I believe second or third of all in the chain - which extends throughout the south east. So we're good sized and get a fair amount of traffic.

If we were to get a prediction of snow for Wednesday, we'd be just about out of bread, milk, eggs, produce, and cereal by Monday. We'd also have a significant dent in the amount of canned goods, dried, and frozen foods. That's with a truck coming in Tomorrow. We'd remain fairly low on supplies until Thursday, and we'd only have anything worth getting left because a truck comes in on Tuesday.

If there were an actual world-shattering emergency, I give it 8 hours before everything's off the shelves. And that's if everyone paid, instead of just looting.

The problem is that stores now use something called JIT or Just-In-Time shipping. The back storerooms hold at most 3 days worth of supplies for normal operations. If anything happens that isn't predicted, even something as simple as an influx of people coming through during the summer, we run low on common foods.

Factor in the panic people will be under, and not getting food is the least of your worries.

Ah. Good to know.

[druid91]

you could eat zombies.:smallyuk::belkar:

[Mystic Muse]

okay. Since the posters on here are a little too clever. (dang you posters) One other thing to keep in mind.

The zombies are diseased. They exist solely to spread the disease and eating them will make you infected. They're more resident evil type zombies I guess. although don't worry. you don't have to fight Uroboros.:smallwink:

[druid91]

thats why you cook your food. but nightmare fuel aside, you could always hunt for food, I can't imagine slow zombies catching deer very well.

[UnChosenOne]

Vechile:Nucelar Sumarine that is capable to lauch Nucelar missiles and crew who will follow all orders that I give.
Weapon 1:Ak-47
Weapon 2:Nucelar missile

Plan:
Step 1:Get to the submarine (posibly with loved ones, if can).
Step 2:Get submarine middle to Atlantic ocean.
Step 3:Find out do Zombies die to starvation or to some other natural cause.
Step 4: A) If zombies do die to starvation (or some other natural cause), wait until all Zombies are dead B) If they don't, both I and crew (and other possible peoples on board) will make a suicide.
Step (If zombies do die to starvation or to some other natural cause and We did manage to survive long enough) 5: Look for other survivors.
Step 6: A) There isn't anyother survivors, both I order crew to make suicide and after that follow them to death. B) There is other Survivors make contact with them.
Step 7: Continue to make contacts with other survivors, make use of "we have nucelar missile"-card if they don't want to took contact with us.

[Eldan]

Just a thought:

Any vehicle? I'd like an Aircraft Carrier, please. After moving the planes to one side and moving a few hundred tuns of earth for farming to the empty space, that is.

[Moff Chumley]

Still not enough space. I'd go with an oil rig, or a small plane to some small, isolated island in the south pacific. Good luck to any zombies trying to find me there!

[FoE]

Still not enough space. I'd go with an oil rig, or a small plane to some small, isolated island in the south pacific. Good luck to any zombies trying to find me there!

Everybody else has the same idea and some of them are infected. Once they re-animate, they infect everyone else and suddenly your island/oil rig is overrun by zombies.

[Solaris]

Out of interest, what would you do with the civilians that wanted your protection?

Because if you had to feed say one or two hundred civilians that could cramp your stile.... Other wise i love your plan:

Fortify area

Kill Zombies

Save America (and Canada)

We'd protect 'em. Kinda inherent in savin' the day, ain't it? Not saying it wouldn't be hard, but hard is what we live for. There are definitely enough game animals up here to keep a population swollen with refugees alive over a winter provided we ration (and we would). A winter's all we need to clear half this state, and I'm just talkin' my battalion. The other half? Dude, they'd find out about the zombie outbreak about ten years after it ended. Working with the Canadians (because, let's face it, Canada's top half is empty and therefore zombie-free), we'd maneuver down to secure the Great Plains region and link up with the Army elements in the south. After we clean out our breadbasket, we begin the long, hard work of cleaning up the cities.
After that? We save the world.


Everybody else has the same idea and some of them are infected. Once they re-animate, they infect everyone else and suddenly your island/oil rig is overrun by zombies.
Yep. Everyone having the same idea is why I'm thinking the Siege of Ft Ain't Right can't last longer than a single winter. We'd starve out, otherwise, with our swollen population. Heck, they'd probably be the ones to bring us the infection.
That would be the part where the US Army turns from being the friendly heroes into being the scary bad guys.

[Eldan]

Well, since it's my aircraft carrier, I'd just give all civilians a simple choice:

getting shot or submit to, let's say, one month of quarantine.

[Destro_Yersul]

For starters, I would not take a gun. Those things have a tendency to make noise, and there's a good chance that as soon as they hear it, all the zombies are going to start shambling your way. Second, there's the problem of having enough ammo. It's a good weight, and sooner or later you will run out. Third, maintenance. Guns need regular cleaning and oiling to be kept in good working order. Fourth, actually hitting things. This is less of a problem than the others, but unless you're using an automatic (high ammo use, high noise factor) or a shotgun (lower range, high noise), and keep in mind that this would have to be something you could realistically acquire, you're going to need to hit. And unless you're the world's best shot, hitting a target as small as a head from long distance is not easy. And every miss is a wasted shot.

Me, I'd take some chainmail, a boar spear and a sword and go find a nice mountaintop to live on. Given preparation time, solar panels, wind generators, batteries, near a water source and with some way to get or grow food, I figure I could hold out for a fairly long time.

[SDF]

Great, one more zombie for me to have to shoot during the zompocalypse when I have my gun.

[GoC]

Good lord...
Not this again.:smallyuk:
Zombies+bulldozer=chunky zombie stew

[Etcetera]

Ahem. Fuel Consumption. Noise.

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you've covered the bulldozer with all sorts of spiky nasties.
And yes, I know I'm being too serious.

[Jack Squat]

Ahem. Fuel Consumption. Noise.

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you've covered the bulldozer with all sorts of spiky nasties.
And yes, I know I'm being too serious.

Spiky bits don't work on zombies as they don't feel pain.

Something like this (http://www.tcnj.edu/~hofmann/Granby/PICT0026.JPG) would work though.

[TehSheen]

Guns are not good for zombie killing. Sure, they might be useful, but more and more zombies will come. Unless you are in a fortified position with a lot of ammo, you'll need to rely on weapons that can't make a lot of noise. If you have training with a bow, that's a good weapon. You can fire a arrow right into a zombie's head, and you can just clean the arrow and reuse it later.

[Jack Squat]

Guns are not good for zombie killing. Sure, they might be useful, but more and more zombies will come. Unless you are in a fortified position with a lot of ammo, you'll need to rely on weapons that can't make a lot of noise. If you have training with a bow, that's a good weapon. You can fire a arrow right into a zombie's head, and you can just clean the arrow and reuse it later.

Generally speaking, a rag-tag group of survivors or a lone person with conventional weapons isn't going to do much to dent the zombie mass anyways. The logistics and support system needed just isn't there.

That being said, once you fire an arrow, you should consider it expended. If for no other reason than you can't really call a time-out in the middle of fighting a zombie horde to collect your arrows. You can carry more ammo than you can arrows, so a semi-auto carbine is probably one of the better choices.

It's light, (reasonably) accurate, has penetrating power, plenty of ammo (I can pretty easily keep 60 rounds -2 mags- of 5.56x45mm in a standard back pocket), and the capability to be suppressed.

Really, the best weapon is one you train with, whatever it may be. But some things to take into consideration is you don't want it to hinder your movement too much, and it needs to be comfortable to have on you when you're not using it. Else, I'd totally go with This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4nfZu8VqgQ) option :smallcool:

[BizzaroStormy]

Weapons First off, I'm gonna point out that unless you've got a six-barreled bullet hose to fire them through, .22 rounds are going to be useless, as will anything under a .45 ACP. Assuming the zombies require SOME parts of their body to function, I would carry along a pump-action shotgun with excess barrel trimmed off. As well as a trimmed-down Police riot shield and a machete.
Armor This would more or less just be a (likely stolen) shark suit under some basic clothing. Also, as stated in Weapons, I would cut down a police riot-shield for easy maneuverability.
Vehicle This is an easy one, basically anything with a large plow and a lot of horsepower. The cab of a Semi to be precise. Rather than being forced to maneuver around the obstacles of the road (stopped cars, chunks of building, zombies) i could just plow right through them.
Plan First thing, would be to find some other able-bodies folks to help keep zombies from biting my ass. Then we'd find a building like a good sized hotel. We'd start by sealing the entrances, then clearing the floors one by one from the ground up. Once the place is emptied of zombies, we'd dig a deep "moat" around the hotel with some rebar at the bottom to skewer anything dumb enough to fall in. Once that is done, we just add a draw bridge and start taking in as many people as we can.

[Durp]

I would just stand on top of a tall building and play guitar relly loudly, and when all of the zombies come up to the top, blow up the entire place with planted C4, and laugh maniacally. This is ideally, though.

[Destro_Yersul]

Something like this (http://www.tcnj.edu/~hofmann/Granby/PICT0026.JPG) would work though.

Ah, yes. The Killdozer. I want one.

[Solaris]

Guns are not good for zombie killing. Sure, they might be useful, but more and more zombies will come. Unless you are in a fortified position with a lot of ammo, you'll need to rely on weapons that can't make a lot of noise. If you have training with a bow, that's a good weapon. You can fire a arrow right into a zombie's head, and you can just clean the arrow and reuse it later.

Pfft, gimme my M4. Standard combat load, that's a hundred zed dead easy. I can outrun any zombies, and oh-yeah I can suppress the noise if need be. That's what two liter-bottles/loaves of bread/cats are for. It's not like the M4 is loud to begin with. We joke that it makes a high-pitched, helium-sounding 'pop-pop' when other guns go 'boom'.


Weapons First off, I'm gonna point out that unless you've got a six-barreled bullet hose to fire them through, .22 rounds are going to be useless, as will anything under a .45 ACP. Assuming the zombies require SOME parts of their body to function, I would carry along a pump-action shotgun with excess barrel trimmed off. As well as a trimmed-down Police riot shield and a machete.
I call BS. .22/5.56mm rounds can penetrate the skull, but they'll bounce around inside and make sure you got a kill. See, I'm not trying to pick zed off from a mile away, I'm trying to deal with the zed that's fifty meters from me. The zed a mile away isn't a threat, while the zed that's fifty meters from me is. They're also relatively quiet and significantly more accurate at higher rates of fire than larger rounds.
This from someone who, y'know, actually operates with the weapon. It made me laugh when Max Brooks said the M16-series was one of the worst weapons evah! on account of it's pretty much perfect for zombie-hunting while the weapon he proposed was pretty much the worst ever for zombie-hunting.


Ah, yes. The Killdozer. I want one.
God, don't we all.

[Jack Squat]

I call BS. .22/5.56mm rounds can penetrate the skull, but they'll bounce around inside and make sure you got a kill. See, I'm not trying to pick zed off from a mile away, I'm trying to deal with the zed that's fifty meters from me. The zed a mile away isn't a threat, while the zed that's fifty meters from me is. They're also relatively quiet and significantly more accurate at higher rates of fire than larger rounds.

.22lr and especially .22 short can't reliably penetrate a skull at range. Well, that's the argument anyways. I'm not sure how extensively that's been tested, and I don't have any pig head on hand to test it myself. I do know someone shot straight through a turkey and 9 layers of clothing @300 yards with a .22, but I don't know how well it'd work against bone. I've met a cop who had a 9mm deflect off his skull, so I know .22 from a pistol won't really do the job.

My preferred weapon would be either a 14.5" AR-15 or a M1 carbine, but I've currently only got access to shotguns and scoped rifles, so that's what I'm working with.

[daggaz]

Vehicle: Horse

No gas, all terrain.

.
Heh, do you have any idea how much a horse eats every day? They dont just eat grass, you know. City people...

[Solaris]

.22lr and especially .22 short can't reliably penetrate a skull at range. Well, that's the argument anyways. I'm not sure how extensively that's been tested, and I don't have any pig head on hand to test it myself. I do know someone shot straight through a turkey and 9 layers of clothing @300 yards with a .22, but I don't know how well it'd work against bone. I've met a cop who had a 9mm deflect off his skull, so I know .22 from a pistol won't really do the job.

My preferred weapon would be either a 14.5" AR-15 or a M1 carbine, but I've currently only got access to shotguns and scoped rifles, so that's what I'm working with.
Well, at under a hundred meters it's going to go through the skull. If you can get 5.56mm ammunition, even better - the full-metal jacket's armor-piercing capabilities means it'll go through skulls better. Outside that range, yeah, it sucks against bone.
... If you're shooting with a pistol that small, you're just asking to die.

[Moff Chumley]

Heh, do you have any idea how much a horse eats every day? They dont just eat grass, you know. City people...

Agreed. And cars don't turn into zombies when bitten.

No, the ideal zombie-escape vehichle is the noble camel. They can store up to two weeks of water! :smallbiggrin:

[Jack Squat]

Well, at under a hundred meters it's going to go through the skull. If you can get 5.56mm ammunition, even better - the full-metal jacket's armor-piercing capabilities means it'll go through skulls better. Outside that range, yeah, it sucks against bone.
... If you're shooting with a pistol that small, you're just asking to die.

When you say .22 are you referring to .223?

Otherwise, I was unaware that .22LR (what I was talking about) came in a 5.56 designation, and would like to know where I can pick up some.

I know for a fact that .22 shorts aren't good out past 25m. Well, they probably are, but you've got to do some funky bullet drop compensation.

[Solaris]

When you say .22 are you referring to .223?

Otherwise, I was unaware that .22LR (what I was talking about) came in a 5.56 designation, and would like to know where I can pick up some.

I know for a fact that .22 shorts aren't good out past 25m. Well, they probably are, but you've got to do some funky bullet drop compensation.

.223. They're close enough that we can use .22s in a pinch (or so I've been told - I haven't done it myself), but really prefer not to.

Sorry. I meant to specify rifles. The only thing I would trust a pistol for is "OHCRAPZOMBIEINMYFACE", but that's 'cause pistols and I get along like cats in a bag.

[Jack Squat]

They're not really close performance wise. a 40 grain .22lr has about 104 ft-lbs of energy, and a 55 grain .223 Remington has 1282.

[FunkyJeff]

You can easily get a conversion bolt that would allow your AR15 to fire .22lr

[BatRobin]

Why don't we all just go to my game thread for a zombie war take out our keyboards and head down to my zombiepocalypse game machine guns and type out a zombie war game in my other thread agree that we should all head down to my zombie war game thread machine guns are best for my zombie fighting game that we should all go to killing zombies.


Now let's head down to my zombie war game thread down there in the FreeForm Roleplay section down the boards Burger King and pick us up some burgers.

[Knaight]

Back on topic. Weapon wise I would take a sling, and a machete. Functionally infinite ammunition with the sling, which helps with hunting, and killing zombies. Worst case scenario, I grab some cat litter from a store and make sling bullets, clay works fairly well, and that is all some of it is. Then I haul off to some frigid wasteland like Alaska, and meet up with Solaris. Incendiaries are slung at zombies when that is an option.

[Tyrant]

This from someone who, y'know, actually operates with the weapon. It made me laugh when Max Brooks said the M16-series was one of the worst weapons evah! on account of it's pretty much perfect for zombie-hunting while the weapon he proposed was pretty much the worst ever for zombie-hunting.
Having never read the book, what weapon does he propose?

[Solaris]

Having never read the book, what weapon does he propose?

The AK-47. Depending on run, it's somewhere between mediocre accuracy but good stopping power and great reliability to piss-poor accuracy but good stopping power and great reliability.
... My M16's spent a lot more time in mud than it should and it still shot well enough. I'm not saying the M16-series is great, but it doesn't deserve the hate people give it.

[BizzaroStormy]

To clarify, I was referring to the .22lr and .22 short. When it comes down to it though, you don't really want the round to penetrate too much. If you're going for a headshot, you want to get through the skull once, then have the round bounce down into the brain stem. A torso shot with a 5.56 or 7.62 isn't going to mean much to something that doesn't feel pain and won't go into shock.

This is the same way with using incendiary devices. Since zombies cannot feel pain or fear, all setting them on fire is gonna do is make it hurt a lot more if the get a hold of you.

Slugs and buckshot are honestly the best options. If you're close, you can blow off the head or leg, or cause enough damage to the torso to stop the thing instantly. From long range, you'll probably knock the zombie down at least, giving to enough time to run. Plus with buckshot, there's always the chance you'll hit the zombie's spine and make it a paraplegic.

[Tyrant]

The AK-47. Depending on run, it's somewhere between mediocre accuracy but good stopping power and great reliability to piss-poor accuracy but good stopping power and great reliability.
... My M16's spent a lot more time in mud than it should and it still shot well enough. I'm not saying the M16-series is great, but it doesn't deserve the hate people give it.
That figures. I have an AK 47 (not full auto*). I haven't really had the chance to get an idea of how accurate it is yet. I bought and then realised I hadn't thought out a few things. I believed there was a firing range in town, but I was mistaken. My fall back is my uncle's property in the country, but I haven't built up an area to fire it yet. I also haven't found out for certain if I need to have the lower capacity magazines (10 round mags I believe) when I go shooting (it came with 2 30 round mags) because I recall seeing something about that on my brief read through of state law. I just haven't taken the time to make sure everything is good and I would prefer to not get hit with some type of legal action. I have taken the time to take it apart and reassemble it (wanted to make sure nothing was in the barrel or internal components). For the proposed scenario, I wouldn't consider myself proficient with it to the point of tagging zombies at beyond 10 meters.

*I want to make sure I am using the correct terminology when I explain it to other people on this. I am under the impression that the correct term is semi auto. Every trigger pull fires a bullet and resets the bolt and reloads. Basically, I pull the bolt to load the first round and after that I don't need to do anything but repeatedly pull the trigger to empty the mag.

[BizzaroStormy]

*I want to make sure I am using the correct terminology when I explain it to other people on this. I am under the impression that the correct term is semi auto. Every trigger pull fires a bullet and resets the bolt and reloads. Basically, I pull the bolt to load the first round and after that I don't need to do anything but repeatedly pull the trigger to empty the mag.

Yup, thats Semi-Auto

[Jack Squat]

That figures. I have an AK 47 (not full auto*). I haven't really had the chance to get an idea of how accurate it is yet. I bought and then realised I hadn't thought out a few things. I believed there was a firing range in town, but I was mistaken. My fall back is my uncle's property in the country, but I haven't built up an area to fire it yet. I also haven't found out for certain if I need to have the lower capacity magazines (10 round mags I believe) when I go shooting (it came with 2 30 round mags) because I recall seeing something about that on my brief read through of state law. I just haven't taken the time to make sure everything is good and I would prefer to not get hit with some type of legal action. I have taken the time to take it apart and reassemble it (wanted to make sure nothing was in the barrel or internal components). For the proposed scenario, I wouldn't consider myself proficient with it to the point of tagging zombies at beyond 10 meters.

An AK is going to give you about 2 -4 MOA (or 2-4" at 100 yards) if you have a half-decent one. This is ammo Dependant really, steel cased stuff will be less accurate, while brass will be better. If the barrel is pitted and the front is all dented up, you'll have much worse problems. In combat, stress gives you about twice as worse accuracy, so you're looking at around 8" at 100 yards in actual use if you're trained.

Now, most people won't be taking shots out that far without a scoped rifle, so you're looking more at 4" (or shooting at 50m), which is plenty good for head shots.

AFAIK, Indiana does not have a ban on "high capacity" magazines, so those 30 rounders should be good to go. If you really want to be sure, ask someone at a gun store or your police department. But to my knowledge, the only states that do so are CA, MD, MA, NJ and HI, as well as certain localities (such as Chicago and NYC).


*I want to make sure I am using the correct terminology when I explain it to other people on this. I am under the impression that the correct term is semi auto. Every trigger pull fires a bullet and resets the bolt and reloads. Basically, I pull the bolt to load the first round and after that I don't need to do anything but repeatedly pull the trigger to empty the mag.

Yes, the correct term is infact semi-auto. In conversation, you can really just say "AK-47" or "AK", as unless you've got some money to spend, you're not getting a select fire version.

[Tyrant]

An AK is going to give you about 2 -4 MOA (or 2-4" at 100 yards) if you have a half-decent one. This is ammo Dependant really, steel cased stuff will be less accurate, while brass will be better. If the barrel is pitted and the front is all dented up, you'll have much worse problems. In combat, stress gives you about twice as worse accuracy, so you're looking at around 8" at 100 yards in actual use if you're trained.

Now, most people won't be taking shots out that far without a scoped rifle, so you're looking more at 4" (or shooting at 50m), which is plenty good for head shots.

AFAIK, Indiana does not have a ban on "high capacity" magazines, so those 30 rounders should be good to go. If you really want to be sure, ask someone at a gun store or your police department. But to my knowledge, the only states that do so are CA, MD, MA, NJ and HI, as well as certain localities (such as Chicago and NYC).



Yes, the correct term is infact semi-auto. In conversation, you can really just say "AK-47" or "AK", as unless you've got some money to spend, you're not getting a select fire version.
Thanks for the info.

[GoC]

Crown of Thorns: A bulldozer can drag a heck of a lot of fuel and I only need to get away from civilization.


Spiky bits don't work on zombies as they don't feel pain.

Something like this (http://www.tcnj.edu/~hofmann/Granby/PICT0026.JPG) would work though.

That's bullet and grenade proof. I just need something zombie-proof.

just in case it isn't absolutely blindingly obvious: A zombie-pocalypse isn't possible in the real world.

[Jack Squat]

That's bullet and grenade proof. I just need something zombie-proof.

Straight up sheet metal would work for that...though I'd be worried about other people taking shots at me if I had a big, loud zombie crusher and they didn't.

One thing you could do is attach a giant chain flail infront of the plow, similar to what current EOD vehicles have. That'd have a better zombie-kill rate than a standard bulldozer plow.


just in case it isn't absolutely blindingly obvious: A zombie-pocalypse isn't possible in the real world.

It's Possible, just not walking dead type stuff. If you want a realistic one, the most likely scenario would be a hyper-aggressive, mutated form of either mad cow or rabies. So you'll get something much more similar to 28 Days Later, as opposed to Night of the Living Dead.

Regardless, a zombiepocalypse is a good metaphor for any major disaster that completely destroys how life works (such as, hurricanes, floods, riots, volcanic eruptions, etc).

[GoC]

It's Possible, just not walking dead type stuff. If you want a realistic one, the most likely scenario would be a hyper-aggressive, mutated form of either mad cow or rabies. So you'll get something much more similar to 28 Days Later, as opposed to Night of the Living Dead.
Yes, that's realistic. However:
1. They're not zombies (they haven't died).
2. They're just as fragile as humans and thus aren't really very dangerous.
3. The disease would be very uncontagious by disease standards and very obvious when contagious.

So while it would trigger a media sensation I'd guess at around a couple of hundred deaths or less.
One thing that's often neglected is that a zombiepocalypse isn't instant. It takes quite a while for a highly visible disease with low transmisability to propagate.


Regardless, a zombiepocalypse is a good metaphor for any major disaster that completely destroys how life works (such as, hurricanes, floods, riots, volcanic eruptions, etc).
True

[BizzaroStormy]

Yeah, one thing most zombie movies fail to address is the fact that even if 10,000 people were infected with such a virus, they would first off, try to kill each other. Second, the military would be on them like flies on s***.

Worst-case scenario, a carrier makes it out of the military's cleanup and infects another steaming pile for the military to vaporize.

Even if the military wasn't there for some reason, the geek population in the US and Canada alone would know mostly what to do. Island locales such as Japan would be relatively safe (unless the virus spread to the Japanese hornets...oh god) because word would get out and their borders would be like madagascar.

[Cleverdan22]

You have no idea how long I have been preparing for the day when zombies attack. I am so ready. I'm going to break it down by house (as my parents are divorced)

Father's: Definitely set. Under my bed I have a wooden sword. I can use this as a blunt bludgeoning weapon when I get into close quarters or need to make a quick escape. On the wall I have a bow with arrows nearby, and I use this on the first zombies. You know, the ones that wander around the streets and backyard before they really know where you are. In the kitchen there are plenty of large knives. In the closet there is a pistol. In the shed out back, we have gardening tools galore, as well as a shotgun. Shovel, hoe, rake, pitchfork, and my personal favorite, the garden weasel. Seriously, look it up. Shovel would probably be the one I carry the most.

Mother's: Less prepared, but better hiding. I only have a wooden sword there, as well as kitchen cutlery. However the attic is great, and very protected. If I hole myself up with enough food and water, I can make my stand there.

Now, I come to my friend's house. It is perfect. He never uses the first floor, and there is a staircase up to the second immediately once you enter the door. The staircase is really narrow, too. The door at the top of the stairs is the real beauty, however. It has a bolt lock and a chain lock. So we bolt it, cut a small hole in the door for initial firing, most likely of a machine gun or pistol. Then, if the zombies manage to pressure the door enough to break the bolt lock, the amount of space given by the chain lock will make a perfect slot for shooting zombies while they can't reach you. This is where I will go if I can get there before the majority of the population is infected, and I can reach the house without running into too many zombies.

In addition to doing all of this, I won't be killing any zombies without my cool shades on. But that's a given.

[varthalon]

I think one of the keys with zombiepocalypse weapon selection isn't which weapons is best but having a variety of weapons.

A long gun
A hand gun
A blunt melee weapon (with good reach)
A slashing melee weapon (with good reach)
various explosives

Weapons should be selected by what your familiar and good with... someone who doesn't know how to use a katana might as well have a machette... someone who doesn't know how to use an assault rifle should start with a handgun, etc.

Reach and stopping power are both important. A knife isn't going to cut it (well it will cut it but it won't stop it from being able to bite you). Ranged weapons are great if your good enough for head shots, piercing weapons not so great, baseball/cricket bats are easy to use if your strong enough to crush a skull badly enough to really drop the zombie but they also has a huge drawback of infected zombie blood splater and mearly denting a zombie's head isn't going to stop it. A sword I'm kind of even more iffy about, a great deal depends on your skill and being able to get those decapitating blows and you risk having your melee weapon stuck, lodged into a corpse for those few critical seconds when the rest of the horde swarms you under.

Firearms should be selected with a consideration to weight (if your in the field running vs in a fortified position), how well you can maintain it/replace it/use it when you haven't been able to keep it clean, and how easy it is to find ammunition for it. A .50 calibre desert eagle has great stopping power but its going to be much harder to find ammo for it than something that used 9mm or .30 ammunition. An M-60 or other SAW is a wonderful anti-zombie weapon, until you've tried to carry it and all of its ammo for four days when almost constantly on the run.

I think that the best combo would be a sniper riflefor protecting a fortified position and general killing zombies and flame throwers, assault rifles, pistols, and baseball bats for dashing for cover.

I kind of get pissed at the characters in many of the zombie movies because of their horrible weapon choice and usage. For example: The 2004 version of Dawn of the Dead (the one where they are stuck in the mall). A chainsaw? In a moving vehicle? Duh! And if somebody finds themselves barricaded in a gun and ammo store surrounded by thousands of zombies, start shooting don't just pick of a couple of zombies a day in your "I'm bored, lets shoot celebratie look alike zombies" game. Sure you may not have ENOUGH ammo for all the zombies in the area but every zombie you kill in the weeks before you are forced to make a run for food or another shelter is one less zombie you or another survivor has to deal with latter on. In that situation I'd pick my favorite couple of guns and as much ammo as I could carry for them and pack it up... and then use every other bullet in the place for accurate, sniper-action, zombie kill shots... killing several hundred zombies a day at least.

Don't try to fight from a moving vehicle. Pick/make something like the killdozer that can crush everything in your way. Clear out as many zombies as possible from your fortified possition. Then make your run and only when are near your destination stop again and kill any zombies that have followed you from inside your armored vehicle. Trying to shoot/slash/burn things from an unstable moving platform is just going to get a survivor killed.

[SurlySeraph]

You know, one thing about zombie literature that's always bothered me is the "Shoot them in the head!" thing. Their behavior indicates that most of their brain isn't functioning. They can sense things, move, and feed. You don't need much more than a forebrain for that. Why would losing a chunk of brain they aren't using do anything to them? "Shoot them in the spine!" makes the most sense to me. I can see the lungs being redundant if the zombifying agent allows zombies to survive by some form of anaerobic respiration (which, since it would be far less efficient than breathing, would explain their slow movement), and if you're not pumping oxygenated blood around the heart isn't very important. But you need signals from the nervous system if you want to move with any coordination.

Also, I have yet to hear evidence for the claim that .22 rounds bounce around inside the skull from any source other than the Zombie Survival Guide.

[Jack Squat]

The basis of the "shoot them in the head" thing is pretty much a "destroy the brain stem" type thing.

Of course, in Return of the Living Dead, the zombies couldn't be killed (and they're the ones who first went for brains over just human flesh), so it all depends on what you're using for reference.

[Thrawn183]

For a weapon I'd go with a Kel-Tec SU-16C. This trio of videos gives an excellent overview of the weapon system.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaqPowTdqtg

Long story short, it's extremely light, fires the 5.56 NATO round, and can even fire when the stock is folded which could make it effective at close range.

Really, I'd trade my second weapon for a whole lot more ammo and just call it a day.

[Jack Squat]

For a weapon I'd go with a Kel-Tec SU-16C. This trio of videos gives an excellent overview of the weapon system.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaqPowTdqtg

Long story short, it's extremely light, fires the 5.56 NATO round, and can even fire when the stock is folded which could make it effective at close range.

Really, I'd trade my second weapon for a whole lot more ammo and just call it a day.

There's better platforms out there for high-use If you can, AR-15s are an excellent choice, as is the Sig 556 (and if you really want to lay down money, the FN SCAR). If you're in a state/area that forbids them, Mini-14s will get the job done, but the magazines aren't as nice or abundant. All of these can fire the 5.56

Don't get me wrong, the Kel-Tec is a nice little rifle, but from reports I've heard about them, they're not meant for anything more than someone who goes to the range a couple times a year. That and with coming in half an inch under the general OAL requirement with the stock folded, they could get a lot of people in trouble should the ATF ever change their ruling that OAL is measured with folding stocks extended.

[BizzaroStormy]

The basis of the "shoot them in the head" thing is pretty much a "destroy the brain stem" type thing.

Of course, in Return of the Living Dead, the zombies couldn't be killed (and they're the ones who first went for brains over just human flesh), so it all depends on what you're using for reference.

Actually, I've recently decided to use the Zombieland zombie as my default.

[Vortling]

My zombie survival plan involves copious amounts of running, screaming, and dying.

[Cleverdan22]

Actually, I've recently decided to use the Zombieland zombie as my default.

Double tap, baby.

[SurlySeraph]

My zombie survival plan involves copious amounts of running, screaming, and dying.

That doesn't sound like a survival plan at at all. (How on Earth did I manage to misspell the word "all"?)

[Cleverdan22]

That doesn't sound like a survival plan at at.

But it does sound fairly realistic for a lot of people.

[Keshay]

We used to do an annual "Zombie Survival Team" over on the board I used to hang out on. I got on the team three years in a row for a variety of reasons, most important of which was the fact that my crazy survivalist uncle left me an abandoned mine that has been converted into a survival shelter, fully stocked with water, food and ammo enough to allow 20 folks to wait out a nuclear winter.

Granted I have not seen the place in 3 years, but i think that's where I'd head in the case of a zombie outbreak (or just about anything short of Yellowstone blowing up or the West coast falling into the Pacific, since that would be going towards danger...)

[Cleverdan22]

We used to do an annual "Zombie Survival Team" over on the board I used to hang out on. I got on the team three years in a row for a variety of reasons, most important of which was the fact that my crazy survivalist uncle left me an abandoned mine that has been converted into a survival shelter, fully stocked with water, food and ammo enough to allow 20 folks to wait out a nuclear winter.

Granted I have not seen the place in 3 years, but i think that's where I'd head in the case of a zombie outbreak (or just about anything short of Yellowstone blowing up or the West coast falling into the Pacific, since that would be going towards danger...)

That's the best thing I've ever heard.

[ghost_warlock]

Hm. If the zombipocalypse happened RIGHT NOW my odds of survival are hard to estimate.

One one hand, I'm in what's likely the most easily defensible/impenetrable location around. I'm on the sixth floor of a locked building. All of the stairwells are locked and secured with heavy steel doors. Access to elevators is also blocked by heavy steel doors. The way I see it, the only possible entry route to the building is the front doors on the ground floor, which are thick glass. So, ground floor might be dangerous but there's no way the zombies are getting upstairs.

The problem is that there's next-to-no food on my floor. There's emergency food storage on the ground floor, which could be risky getting to if zombies have busted through the front doors. Although, the food is on the opposite side of the building from the front doors, with many doors between that'd be easy to barricade.

The other issue is that this is a mental institute... There's only five of us staff to deal with a population of about 36 patients. :smalleek:

[varthalon]

I'd grab myself a killdozer with a great speaker system and drive around playing Slim Whitman's "Indian Love Call" making all their heads swell up and explode.

Obviously I'm expecting that it's going to be a undead martian invasion zombipocalypse .

[D_Lord]

Get my old black leather big coat, thike leather gloths and boots. Get a blackout thing for the hood, cover myself in old blood. Get some knifes and hide them in my coat Then ...
Lead the Zombies to all of you guys and then hide in the back of the zombies and watch the fight of zombies and the living. That's right if there is a zombiepocalypse, you'll find old D_Lord on the other side. Also I'll take any bombs I'll find. Bwhhahhahaha!

[chiasaur11]

Get my old black leather big coat, thike leather gloths and boots. Get a blackout thing for the hood, cover myself in old blood. Get some knifes and hide them in my coat Then ...
Lead the Zombies to all of you guys and then hide in the back of the zombies and watch the fight of zombies and the living. That's right if there is a zombiepocalypse, you'll find old D_Lord on the other side. Also I'll take any bombs I'll find. Bwhhahhahaha!

YOU FOOL!

Zombies harbor no reservations towars devouring quislings! You'll only be ensuring that you'll die first!

[D_Lord]

/\ Not if I'm the one who started it. :biggrin:

[Johel]

only 2 weapons per person.
one vehicle only.
no electricity. There aren't going to be people running power plants in a zombie apocalypse now are there?


Vehicle :
A car, to begin with. I need something fast with a loading capacity large enough for 1 week supply & material. Say what you want, but short term survival matters more, here. Worst case, if roads are blocked, I can still hijack a bicycle later... Anyway, bicycle will probably be my vehicle anyway, as soon as I can't find a functional car or fuel.

Weapons :
While guns sound sweet, I've never learned to use them.
Undeads can only be stopped for sure by cutting the head.
So we need some slashing weapon. Machete.
Easy to use, can also be a tool.
An crowbar as a side weapon can also be very useful.

Additional equipment :
Motorcycle helmet : the type that completely encase the head, because you don't want to get bitten or scratch in the face. Also, the small loss of peripheral vision isn't going to kill me as surely as the infection. I can still keep it open when I'm out of danger (aka : inside a shelter or inside the car) but will lock it whenever I get out.
2 thick jackets : with long sleeves, of course. Worn on top of each other, they will work as a padded armor of some sort. I'll probably reinforce them with ducktape for isolation and structural strength and use hardened plastic to make a full body armor, only lighter. Granted, it will not deflect arrows, bullets, blades and the likes but zombies bites, scratches, punches and kicks ? It will do. There might be a weak point at the joints but that's what skate boarding and rollers protection are for, right ?
Trouser : same treatment as the jackets, I'll find one that goes up to the sternum at least, something like a ski suit. The idea is that there shall be no possible exposed flesh or soft cloth between the jackets and the trouser.
Shoes : thick boots. Rangers or something. I'll find a way to cover it with hardened plastic, too, so that it can sustain a bit.

Sure, I'll look like a punk. But zombies don't care about fashion and frankly, I don't care too. So, let's go for effectiveness.

Big plan :

Find the weapons and body equipment
Find a functional car with large loading capacity.
Find a defensible house with as few and small windows as possible and at least 2 floors. Preferably a 2-fronts house rather than a 4-fronts.
Start collecting tin cans, water bottles, anything with a long delay of consumption, as well as fuel. Store all of this inside the house.
Start spotting other potential shelters as I travel for additional supply. Keep the car always ready with 1 week food and water supply.
Upgrade the car once I found a reliable one.
Upgrade the house into a bunker over time (barricades, locks).
Upgrade the secondary shelters if I can.
Loot a local library of whatever easy to apply knowledge it has.
Dispose of the lone Zombies if I can. That's it, I don't want any of them getting close enough to test the defenses.

[Jack Squat]

Motorcycle helmet : the type that completely encase the head, because you don't want to get bitten or scratch in the face. Also, the small loss of peripheral vision isn't going to kill me as surely as the infection. I can still keep it open when I'm out of danger (aka : inside a shelter or inside the car) but will lock it whenever I get out.

Try walking around with one for a few hours. They're heavy, limit your vision and hearing, and toss you off balance. They're not a bad idea for a cheap riot helmet replacement, but there's no need to wear it at all times, just if you're expecting to run into trouble. If you do wear one, you'll also want something to guard your neck...a hood or high collar would be a decent choice.

To be honest, if I need a helmet, I'm grabbing a construction one (maybe my steel pot, but that's still pretty heavy). I'm also not concerned with melee to the point that I'd be looking to add on another layer of protection, I'd be more worried about bonking my head while climbing around/under stuff, or having falling material.

[varthalon]

I'd try to find something like this for armor: Zombie Armor (http://www.undeadreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/flex-force.jpg)

You want every inch of skin covered, especially the eyes and mouth (protect yourself from infected blood spatter) and material that is resistant to zombie bites.

Ideally it should also be material that is NOT anti-ballistic so that if you or someone else in your group wearing the same thing does get infected you don't create a zombie that is near bullet-proof. The goggles should also be clear so if someone is turned everyone else can see that the guy in all that stuff is dead and still walking.

For a vehicle I'd try to get myself a military armored personel carrier. Easier than trying to put something together myself and more likely to hold together longer. Plus the things are designed from the beginning to allow the people inside to fight the things outside without exposing themselves.

Weaponwise I'd have to consider:
1) Weight and how easy it is to carry - a machine gun is great but it takes time to set up and you're not going to be carrying a lot of food or ammo after the weight of the gun itselve.
2) Recovery - Shotguns and axes are great weapons, but they have longer periods of recovery before you can use them again. You need weapons that aren't continually unavailable when your getting swarmed under.
3) Proficency - One of my first choices of a weapon vs zombies would be a flamethrower... except for the fact that I have zero idea how to use one.
4) Range, area of effect and type of damage - sniper rifles are great from behind protection but in the open you want something that sprays an area down and has enough force behind it to knock and keep 'em down. You need to consider a weapons effective range, stopping power, and ability to hit multiple targets if possible.
5) Endurance - You need to pick your weapon with a consideration to how well it will work in the field, how well you will be able to maintenance it, and how well you'll be able to keep your ammunition stocked. Swords blunt unless you keep them sharpened (anyone actually know how to sharpen a sword?), guns need to be kept oiled, free of dirt, etc. Arrows are an almost unlimited ammunition, if you know how to make them and have the materials. If you have a base of operations and have the materials to reshell then you can make your own ammo as long as you can find/make the powder and the bullets and police your brass.

I think I'd end up with:
a machette for close in melee-last resort and general tool.
A 9mm handgun as a backup.
An Atchisson Assault Shotgun or other semi-automatic shotgun with a huge magazine capacity as my primary "running from point A to point B weapon, and
a .22 or .30 caliber sniper rifle for my "shooting zombies from safety" weapon