Arms of Fire

[Hallavast]

In light of the upcoming (zombie)apocalypse, I might find myself in the market for a new rifle soon. I've seen seen some very nice lever-action 308s recently, and I can't deny I like what I see. I'm debating on whether or not to put glass on it if I buy the one i've had my eye on.

See, I figure I'll need something to hunt with that can also double as
(zombie)Raider repellant. I've also got a good deal on the table for some reloading dies so I'll be able to stock up on ammo for cheap.

So what are your thoughts? Got any other plans for the upcoming end of civilization as we know it? Any tips? Let's hear em!

[Cealocanth]

My survivalist friend has his entire basement devoted to the survival of any oncoming appocalypse. We got years of food, ammo, water, a pleathora of guns, medicine of all types.

As far as I can tell, he's the first one I'll go to if anything happens.

Never shot a gun before, so I can't set you up with a new rifle. I'm plenty good at the bow though.

[Moff Chumley]

Any semi automatic assault rifle with a good supressor is perfect for gettin' zombies.

Dunno about other uses, though. :smalltongue:

[Xyk]

For a zombie attack, you want a turret-mounted gatling gun and piles upon piles of ammunition.

[ForzaFiori]

For a zombie attack, you want a turret-mounted gatling gun and piles upon piles of ammunition.

wrong. Full auto = a bad thing. It wastes ammo that could be used for other zombies. Also, a gatling gun will be loud, and attract more zombies.

A supressed, semi auto rifle is your best best. Plenty of power to hit the long range head-shots, but doesn't blow ammo. Burst can also be acceptable.

Shotguns/handguns usually require you to get too close, same with melee weapons.

[Jack Squat]

How important are fast follow up shots to you?

With the lever action, you get a little faster follow ups, but I believe a lot of them are less accurate than some of the standard bolt-actions. I've been looking into a Savage rifle in .308, which are some of the most accurate rifles out-of-the box, for about half as much as the competition.

I'd definitely put a scope on a .308 rifle. It has an effective range quite a bit further out than what my eyes can accurately see. What one(s) are you looking at?

[Gravious]

Supposing you had infinite ammunition, a flamethrower would be perfect. As it is, I'd go for a bolt-action rifle. Not too slow loading, and with a scope you could get 'em in the head pretty easily.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

You know, as long as you can outrun (either foot or vehicle) everyone else, it won't matter what weapon you have. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[Gimliggamer]

I'd like to point out that headshots wouldn't stop real zombies. They would just keep coming. You need to blow off the legs.:smallbiggrin:

[Rawhide]

Supposing you had infinite ammunition, a flamethrower would be perfect. As it is, I'd go for a bolt-action rifle. Not too slow loading, and with a scope you could get 'em in the head pretty easily.

Never use a flamethrower on a zombie. All you do is add flame to the zombie's arsenal.

[Lord Raziere]

I'll be going with a trusty saber to take out zombies thank you, and a good mace or hammer in case that doesn't work and I have to start breaking their bones.

however if I truly need a ranged weapon, it'll be a crossbow, silent, easy to use light and portable.

[Hallavast]

How important are fast follow up shots to you?

With the lever action, you get a little faster follow ups, but I believe a lot of them are less accurate than some of the standard bolt-actions. I've been looking into a Savage rifle in .308, which are some of the most accurate rifles out-of-the box, for about half as much as the competition.

I'd definitely put a scope on a .308 rifle. It has an effective range quite a bit further out than what my eyes can accurately see. What one(s) are you looking at?

Yes. The lever action shortbarrel has less power and accuracy, but much faster follow up than a bolt-action. Plus, I'm after the ease of use in crowded and/or confined areas. The accuracy difference is (I've heard) about a 1/4 inch at 100 yds with a standard barrel. Double that with the 18 inch barrel. Still a kill shot. I've seen a few Savages on youtube. They are sexy. My friend's uncle is actually selling a ('54 i think) winchester .308. Looks great, but I haven't actually handled it. My other considerations are the Marlin .308 or even the .336. I've heard good things about them. I probably won't buy a scope till next November if I buy the rifle this year. In Arizona, we usually don't see a lot past 100 yds anyway. Too many trees up on the rim.


Also, I'm quick for a big guy, but I don't think I can outrun bullets. So if those zombies pick up any old nazi armaments, I'd like to return fire. And I'd like to add that I have quite the arsenal of melee weapons: hunting knife, chainsaw, baseball bat, and an extensive selection of crowbars, pipe wrenches and tire irons.

[Keld Denar]

I hunt with a .30/06. Its a great hunting rifle because the bullets fragment delightfully when they impact the bones of the deer. The resulting damage from the fragments does remarkable damage to the soft squishy bits behind, like heart, lungs, etc. I'd assume that they would perform similarly with a human skull and the zombie brain that lurks behind it. They are deadly accurate out to about 100-120 yards, depending on scope quality. They also come in semi-auto, and ammo for them is pretty cheap, respectively. About the best I can find though, is an 8 round clip. Contrast to a .300 mag, with a higher velocity, leaves dramatically smaller exit wounds.

Best thing is that it is VERY easily accessable, being one of the most popular hunting weapons. You could buy one at just about any comercial sporting goods store.

[Vaynor]

I'd like to point out that headshots wouldn't stop real zombies. They would just keep coming. You need to blow off the legs.:smallbiggrin:

"Real zombies".

:smallannoyed:

[Bhu]

If your gonna mess up the zombies you want one of these

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4ebtj1jR7c

[Spiryt]

Damn, people really treat their zombies seriously in the Internet...

[thubby]

Shotguns/handguns usually require you to get too close, same with melee weapons.

this is blatantly false. anything at a range an untrained person could reasonably hit is well within effective range of either gun.

[IonDragon]

The Mosin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosin) is my favorite weapon for any and all apocalypses... Apocoli... You know, I've never had cause to pluralize that ever before. Anyway, it's a hardy weapon, simple in construction requiring minimal maint. A close runner up is the AK-47. That weapon can literally be buried in the mud, picked up, shaken off and fired.

Durability and resilience are my primary deciding factors. You don't want you weapon to fail on you in when you need it.

[Lord Loss]

If they're Necromorphs, you'll want to take the legs first.:smallbiggrin:.

[Jack Squat]

Yes. The lever action shortbarrel has less power and accuracy, but much faster follow up than a bolt-action. Plus, I'm after the ease of use in crowded and/or confined areas. The accuracy difference is (I've heard) about a 1/4 inch at 100 yds with a standard barrel. Double that with the 18 inch barrel. Still a kill shot. I've seen a few Savages on youtube. They are sexy. My friend's uncle is actually selling a ('54 i think) winchester .308. Looks great, but I haven't actually handled it. My other considerations are the Marlin .308 or even the .336. I've heard good things about them. I probably won't buy a scope till next November if I buy the rifle this year. In Arizona, we usually don't see a lot past 100 yds anyway. Too many trees up on the rim.

If you're wanting ease of use in crowded areas, I'd look into a AR 15. Accurate, versatile range, high magazine capacity, and ready available spare parts. The .223 round is good for hunting as well, you just have to use a soft-nose expanding round rather than standard ball. If you're wanting to keep the .308 round, look into a SR-25 type rifle (a .308 AR).

Not that there's anything wrong with a lever action, especially not for hunting, just tossing out another option to consider if you're putting zombies into the equation.


A close runner up is the AK-47. That weapon can literally be buried in the mud, picked up, shaken off and fired.

No it can't, in fact burying any gun in mud and then trying to fire it without a good cleaning is a good way to blow it to pieces. In any case, I've personally seen well-kept AKs fail. Generally it's a magazine related problem. I'm not touting the benefits of any platform, it's just a known fact that any gun can, and will fail when you need it most.

[Mathis]

My survivalist friend has his entire basement devoted to the survival of any oncoming appocalypse. We got years of food, ammo, water, a pleathora of guns, medicine of all types.

As far as I can tell, he's the first one I'll go to if anything happens.

Never shot a gun before, so I can't set you up with a new rifle. I'm plenty good at the bow though.

Your friend fails at zombie survival. Everyone should know that basements are death-traps in an apocalypse with zombies. This is really basic survivalist knowledge that any future zombieapocalypsesurvivor has to know in order to reach his goal.

To the OP. Regardless of what gun you end up choosing, make sure it's one with a caliber that's easily accesible in your area, it should also be light so that you can carry alot of it with you. Oh, and suppressors are alpha and omega when trying to survive zombies. Also, never forget your trusty machete, it's a tool you won't want to be without when the end of days come about.

[Zen Monkey]

You have to remember that zombies don't feel pain, so fire and small piercing wounds probably don't do much. Blood loss and organ penetration are probably also useless concerns. I'd look for stopping power, something that can deliver enough punch to knock them down. Given that fear/anxiety/adrenaline might also be making aim a bit shaky, I'd go for the shotgun. It's easy to use and you don't have to be precise, possibly even hitting several at a time if they're clustered together. If you're worried about zombies overwhelming you in between shots, you could always go for an automatic shotgun (see Terry Crews in The Expendables) though it will have a nasty recoil for smaller people.

A friend of mine has a theory that gamers will be the ones to survive a zombie/alien apocalypse. Normal people don't think "hey, shotgun shells, I'll pick these up now in case I find a shotgun later." Gamers, however, would see logic in carrying a backpack full of ammo and parts for guns you don't have with you.

[SDF]

I can't think of why anyone would need an SR-25 pattern rifle. Those things cost more than a car with proper optics. (And if you are spending 5,000-10,000 USD on a gun, you may at least front the several grand for a good scope) AR-10's are actually affordable, and you don't have to be Jack Bauer to get your money's worth.

Depends on why you are getting it. If it's for plinking and fun, get a not too expensive name brand (or shop around a lot) gun of the type you want. If it is for home defense, a 20g shotgun is probably best. If it is to be your for fun zombpocalypse gun get what is coolest. If it is a serious survival gun get a decent AR-15 or AK (AK prices end where decent AR prices begin) and put hundreds of dollars of ammo through it for practice. Getting it for a REAL LIVE Zombpocalypse? Spend the money on a therapist.

[Jack Squat]

I can't think of why anyone would need an SR-25 pattern rifle. Those things cost more than a car with proper optics. (And if you are spending 5,000-10,000 USD on a gun, you may at least front the several grand for a good scope) AR-10's are actually affordable, and you don't have to be Jack Bauer to get your money's worth.

I'm generally seeing SR-25 type rifles going for about $2500-$3000 on the high end, with good variable power scopes being about 800-1200, depending.

Now, I'll agree that an actual SR-25 (and variants) is ridiculously over-priced, which is why I said SR-25 type. In a similar vein, AR-10 only refers to the Armalite production rifles, so I believe we're actually talking about the same thing, a .308 AR platform that's priced somewhere between $1200 (DPMS) and $3000 (LRT).

My first suggestion for a hunting rifle is still a Savage, since it and a decent scope will run you about as much as a Remington sans-scope.

[Telonius]

Damn, people really treat their zombies seriously in the Internet...

Zombies are serious business (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SeriousBusiness).

Your choice of weapon really depends on the precise nature of the zombie threat. Are the zombies shamblers or runners? Is zombification achieved through contact, or mystical/magical means? Is fire effective? Will a headshot kill it, or is full decapitation required? Are we talking the classic outbreak scenario, or is there a "keystone zombie" or malefactor controlling them? Can they swim?

Unless you can narrow down the threat, you'll need to prepare for all of those options.

[SpiderMew]

Zombies like to eat live flesh right?
Well then why not make yourself smell like rotting flesh?
Make your self stink (like death), and zombies should avoid you!

edit: my a button likes to stick now.

[Jack Squat]

Zombies like to eat live flesh right?
Well then why not make yourself smell like rotting flesh?
Make your self stink (like deth), and zombies should avoid you!

It's for this reason that in the past 3 years I've only bathed in used frying grease.

[skywalker]

wrong. Full auto = a bad thing. It wastes ammo that could be used for other zombies. Also, a gatling gun will be loud, and attract more zombies.

A supressed, semi auto rifle is your best best. Plenty of power to hit the long range head-shots, but doesn't blow ammo. Burst can also be acceptable.

I'd like to question the prevailing logic here. Why are zombies attracted to the sound of gunfire? Attacking someone because you heard them firing a gun is beyond mindless. It is out-and-out dumb. Now, maybe in the later stages of the apocalypse, when most everyone else has been eaten, and the damned things are starving and crazed. Then silence is golden? But to start with? Defending yourself from zombies is like defending yourself from everyone else. A big, scary-loud gun makes you look a lot less tasty compared to those deliciously unarmed folks over there.


Your friend fails at zombie survival. Everyone should know that basements are death-traps in an apocalypse with zombies. This is really basic survivalist knowledge that any future zombieapocalypsesurvivor has to know in order to reach his goal.

I don't think he said they were planning on staying there. Merely that his stash was currently kept there. There's a difference.


Depends on why you are getting it. If it's for plinking and fun, get a not too expensive name brand (or shop around a lot) gun of the type you want. If it is for home defense, a 20g shotgun is probably best.

I don't think I've ever met anyone over 14 who couldn't handle a 12 gauge when it counted. I mean, maybe not the 3" magnum slugs, but even standard 00 buck was fine. The amount of fiery death you trade for a little comfort is simply uneconomical. Plus, some 12 gauges may actually have less recoil than a 20, due to being overbuilt to handle the recoil. I know the worst gun (for felt recoil) I ever shot was a 28 gauge. That thing was brutal.


It's for this reason that in the past 3 years I've only bathed in used frying grease.

So that's why you're always covered in Old Spice!

[CrimsonAngel]

The zombies are now DIAMONDS! Flesh eating, mindless diamonds.

[Jack Squat]

I'd like to question the prevailing logic here. Why are zombies attracted to the sound of gunfire? Attacking someone because you heard them firing a gun is beyond mindless. It is out-and-out dumb. Now, maybe in the later stages of the apocalypse, when most everyone else has been eaten, and the damned things are starving and crazed. Then silence is golden? But to start with? Defending yourself from zombies is like defending yourself from everyone else. A big, scary-loud gun makes you look a lot less tasty compared to those deliciously unarmed folks over there.

Generally, zombies are considered to be attracted to sound. I'd say they also probably don't have the cognitive function to distinguish between sounds. Also depending on how cocky/desperate they are, it could attract raiders.


I don't think I've ever met anyone over 14 who couldn't handle a 12 gauge when it counted. I mean, maybe not the 3" magnum slugs, but even standard 00 buck was fine. The amount of fiery death you trade for a little comfort is simply uneconomical. Plus, some 12 gauges may actually have less recoil than a 20, due to being overbuilt to handle the recoil. I know the worst gun (for felt recoil) I ever shot was a 28 gauge. That thing was brutal.

My Remington Model 11 (rebrand of Browning A-5) is absolutely brutal with recoil. It somehow manages to have more recoil than a pump gun. I'll have to bring it up to the range next time.


So that's why you're always covered in Old Spice!

No, that's because Bruce Campbell recommends it :smalltongue:

[Keld Denar]

If you are worried about recoil on a shotgun, go with a semi-auto. Most of the top end ones (like Benelli) have a spring operated spent casing ejection system that serves the duel purpose of absorbing the recoil. You'll often get much less recoil with a semi-auto than you will with a pump or breech action due to this.

[druid91]

Artillery is best.

[Illiterate Scribe]

I kill zombies with my totes gnar kung fu. Got one's neck clenched firmly between my thighs right now, actually.

[SpiderMew]

I kill zombies with my totes gnar kung fu. Got one's neck clenched firmly between my thighs right now, actually.

Sounds awfuly risky to use Kung-Fu to fight zombies.
Even more to have one by the neck with your legs and type on the computer at the same time. What if he goes and bites you in the crotch or in any part of your leg?

[IonDragon]

No it can't, in fact burying any gun in mud and then trying to fire it without a good cleaning is a good way to blow it to pieces. In any case, I've personally seen well-kept AKs fail. Generally it's a magazine related problem. I'm not touting the benefits of any platform, it's just a known fact that any gun can, and will fail when you need it most.

Can. See also Ground War: The Evolution of the Battlefield, where they recorded them doing it and explained why it works.

[Jack Squat]

Can. See also Ground War: The Evolution of the Battlefield, where they recorded them doing it and explained why it works.

I've only seen options to pay for that DVD, so I'll pass on it, but I found some videos of guys dragging their AKs through "mud" (as in, dirty water that has enough particles to nix visibility. Not real mud, which will pull a tennis shoe off if you step in it) and firing. If mud gets in the barrel, shaking won't get it out, and you stand a good chance of blowing the barrel due to the bullet getting slowed enough to cause overpressure and bulge/split the barrel. I've seen the aftermath many times on hunting rifles, and fail to see how an AK would be immune.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Cracked actually has an article about this up. (http://www.cracked.com/article_18683_7-scientific-reasons-zombie-outbreak-would-fail-quickly.html)

In other news: I'd, personally, go for something lightweight, fast, and relatively simple with plentiful ammo.
Like a Beretta M9 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M9_pistol) (Or whatever the civilian version is called.)

It has a good ammo capacity, it's fast on the reload, it's light, it's simple to maintain, and, if I remember my pistol qualifications correctly, its effective range is something like fifty meters.
My "Weaponry List" for the Zombie Apocalypse is as follows:
M9
Machete
Crowbar
Halberd
Shotgun If Available
Submachine Gun
(In that Order of Preference)

[Lycan 01]

Best thing about having a pistol on you during the Zombie Apocalypse? If an undead grabs you, you can stick the barrel in their mouth. They can't bite you, and you'd have to be a complete idiot to mess up a headshot. :smalltongue:

[Bhu]

Well if we're seriously considering a survival type scenario we'd go with common/easy to find ammo/firearms. And coincidentally a survivalist website has made up a list (scroll down) http://www.alpinesurvival.com/gtg-ammo.htm

Personally I'd still want one of these just for wtf purposes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8hlj4EbdsE

[skywalker]

Generally, zombies are considered to be attracted to sound. I'd say they also probably don't have the cognitive function to distinguish between sounds. Also depending on how cocky/desperate they are, it could attract raiders.

Even ants flee dangerous things. Even dangerous things that look tasty. They eat non-dangerous things first.


My Remington Model 11 (rebrand of Browning A-5) is absolutely brutal with recoil. It somehow manages to have more recoil than a pump gun. I'll have to bring it up to the range next time.

I assumed we were generally considering firearms that were less than a century old. Forgive me. :smalltongue:


No, that's because Bruce Campbell recommends it :smalltongue:

Fun fact, I had no idea until today that Bruce Campbell had advertised Old Spice. Then, tonight, someone mentioned that Bruce Campbell had done ads for them.


Cracked actually has an article about this up. (http://www.cracked.com/article_18683_7-scientific-reasons-zombie-outbreak-would-fail-quickly.html)

Funnily enough, I mentioned this thread tonight, and someone said "Hey, I read an article on Cracked about that earlier!"


Well if we're seriously considering a survival type scenario we'd go with common/easy to find ammo/firearms. And coincidentally a survivalist website has made up a list (scroll down) http://www.alpinesurvival.com/gtg-ammo.htm

Well, that's a handy list!


Personally I'd still want one of these just for wtf purposes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8hlj4EbdsE

Those are so awesome.