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[Patrick]

Maybe we could eventually meet up!

That'd be pretty cool. Bring supplies if you can. I'm sure the mainland is a lot more likely to have stuff than an isolated island.

I just hope you're aware that if you do come visit, that's going to be a hell of a lot of paddling. Sitka's way down by Juneau in southeast.

[Trollstormur]

I think he is just trolling, probably in response to the humor-related thread. Gotta love a forum where a mod trolls.

lol b&

[LordNagash]

Guys, I was thinking about this last night and wonder what you think of a war hammer as a weapon choice.  Made with some kind of dense steel and with two heads instead of a striking head and a trailing spike, that way there's less chance you'll accidentally spike some zombie in the head and get it stuck.

It would be heavy, and would tire you out very fast in combat. Probably better off with an axe or a machete. Though I am assuming you mean something like a sledge hammer. Something with a smaller head would probably have a good chance of getting stuck more often. IMO of course.

[Johnny C]

Half-Life 2 has taught me that crowbars will be invaluable both in the shattering of zombie skull and the opening of any door which has been boarded up.

Not locked doors, though. You have to restore power to those.

[Nodaisho]

Yes, as opposed to doing anything drastic like... breaking the glass and opening it from the other side, or pulling the hinges out, or heaven forbid, using your gravity gun that is capable of punting cars thirty feet to open a cheap wooden door.

My melee weapon of choice would probably be a baseball bat, I have a wooden sword, but I don't know if I would actually use it, and if I did, I don't know how long it would last, it was a cheap $20 one. I know my baseball bat friends woody and al would last a good while though.

[est]

Wait, hang on a sec.  I've just re-read most of the posts in this thread and I think I am doing it wrong.  Let me try again.

You guys are all fucking stupid and you're all gonna get eaten.  I am the only one with a foolproof plan and also the best weapons and the best experience with said weapons.   Ha ha ha, have fun eating brains with your dipshit zombie pals, meatbags!

[Switchblade]

On a serious note (i.e. not planning on having an entire regiment at my disposal) my weapon of choice would be a Gladius and light shield. The shield's there for warding - if I'm attacked by two at once, I can hold one off while I deal with the other.

Why a gladius? It's a short, fairly light but still powerful sword designed for chopping and stabbing. Keep it sharp and it can easily decapitate. Or, you can drive it into the brain through the forehead (less advisable because of the risk of it getting stuck, but still possible, especially in cramped quarters)

My backup weapon, assuming I could find one, would be a .22 caliber semiautomatic pistol.

The two most important parts of my arsenal, however, would be thick boots and thick gauntlets. The most likely places on the human body to get bitten are the forearms and the lower legs. Thick leather reinforced with chainmail would be enough to stop zombie teeth from penetrating. Combine that with a skiing mask and goggles to prevent infected matter from splashing in my face and infecting me that way and you've covered the vast majority of possible ways to get infected.

[OnewingedAngel]

That's a good idea. However, I would go with a slightly larger calibur weapon as a .22 may or may not stop the zombie from falling on to you, where as a 9mm or .45 cal handgun will have some knockback, and looking back at the tight quarters, throwing a zombie back in other zombies *may* buy you some time. And I would recommend a longer sword for the same reason, no sense in letting them get any closer than absolutely possible.

[KharBevNor]

A war hammer might be a good idea. Much better than a baseball bat. I still do not get why people are suggesting baseball bats! You MUST CONCENTRATE THE FORCE OF THE BLOW TO SIGNIFICANTLY DAMAGE THE BRAIN.

For those who don't know, a war hammer:

[Stryc9Fuego]

I see two problems: one is what if it gets stuck? the second is that it's good for the initial swing, but what about the backswing? with a short sword or a machete, you can maneuver it more quickly. With something that "point-heavy", it would be more difficult to bring back around.

[0bsessions]

I know Dead Rising isn't the best thing to be basing decisions on, but some of this stands to reason.

Dead Rising actually went vaguely into my ideas. I've cobbled it together from parts of Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z, the Romero series, Shaun of the Dead, Dead Rising, Walking Dead and Resident Evil and stuck primarily with the bits that were consistant throughout.

The two most important parts of my arsenal, however, would be thick boots and thick gauntlets. The most likely places on the human body to get bitten are the forearms and the lower legs. Thick leather reinforced with chainmail would be enough to stop zombie teeth from penetrating. Combine that with a skiing mask and goggles to prevent infected matter from splashing in my face and infecting me that way and you've covered the vast majority of possible ways to get infected.

Jesus. Throw in some shoulder pads and you're a walking Rob Liefeld design. In seriousness, though, the boots are a good idea, but everything else seems sketchy. Gauntlets would be relatively limiting on your dexterity and you'd probably be better served with leather gloves of some sort, not to mention gauntlets are an impractical and difficult thing to get ahold of. You'd be better served with riot gear if you're going to go with a fantasy scenario on what you have on hand. In terms of the skiing mask, it's going to be more harm than good. 28 Days Later is about the only reference point for assuming you're going to turn by getting it in your mouth or eyes (And as I said before, we're all fucked if it happened that way). If that were the case, you'd starve to death as no food or water would be safe. From there, you're going to seriously wear yourself down with heatstroke wearing a ski mask at all times.

That's a good idea. However, I would go with a slightly larger calibur weapon as a .22 may or may not stop the zombie from falling on to you, where as a 9mm or .45 cal handgun will have some knockback, and looking back at the tight quarters, throwing a zombie back in other zombies *may* buy you some time. And I would recommend a longer sword for the same reason, no sense in letting them get any closer than absolutely possible.

Why would you be shooting them at a close enough range for them falling on you to be a risk? If they're that close, you might as well be using a bludgeoning weapon.

[Stryc9Fuego]

Guys, I have let this slide for a while, but it's really getting on my tits now.

it's "calibre" or "caliber", not "calibur".

Caliber

Calibre

CALIBURRR!

[Patrick]

tell it 2 soul calibur, omg ur such n00bz

@Khar: I'm going to have to agree with Stryc9Fuego here, but only on that specific example of a warhammer. The point is too long and the shape really is all too perfect for getting stuck.

I'll take a double-edged battleaxe or plain old claw hammer any day. Hell, maybe even a 15lb sledgehammer, but I'd be afraid of the head falling off the handle.

[Jimmy the Squid]

The only gun I would be carrying would be the one I would shoot myself with when I eventually get cornered by a horde of walking corpses. Anything else would be a waste of space.

[0bsessions]

Even the shittiest gun gives you several shots at range, whereas a melee weapon always requires you to get up and close. I don't see why you guys are all shutting into the "guns are fucking useless!" mentality

Because if you're "at range," you likely shouldn't be engaging to begin with. A gun might be useful in certain close quarters upon initial escape, but once you're on the move, you should be avoiding areas where you could potentially be trapped by a zombie anyway. Once you're holed up, you'd be better off with a compound bow of some sort as the ammo isn't nearly as finite and is generally reusable.

[Jimmy the Squid]

Why is it a waste of space? Even the shittiest gun gives you several shots at range, whereas a melee weapon always requires you to get up and close. I don't see why you guys are all shutting into the "guns are fucking useless!" mentality because even though they might attract more zombies, in a last resort situation, you'll thank Azathoth you brought one.

And it's not as if a Beretta M9 takes a lot of space, or weighs a lot.

It's mainly because the only type of gun I can hold without my hands shaking is a rifle and therefore heavy (heavier than a handgun at least) and as I've mentioned before, my vision is not great at anything over about 50m. For some reason I am way more comfortable and accurate with a bow. Besides, living in Australia and pretty much in the middle of the city I, like Est, would probably not be able to get hold of a gun anyway and would most likely fall during the first hours of the zombie attack. Of course, the door to my apartment is fairly sturdy, the balconey of my room is easily 15-19 feet off of the ground with a pit dropping down a further 3 feet below normal ground level and nothing to climb nearby (not that zombies have great motor function) and the balconey that looks out over the street is fronted by a corrugated iron awning with a slightly less than 10 foot drop. I could probably hole up for a few days if I kept a low profile and try to make a break for it when the roads and the smoke has cleared.
It's not so much of a "guns are useless" mentality but rather a "guns are tricky hard practically impossible to get hold off in this country if you're not in the military or a farmer. I've never used one and will probably never get the chance, they are barely even worth thinking about. I suppose my best bet would be to find transportation and get as far out of the city as possible. The main problem with that plan though is that eventually you will hit the desert and I don't know about you guys but I will probably die out there. Cranky and uncomfortable.

Because if you're "at range," you likely shouldn't be engaging to begin with. A gun might be useful in certain close quarters upon initial escape, but once you're on the move, you should be avoiding areas where you could potentially be trapped by a zombie anyway. Once you're holed up, you'd be better off with a compound bow of some sort as the ammo isn't nearly as finite and is generally reusable.

Pretty much, I don't want to sound like I have tickets on myself but hand me a compound bow and my glasses and I could probably take down a couple of zombies if I had to (between running for my fucking life) and I could probably have a shot at hunting as well. Oh god I made a pun.

[Alex C]

I get what JimmyTheSquid is saying; he sucks with guns and they're out of the question anyway. What I don't get is how is the ammo on a compound bow is supposed to not nearly be so finite. Compounds put a an awful lot of force on their arrows; you need to get used to maintaining the arrows because the shafts won't be in the best of shape after colliding with something fairly solid- I've seen carbon fiber arrows get bent up from glancing the shoulder blades of deer, so I'm pretty certain that a zombie skull (assuming you're good enough to hit such a relatively small moving target and retrieve the arrow in the first place) will qualify for being solid enough to end up in a damaged shaft. I guess I'm just all kinds of skeptical on this one, especially since broadheads weigh about 80-125 grains (not counting the shaft) while a 30.06 or .308 ammunition weighs about about 125-150 grains and is far less bulky than any arrow. I have no idea what would work best between target points and broadheads though; target points aren't heavy at all but I have doubts if they'd have the mass needed to deal much damage while broadheads are heavy enough but designed to make things bleed.

[0bsessions]

Let me put it this way:

Get two random guys off the street. Tell one you want him to make you fifty 9 MM rounds and the other you want him to make fifty arrows. Who do you think will be finished first?

I sure as shit couldn't make a bullet of any sort, but give a guy a knife and a hatchet (Two things you would likely want to bring with you anyway) and he should be able to cobble together makeshift arrows without too much work.

[Jimmy the Squid]

It is not an ideal situation but all I am saying is that if it came down to me having to use a projectile weapon, I'd fair better with a bow than with a gun. Also human bone is not quite as dense as deer bone (I looked it up!) so depending on range a target point could probably pierce bone and brain. Broadheads would be better for hunting for food and I'd be going for the neck anyway, it just seems logical.*

EDIT: Jon, I would guess that the majority of the initial attempts at arrowmaking would result in shattered arrows as soon as you release the string.


*I have no hunting experience. I have no plans to get hunting experience. Oh well.

[0bsessions]

Yeah. I figure you're better off with that than mangling your gun trying to use home made bullets.

[Dissy]

Jon, I will survive this deadly battle because I have been to Perfection, Nevada.  

I have taken the Survial Course, I can make any type of bullet.  

And, I never mentioned what types of guns I was using, but my basement looks something like this:

http://members.fortunecity.com/burtgummer/deluxeburt.htm

[0bsessions]

Can make and have immediate access to sufficient materials to make are two very different things, Dissy.

[0bsessions]

Man, I can't say I would ever make a mistake so big as to put myself in THAT situation outside of my immediate escape, in which case there's no way to get ahold of any kind of firearm. Regardless, in that close proximity with that many zombies, you are fucked. Unless you are the greatest marksman in the world, you are not going to put down nineteen zombies coming from two sides before one of them gets you. How would you even get in that position? In order to be trapped in a corridor that small with that many of the fuckers, you're going to have to have waltzed past the first group to begin with unless you decided to nap in an enclosed corridor for some unexplainable reason! Any sane individual with the slightest bit of foresight would not wind up in that situation.

As for the first picture, you do realize anything that impassable would be clearly visible from a distance, correct?  A line of trees, well that's one thing. You do realize you can walk between those, right? Sure, it's impractical as Hell and a bad idea, but you're not trapped unless the forest is on fire. In terms of an actually impassable structure, you shouldn't be wandering that close to begin with. With soldiers and all that it's one thing, you want to stay close to cover, but zombies cannot shoot you. In the event of zombies, cover is something to be avoided. If you're thinking ahead by anything more than five minutes into your future, you'll wisely avoid any areas where you can be surrounded by zombies before you've had a reasonable chance to dart by them. You're basically setting up a scenario for "if you're an idiot, you might need this." Anyone who's dumb enough to get cornered like that isn't someone I'd like to trust with a gun.

[Alex C]

I'm just saying that it's easier to carry enough rounds to not have to worry about ammo for a long time than it is to carry enough arrows not to have to worry about replacing them for a long time. I think you're continually underestimating the difficulty of effectively using pistols against moving targets and making effective home made arrows, much less ones that'd survive being used by a modern compound bow. I really don't see much difference between having an empty rifle and virtually worthless bow, but I do believe the latter will become an issue before the former.

[jhocking]

It's not entirely a case of being totally stupid. For example, what if while escaping from a city you duck into an alley to flee from some zombies? I mean, given the clarity of our position it's easy to say "no way should you run down that alley" but in the heat of the moment you're gonna run for the nearest available opening.

That said, I would agree that a gun isn't all that helpful in the scenarios illustrated. In the second you are just plain fucked, while in the first you shouldn't be attacking, you should run straight down.

[Stryc9Fuego]

How about a good torch? Who can't make that? I'm sure that tattered cloth and dessicated flesh would burn pretty good, plus they'd set each other on fire.

[0bsessions]

Immediately before setting you and your escape route on fire. Zombies don't feel bad. Setting them on fire has essentially presented you with a walking, biting fire hazard.

[Stryc9Fuego]

In an enclosed space agreed, you'd done gone and fucked yourself. Otherwise, it would burn away all of that necrotized muscle tissue leaving burnt out husks that can't do shit. This would be especially useful, say, if you're in a concrete bunker or something and will need to go on a supply run. Open a small hatch, jam a torch through to set the fire, close it up real quick, and wait for the crackling inferno to die down. That should take care of any immediate zombie threat.

[jhocking]

Y'know, you guys are just assuming the zombies wouldn't react to fire. In several zombie movies I've seen however, zombies fear fire. While I agree that actually setting them on fire would be stupid, torches are so easy to make that it'd be worth having one to see if zombies are held at bay by the fire.

[0bsessions]

Depends on the source you go by. Night of the Living Dead is the absolute only thing I've seen where zombies are at all afraid of fire. The Zombie Survival Guide actually explicitely states that they are not.

[Scandanavian War Machine]

yeah, i've never seen zombies afraid of fire in anything beside Night of the Living Dead. i'm more inclined to agree with Max Brooks.

besides, it just makes more sense that way.

[Scandanavian War Machine]

with every step they take they get weaker, eventually tearing through entire muscles, immobilizing them.

[Dissy]

There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what zombies do and don't, what they can and can't do. Let's decide on the most likely kind: The ones infected with the Solanum virus, as described by Max Brooks in the zombie survival guide. They are pretty much your bog-standard zombie:

They're slow
They don't actually need food to survive but hunt after instinct
They don't react to fire, pain or anything of the sort
They run on instincts only, no hive mentality or collective consciousness
They can hear you
They moan when they see you, alerting nearby zombies
They don't Drink.
They do't have Sex.


If there's anything I've forgotten, add it to the list.

[jhocking]

I assume he meant things actually relevant to this discussion. I mean, one could also point out that zombies don't play poker, but that isn't relevant.

In terms of relevant points however, here's a question: can zombies swim? I know others have suggested they walk along the bottom since they don't breath, but that wouldn't work because they'd float.

ADDITION: Isn't it odd that the thread has gotten to page 10 without an agreed upon list of what zombies can and cannot do?

[Scandanavian War Machine]

some will float, others will not.

eventually none will float.

[Hunter]

In terms of relevant points however, here's a question: can zombies swim? I know others have suggested they walk along the bottom since they don't breath, but that wouldn't work because they'd float.

I think they would thrash about and not move much since walking is basic human stuff, while swimming is not burned into your genes.

[Boro_Bandito]

I agree with Joe, we are sorely behind in a checklist for the characteristics of zombies, but I think a basic checklist of survival abilities and survival tools and equipment is just as important and needed here as well.

[OnewingedAngel]

Vehicle: Motorcycle or heavily armored truck
Weapons: Shotgun for the inaccurate, bladed weapon, preferably a sword or scythe or something that can stab and slice and give you a little room to maneuver, sniper rifle for safe distances.

[0bsessions]

Man, you clearly have not been paying attention or would rather look cool than survive.

[calenlass]

Guys seriously, one thing we are assuming is that the disease or curse or whatever the hell it is isn't a cross-species contagion. This is a pretty reasonable assumption, but shouldn't we also be preparing for the worst-case scenario?

Yeah, that means you should shoot any dogs or cats or rats or mice or cows or sheep or horses you come across, but more importantly this is a major concern for food. What do you do then? Go veggie? You couldn't fish or stop and raid abandoned farms or whatever. This would be a Crisis, I think, especially running into the wilderness, because then you could never be sure the deer or squirrel or bear outside your treehouse wasn't also infected.

[0bsessions]

Set myself on fire. I am not living in a world without meat.

[Alex C]

A scythe is just asking to get owned. I mean, I'll defend the choice of a shotgun or rifle (Well, not a sniper rifle, but what constitutes a "sniper rifle" is almost another conversation entirely) as fairly reasonable, since they're common in my region and so easy to use, but a scythe?

[KharBevNor]

Man, I think you guys going on about the danger of getting hand weapons stuck have some weird ideas about what happens when someone gets hit with one. Consider: a zombie is a walking corpse. It has no motor control. An axe or hammer blow wielded by a reasonably strong person transfers more momentum than a shotgun blast. You hit a zombie in the head with an axe or a warhammer it'll just fall over. Furthermore, no hand weapon is designed to stick in things: that's always a bad thing. Weapons have to be specially designed to stick in things, a good example being broadhead arrows. Between the exit wound and the lever action of the handle, extracting a weapon is no real difficulty. Especially not out of rotting flesh and brain matter.

[Boro_Bandito]

it would just make a nice *shlop* noise and leave the blade/business end all gooey.

[Patrick]

What do you do then? Go veggie?

Yeah I'm with Jon, if there's cross-species contamination, I am killing myself and looking like a badass motherfucker doing it. No flesh, no food, PERIOD.

[Patrick]

If there's no meat in the zombiepocalypse I plan on throwing myself into a turbine engine and being turned into the ultimate man-smoothie. If you really want to dig out all the metal/bone scraps, be my guest.

[dr.sangaygupta]

In terms of relevant points however, here's a question: can zombies swim? I know others have suggested they walk along the bottom since they don't breath, but that wouldn't work because they'd float.

I think they would thrash about and not move much since walking is basic human stuff, while swimming is not burned into your genes.

Since I going with the WWZ theories, I'd have to say eventually they'd all sink to the bottom of the Ocean/River/Lake or whatever body of water you're talking about. Thier lungs/stomachs/body would become water-logged, and they'd sink.

[Melodic]

Screw this 9mm pistol bull, if you're going into a zombiepocalypse you better damn well get yourself an MP7 before you do it. Rifle rounds for range and power, 40-round magazines, and the ability to quite literally switch operation from a pistol to a submachine gun in a stance change. Pow pow pow!

[0bsessions]

Do I have to explain again why a submachine gun is absolutely useless against zombies, or would somebody else like to handle this one?

[Melodic]

It's already been answered, multiple times, and I have read it. But all these "well if I was in a last-ditch situation I'd make sure to have a Glock 18 in my pocket" brought out my inner gun nerd. Besides, you guys are talking about using WARHAMMERS against zombies. I will be giggling and shooting holes in zombie heads while you get slaughtered because of your shitty backswing.