Poll: What weapons will you use in a zombie apocalypse?

[Erttheking]

In a zombie apocalype, you need to find a way to defend yourself with the materials that you can find. The two most popular styles seem to be getting up close and personal with a baseball bat or a fire ax or a sledge hammer and using that to kill the zombie. There are pros and cons to each.

Guns

Pros
- Much longer range
- A single heatshot is fatal
- larger guns can be used as makeshift clubs

Cons
- It is easy to miss without training or when you panic
- Ammunition will most likely be limited
- A gun can jam at a crucial moment
- Zombies feel no pain, so a shot to anywhere but the head will be a waste of ammo

Melee weapons

Pros
- Can be used more often
- The blunt force is usually strong enough to break limbs, which can hamper a zombie's effectiveness and a single swing to the neck will most likely be fatal
- Are fairly easy to find

Cons
-Require you to be close to the zombie to use
- Bladed weapons (such as an axe) can get stuck
- It is possible to break them

So, what will you do in the zombie apocalypse? Melee weapon or gun? Or do you have another plan that doesn't involve either? Personally I'd rather carry around a sledge hammer. I've never used a gun before in my life and I'd probably use half a clip just to take down one zombie.

 

[DJjaffacake]

Guns. Keep that freaky-ass dead guy well away from me.

 

[ReadyAmyFire]

Guns for entertainment, dogs and the environment for actual zombie murdering.

 

[WolfThomas]

Why not both? If you actually have access to a firearm why not take it along with any melee weapon you can find.

I'd have my pump-action rifle slung across my back, a knife on my belt and a crowbar used as a walking stick.

 

[Erttheking]

Why not both? If you actually have access to a firearm why not take it along with any melee weapon you can find.

I'd have my pump-action rifle slung across my back, a knife on my belt and a crowbar used as a walking stick.

It was more of a question of what would be your preference, your first line of defense.

 

[WolfThomas]

It was more of a question of what would be your preference, your first line of defense.

Well that really depends on the situation. Single Zombie. Try to kill them quietly with the crowbar. Several Zombies and no where to run. Take them out quickly. Any humans? Immediately point gun at them just to be safe. Survivors tend to be dicks in zombie movies.

 

[Ruedyn]

Bare fists like a real man. Also melee weapons, when I don't feel like dying.

 

[FalloutJack]

Naturally, I go with what I'm actually skilled in, and like a SMART zombie-fighter, I go for versatility.

Now, if any zombie outbreak manages to overcome Pittsburgh - nay, the entire state of Pennsylvania - after being soundly educated the HELL out of by George Romero and just the zombie culture in general (The mall in Dawn of the Dead has a zombie museum, no shit.), I would be incredibly surprised.

But let's just assume the worse, figure it's brown trousers time, and that the Z-pocalypse has come. The answer is BOTH, of course! Crowbar for melee, rifle for long-range. I can find AND swing a crowbar in this house, easy. And I can pull out the rifle, load it, fire with accuracy, and move onto the next target NOW.

Why take only one? Me gots heap strong body! Helps move away from them motherfuckers!

 

[Jedoro]

Preference is melee, i.e. the crowbar and hammer in my truck, but I have a Mossberg 500 and Colt 1911 sitting in my room, so I've both available. Melee for zombies, guns for bandits and lots of zombies.

I've got a good shortsword I can use as well, but I need to get my hands on a kukri. Those things are good for decapitations.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

A sledgehammer is probably what I'll carry around for actual dealing with the zombies. I never fired a gun, so anything above a handgun would probably be a threat to me and any survivors near me. I am fit for a living, so carrying and swinging the weight wouldn't hinder me. Hell, I use Sledgehammers in training.

Not only are they deadly, but they can help me gain access to places. Finally, a zombie weapon that caters to the modern, on-the-go Survivor!

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Screw that, I'd take a goddamned TANK! Even if I run out of ammo I can still squish the zombies under my mighty treads.

 

[Twilight_guy]

I'd go with a gun, not because I can use it, but because it would scare the real threat: other people. Zombies are slow and stupid but people, when desperate, are the most malicious evil bastards to ever walk the earth and far more deadly. Oh and since a zombie apocalypse is impossible, the gun will help during a real disaster, such as a major earthquake.

 

[applesandoranges]

edit

 

[StBishop]

My major defence against the zombies is planning and space. I have a plan prepped for short and long term escape and long term survival/existence.

I would use speed and mobility as my major weapon so a light, stiff pole is all I would really want as a "weapon". I know how to make traps and stuff for animals so I can only assume I can rig a trap for a human/zombie. Beyond that, fleeing is my major plan. If I can't flee I guess I'm fucked but all plans have a flaw.

Oh, and I plan on having a bow, for hunting, so I could use that for zombies, but as I don't have one now it's not a reasonable answer.

 

[TheFinish]

Ignoring the fact that an actual zombie apocalypse is pretty much impossible unless it's a super virulent ultra hardcore airborne infection or somesuch, guns. Especially if we're going by shambling zombies and not running arseholes.

Besides, you can always use them as clubs if worse comes to worse.

 

[cswurt]

Eh, I have a collection of firearms and low-to-moderate training with them. As a last resort, I guess.

My strategy would be to keep myself in a position where they'd be unnecessary.

Any location above the ground that you can only reach by skillfully climbing -- fuck staircases. Zombies'd find that eventually.

But a rope? Even if it's right in front of his face, a zombie couldn't climb a rope, could he?

Second floor (or higher) of any building with the stair cases collapsed or sealed off. Even a great big tree should be good in a pinch.

 

[cswurt]

Screw that, I'd take a goddamned TANK! Even if I run out of ammo I can still squish the zombies under my mighty treads.

You'd likely run out of fuel before ammo. You think those giant steel behemoths run on happy thoughts?

They get crappy gas mileage.

 

[Ljs1121]

Anything and everything that looks like it can be used as a weapon will be used as a weapon.

 

[BaronUberstein]

None, because if DayZ has taught me anything, my friend will see me running from zombies holding a gun, and use his last ammo on me instead of the zombies.

No, I'm not bitter.