Treblaine said:
spartan231490 said:
The .300 RUM was first produced in the early to mid 1900's, long after the bright uniform went the way of the dodo. Also, just because you can use it at 1100 meters, doesn't mean you can't use it at 200-300 meters.
hmm, every source I can find talks about Remington introducing the .300 RUM in 1999, though the PARENT CASE - .404 Jeffery - was fist introduced in 1909. Though with a .40 cal bullet and at lower pressure it's a completely different cartridge altogether.
"It's a completely different cartridge"
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Anyhoo, I'm pretty sure .300 RUM was always intended for sporting hunters, not defence from massed humanoid enemies. This is a premium cartridge for very long power retention and very long point-blank [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_blank] range. But the price in recoil, muzzle blast, weapon-wear and the scarcity of ammunition/reloads/replacement-parts seems would be an extra high price in the hypothetical "zombie apocalypse".
But as a hunting cartridge use in our relatively peaceful society with functioning infrastructure, it seems to be without peer.
It also has enough power to ensure complete destruction of the head. as far as limited sightlines, that's what optics are for. Also, at 200-300 or even 400 yards, I could use a 30-06 or a .270 or even a 30-30 if I was a really good shot, but the .270 doesn't have enough punch to double as a weapon for hunting moose or bear or other super-large game(Neither does the 30-30 if we're being honest) and the others lack the super flat trajectory that I want so that I can set the rifle's scope for 200-250 yards and with very little adjustment hit anything from 100 yards to 300+ yards.
It's my understanding the appeal of .300 RUM is its effectiveness with body-shots - on deer and elk - at long range. It has the energy to still open up a heavy hollow-point bullet and still penetrate deep enough but is that practical on a zombie who can shrug off all but bisecting torso injuries? For headshots it seems to be overkill.
Do you really need to hunt bears and elk when smaller game are both more common and more suited for how you'd be providing meat for a small party. You going to have a freezer in this hide-out, don't kill a great stonking grizzly just to let it rot! Bear meat is too delicious and precious to waste.
Also wasn't the "light n' fast" 5mm assault rifle cartridges chosen because they had a "point-blank" flat trajectory out to 300m? Sure they're light and tiny but even 62 grains of lead hitting the cranium at 2500ft/s (1'500 miles per hour!) will pulverise the brain and spray pieces. I don't care if the hypothetical zombies use only the most basic brain functions a 5.56mm bullet through the head will at the very least leave them paralysed and blind.
As for use indoors, I have no intention of limiting my mobility by being indoors. That plays to the zombies strengths. I plan to walk to isolated places in the Adirondack park(I live on the outskirts) where there are fewer people and therefore fewer zombies and looters. I plan to build a relatively simple shelter in the tree canopy so I can sleep safely and I want to be able to destroy the zombie as soon as I can detect it, so that it won't attract scavengers right to my shelter.
Yes, it's a little bit of overkill, but i'm going to be buying one this year or next year anyway, so i'll have it close at hand. Being pump action, it will have the rate of fire that I'm looking for and being clip fed I can reload quickly if I'm in a hurry, and it also has the Range to keep them at a distance.
Why the hell would I want a sub-machine gun? The emphasis is rate of fire well above the rate that you can accurately hit a target the size of a head, and they are much less useful for hunting, and you need lots of ammo. Spraying is not the solution to zombies, well aimed single precise shots are. If they're close enough for my longbow, I wouldn't want to announce myself with gunfire anyway.
I suppose I was more worried of the fast-zombies in which case rate of fire would aid headshots. At least a pistol carbine for low recoil and very fast follow-up shots and reloads. For close quarters it seems to make sense, the SAS seem to think it's ideal for hostage-rescue where they claim they always aim to put a burst of fire into the head: instant death, not even enough time to activate a suicide vest.
Probably ideal to defend from an open position... but you may not have a choice. What if the weather turns VERY bad, or you run out of food, or ammo, or found out you don't have something critical to your survival, or you need to help someone. What if you can't even GET OUT of an urban/sub-urban area to your hideout due to military road blocks and are left with just what you can carry.
In fact, considering the element of military and law enforcement i'd like to revise my weapons of choice, something like this:
This is kel-tec's sub-2000 though I understand there are similar competitors, a 5.56mm is probably overkill, 100m range is enough. The appeal of this is I can stick this under a coat and hopefully be less likely of getting shot out of fear and armed gunman is coming for them.
It would go well with another pistol using the same magazines while pistol ammo is lighter, smaller and arguably more available.
You're correct about when it was produced, but my point was that it was after the uniform thing had been well in effect, which is still true.
I'm well aware of the advantages and trade-offs of the round, I've been researching it for 2 years. As I said, i don't choose it because it is the premium zombie weapon, but because I was limited to 3 and it will be able to fulfill the most different jobs that I will require(hunting, zombie defense, human defense, range and rate of fire).
It might be overkill for head-shots, but "Overkill is underrated my friend."~A-Team. It guarantees that a head-shot will end it at any range.
I never said anything about small party, I will likely have 10-20 people minimum with me, another reason I want the ridiculously overpowered rifle, the smaller cartridges will be well covered. Also, where I live, there are these things called winter, where everywhere is a fridge, and spring-fed streams which stay below 50 degrees Fahrenheit even in high summer. Also, dig more then 6 feet down and it's 60 degrees year round, and you can smoke/salt the shit out of it and it will last weeks anyway. My main source of food in summer months is fish anyway, the hunting rifle is for winter. Also, the hides of larger game is much more useful that rabbit-skin. Even white-tailed dear skin could be tanned(tincture of oak bark will provide the tannic acid, even if I can't find tamerac bark or stag-horn sumac to add even more) and that tanned hide would be virtually zombie bite proof, and provide a strong cordage if I need it, a few stitched together, and sealed with pine pitch, would make an amazing water-proof roof.
5mm is a .22 round. well, .223/.224. Yeah, they have enough juice for a head-shot, but they lose energy fast because of the low mass, so it prolly wouldn't cut it for a human skull at 200 yrds+. Even if they did, it would be almost useless for hunting, even a perfect heart-shot is gonna mean a long session of tracking. Also, those rounds will deflect if they hit even the smallest amount of matter, the .300 RUM will maintain it's line if it hits a tiny twig or two. Also, in any apocalyptic situation, other humans(looters, escaped prisoners, ect.) are as much of a threat as anything else.
The SAS may be able to use an SMG and hit head-shots with burst fire, but I'm not a member of the most elite military service on earth. I'm a good shot, not an amazing one.
Also, I will have a choice. I don't live in an Urban/semi-urban area that the military can road-block off. I live in the Adirondack park, they couldn't stop me if they tried, and I doubt they would bother. also, I would split as soon as the first zombie hit the news/my area, likely long before any military response. Also, as I'll be on foot(as per the rules of this scenario, I wouldn't need to follow the roads, cross-country would be faster(one of the reasons for my machete. And the worst weather here would be a serious snow-storm, but that wouldn't stop me, just slow me down. I have the cloths for it, and so does anyone who would be coming with me.
Admittedly, I've thought about the weapon choices you're thinking about. a 9mm rifle like the one a fam friend has and a 9mm auto-pistol would make good choices for ammo conversion and rate of fire against just zombies, but They lack the hunting versatility and power of the .300, yeah the power might be too much for the zombies, but they aren't the only threat, and i'd rather have it and not need it than need it, and not have it.
So, I agree with you in that it's not ideal for zombies, but it's good enough and useful for hunting and it's extra power might come in handy in an unforeseen situation. I defy you to drop project nemisis or even just a pissed off bear/moose with you're auto pistol. lol.