You'd probably need multiple weapons to be some kind of top-dog RE-esque zombie eliminator- there's no miracle do-it-all gun that's ideal for every encounter with a zombie, though there are some that are fairly balanced. I think, if we're talking about the classic zombie here (a slow moving yet fairly perceptive creature, which is a bit faster when it's recently effective) you'd want to have some stable weapons suitable for conserving ammo while still killing zombies instantly with a clean headshot.

For instance, a higher-calibur pistol (such as a .45, .50, .357 etc) would be greatly effective when aimed properly, but the high recoil of such caliburs and their loud noise might want to make you go for a more common and controllable round, like the 9mm. Were you to use an assault rifle or SMG, keep in mind that the former typically uses full metal jacket rounds- great if you can manage a headshot, but with relatively low stopping power since FMJ rounds are designed to pierce through body armor and the like. The selective firing of an assault rifle would be ideal if you could aim properly with a single-shot mode and not waste any unnecessary ammunition.

Meanwhile, SMGs use smaller calibers, commonly the 9mm round, but they can be unreliable. If you could manage to scrape up the popular MP5, you'd be in luck- a stable gun with selective firing and a common round that's pretty accurate at a distance. But something more common in a civilian society, like an Uzi or Mac 10, would be terrible. These guns are notorious for inaccuracy and kickback; your best bet would be a 'spray and pray' tactic if you don't want a black eye from sighting the damn thing, and at a far distance (50 yards+) you might waste an entire clip of ammunition without killing or even wounding a single zombie.

A sniper rifle or battle rifle would probably be best next to an assault rifle- designed for stability, accuracy, and a high kill rate due to a usually low rate of fire, they'd be great in pretty much any distance considering zombies' slow speed.

Shotguns are always a popular selection for killing zombies. Hefty and powerful, they won't just get a headshot, they'll blow a zombie's head clean off! There are some serious drawbacks, though. If you're using a 12GA buckshot round, it wouldn't be very effective at a distance when the pellets start spreading out. Ammo is cumbersome and hard to find, so if you make a couple of non-lethal shots, you might find yourself running out of ammo sooner than you'd want. Although, if you found a hunting shotgun loaded with deer slug, it would probably be a lot easier to aim with and the range would be increased considerably.

Realistically, your best bet of finding a weapon in a zombie apocalypse type environment is common handguns, ala 9mm or.45 calibur pistol, and maybe a .38 or .357 calibur revolver. Not many people have assault rifles, battle rifles, SMGs or sniper rifles, but if you found a gun store you could properly find suitable models and their matching ammunition. Alternatively, if you're out in a more remote area like a rural area or a suburb, you might be able to find hunting weapons, like rifles and shotguns, in people's homes.

So, out of the common weapon classes, I'd ideally take a PSG-1 (sniper rifle), MP5 (SMG), G3 (battle rifle), MK23 (pistol), AA-12 (shotgun), and an XM8 (assault rifle). Why? The PSG-1 is a reliable police force rifle with semi-automatic fire; the MP5 is stable and uses common ammunition; the G3 is very accurate, semi-automatic, and will kill with a headshot; the MK23 is a special forces .45 pistol, accurate and with a lot of stopping power; the AA-12 is an automatic 12GA with long range and accuracy, for a shotgun at least; and the XM8 is a 'do-it-all' prototype assault rifle with single-shot, burst, and automatic firing modes, and attachable scopes and silencers, and it uses the common 5.56mm rifle round. If I could only pick one, it'd be the XM8, which is reliable and can even work as a sniper rifle with its high accuracy, or a support weapon when coupled with a bipod.

Realistically, I'd be cowering in a Wal-Mart with a 9mm pistol in this situation Let's face it- the psychological ♥♥♥♥ of a zombie invasion doesn't really encourage you to go exploring.

Not true. If we are talking of the US here, shotguns are quite common as far as weapons go, and finding ammo wouldn't be that hard.


So somehow, apart from carrying these all which you actually couldn't, you'd find a experimental weapon that was never actually mass-produced?



BAD IDEA. Everyone will head to department stores, and they can't realistically be defended at all. Head out of town, and avoid people for the next few weeks until everyone who will get bitten has been bitten, then you can start thinking about finding proper shelter, and joining a group if you think it'll benefit you.



Also ideal all-around weapon would be some sort of carbine, I'd say the M4.

this is what i would use, a .22 rimfire with a magazine for bullets. I could use this to train myself or others(tons of ammo available) or to pick off minor zombie groups without much sound.
and an assault rifle for more dangerous situations when I've been spotted.

In a common household? Maybe it depends on area. Most people who have guns where I live have handguns- simpler to use etc. Regardless, the ammo is pretty cumbersome, and a shotgun is harder to reload than a handgun is.



I said ideally I was basically describing the perfect weapon set IMO there, not what I would try to find. Fairly certain there are no civilians with experimental weapons.



True; going out of an urban area is a good idea because there will be less infected in the countryside. But, I was under the assumption that in this situation it's a real 'apocalypse', where zombies outnumber humans a thousand to one and you're pretty much all alone, save for some rare encounters with people. I think that the onset would be very sudden and abrupt, and anyone not inside a private home would probably be slaughtered; similarly, if a shopper was infected and got into a department store, everyone in there would get infected. Then, the infected would have to leave the store to find additional sources of food; hence, empty store :>

Joining a group would be a good idea, yeah.



Carbines are typically more compact than rifles and machine guns, but again, my problem with carbines is they're all usually using 5.56 full metal jacket bullets. They'd have little to no effect on zombies with their small stopping power unless you hit one right in the head, in which case that piercing property would come in handy. Carbines are not really 'heavy hitters', know what I mean?

And inb4 "M203 attachment"

No gun except maybe a shotgun is going to do enough major damage to kill a zombie unless you literally fill it with lead. You'd have to go for headshots anyway.

But at least the heftier caliburs, like a 7.62mm (or maybe hollow point rounds) will slow down or even knock back zombies.

Actually, going back to the hollow point rounds- they'd be ideal for fighting zombies. You don't really need penetration, none of the zombies would be wearing kevlar or anything, and they do a good job of mashing up the few organs a zombie needs to 'live'.

Ragdollmaster you said clips instead of magazines thus any credibility you had is gone I'm afraid

also, obviously you're going to need multiple weapons (though the dual magazine south african shotgun comes close to a miracle weapon. or an m4 w/ attached shotgun)

ARs only use FMJ rounds in military contexts, because they aren't allowed to use soft jackets by the rules of war. Civilian gunshops would have frangible bullets designed for hunting in actually greater numbers than FMJ rounds, which are considered "armor piercing" and therefore uncommon.

Handguns are a decent idea, but there's a reason they're not typically used in military contexts: if you're that close to an enemy, you're doing something wrong. Single shots from an AR could take out targets from 100+ feet with a minimum of marksmanship training, especially given a slow-moving, easy target like a zombie.

Uzis are actually pretty accurate, on par with the MP5 (actually, it has a higher effective range). Actual Uzis, that is, not the shitty micro-uzis "gangsters" use. Again, single shots vs full auto makes a world of difference. There's a guy who got something like two hundred confirmed "sniper" kills using an M2 browning machine gun, in single fire mode.

Again, battle rifles are not necessarily semi-auto. I bring up the M14 (again), a battle rifle which uses 7.62 (common as hell, even in the US) and can select semi or full auto.

12 gauge 00 buck is neither hard to find nor cumbersome. Sure, it weighs a few ounces more than a .22 cartridge, but there's a whole variety of ways to carry buckshot. A semiauto shotgun would have all the advantages of "rapid" firing, as well as good accuracy (head sized groups at ten yards, with eight pellets)
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot44.htm

In an actual situation, I'd try for the following weapons:
An M1911, a more than proved handgun with a common caliber (or, failing that, any kind of 9mm/.45, it's really not a huge deal)
Ideally, an AR-15, probably semiauto. Failing that, any decent rifle firing either .223, 5.56, 7.62, or .308 would be great. Scope's optional, I doubt I'd need one.
For shotguns: any semi or pump action tubefed would be good; plenty of rounds to take out whatever comes my way. Loaded with double ought buck, natch.

Heh, I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that he said clips. And yeah, I pretty much agree with all of your weapon choices.

Yes, shotguns being inaccurate is only a myth. The problem with them would be the noise, but only in an area where you could get easily surrounded, like a city. Taking on single zombies, no problem.

That aside, since zombies are slow targets, I'd always go for the headshot if I could. No need to fire multiple rounds in the torso with no guarantee of a kill.

I slipped up :<



Yes, but the M2 has an effective range of what, 2 kilometers, with a maximum range of 8 or so? It seems hardly fair to compare a 9mm sub-machine gun with a heavy .50 machine gun that's usually vehicle mounted or paired with a bipod/tripod.



True, but a zombie can't really affect you unless it comes right up to your face and bites you. You don't really need distance in this context. Even if you're facing a horde, you could just get 20 feet away and blat-blat, and then back up when they lurch towards you. The only problem I could see with that is you're more susceptible to being surrounded in a close quarters situation, but then again zombies aren't exactly tactical specialists.



Well alright, a 'real' Uzi on single-shot mode would be a lot more accurate than a micro-Uzi, I'll admit, but which do you think is more common in Amerikah?



No, not all are, but the two civilian models of the HK G3, the HK41 and HK91, are both semi-automatic. Admittedly, I hadn't thought of the M14 and I agree that it would be a better choice, since the G3 uses a .30 calibur, not as common a round as the 7.62.



My choice of words wasn't the best in my first post (I did it in a hurry) so let me clarify; what I meant was it's harder to find 12GA buckshot rounds than handgun rounds and they are more cumbersome than handgun rounds or AR rounds.

As for your realistic weapon choices, Colt M1911 is pretty common, reliable, etc. Would you have any specific variant for the AR-15? If possible I'd go for an HK416. As for shotguns, again if possible I'd hit up a SPAS-12. (I say if possible due to relative scarcity. You could probably find a SPAS and 416 in some gun stores but it wouldn't be worth the effort)

EDIT: Also...



I thought you were joking and then I did some research and found the M26.

Credibility gone, again. It weights way too much, is pretty damn complicated (you gotta know how to clean your gun etc), and a ♥♥♥♥♥ to disassemble. Only thing it has going is the collector's value.

All I would do is attach a lawnmower to my chest and run at the zombie horde.

"Ok, Contrary, you go out and distract them, while we get the eff outa here."
*VRRR- VRRR- VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
"SPARTA" *exuent*

i am drawing that tonight.

BAHAHAHAHAH
too many l4d2 videos for you, my friend. take a break from youtube

The G3, M14, FN FAL, et cetera all fire the same round. 7.62X51 NATO. It isn't reccomended to fire commercial .308 through them though since it's higher pressure than NATO standard.



Cumbersome? Who are you, nutnfancy? I mean god damn seriously. "OH IT WEIGHS TOO MUCH AND IT'S CUMBERSOME OH MY GOD I CAN BARELY LIFT A PAPERWEIGHT AND HAVE NEVER HEARD OF LOAD BEARING VESTS AND BACKPACKS"



You do realize even the upper receivers for HK-416s cost upward of thousands of dollars and are incredibly rare? The HK-416 is just a hunk of overrated garbage anyway. Also, the the SPAS-12 compared to oh say the Remington 870, Mossberg 500/590, and Saiga 12 shotguns are bulky, excessively heavy, internally complex, unreliable, hard to disassemble, reassemble, and clean.

My personal loadout would be either a SIG-556 or Armalite AR-180b along with 8 Magpul PMags (cheap and much better compared to USGI STANAG mags) and for a sidearm a SIG P226 with 4 extra magazines. Load bearing would be a 5.11 Plate carrier with type III ranking trauma plates (can stop repeated 7.62 NATO fire) in the front and back, appropriate amount Magazine and supply pouches mounted onto the MOLLE system ofcourse. Haven't decided on the backpack or holster yet though. Outfit would be primairly strong cloth, zombies would have quite some trouble biting through denim, leather, or USGI cargo BDUs.