AMC The Walking Dead - Michonne's Katana

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CliffStamp
In order to have a serious discussion I think we need to decide are we facing Romero zombies or 28 day later zombies as the latter are a lot less weabo

..They're a lot less obsessed with Japanese (especially pop) culture??? So we could decoy the RomZoms with some really collectable Gundam merchandise? Interesting plan, but I think that buying a helicopter gunship would cost less.

I vote for 28 Days latter zombies. As much as enjoy The Walking Dead the walkers are just a little too slow to be scary.

In any post-apocalyptic reality the other surviving humans are usually a bigger threat than anything else. If you guys haven't seen The Road with Viggo Mortensen I recommend it. Talk about a SHTF situation.

If I'm slaying slow moving zombies I still favor the .22. If I am slaying fast moving zombies I will probably want a .45 carbine as well as a .45 pistol. They have massive knockdown potential as well as killing power. If I'm dealing with cannibal humans in a post-apocalypse wherein there is very little in the way of medical supplies, I'm going back to the .22. Chances are the wound from a .22 will be enough to kill, even if it takes a long time. People will figure that out and try to avoid any conflict that will get them injured. Get shot in the leg with a .22 and you start thinking about the after-life.

I also want a faster swinging melee weapon if I am dealing with faster moving zombies.

I want my 45/70 marlin with 450grain flat tip, I could go through 8 feet of zombies per bang!

I always figured I would just go at them with my hands. I can't imagine pulling their arms off would be any harder then a normal persons.

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Chum
If I'm dealing with cannibal humans in a post-apocalypse wherein there is very little in the way of medical supplies, I'm going back to the .22. Chances are the wound from a .22 will be enough to kill, even if it takes a long time. People will figure that out and try to avoid any conflict that will get them injured. Get shot in the leg with a .22 and you start thinking about the after-life.

The world was actually pretty violent even before the invention of antibiotics

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thiswayup

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Chum
If I'm dealing with cannibal humans in a post-apocalypse wherein there is very little in the way of medical supplies, I'm going back to the .22. Chances are the wound from a .22 will be enough to kill, even if it takes a long time. People will figure that out and try to avoid any conflict that will get them injured. Get shot in the leg with a .22 and you start thinking about the after-life.

The world was actually pretty violent even before the invention of antibiotics

True, but I think the post-apocalyptic man will have more of a survivalist mindset than earlier man. Everything will be new. Everyone will be starting from scratch. They will have a greater understanding of sickness and disease. They will place a different value on human life.

Being in a massive melee battle made sense to a knight, or soldier in an army, or someone in a tribe who's territory is being threatened. Would it make sense for a post-apocalyptic survivor? I guess if the circumstances where right it would.

If Mad Max has taught us anything, it is that you need to keep moving. Get the food, water and gas... and go. Don't stop to play in Barter Town. Don't make alliances with Tina Turner.

One more thing... I could wipe out all of those knights with a 10/22, lots of ammo and a decent vantage point.

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Old Spice
I always figured I would just go at them with my hands. I can't imagine pulling their arms off would be any harder then a normal persons.

We have to hang out at some point.

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thiswayup
Interesting plan, but I think that buying a helicopter gunship would cost less.

Yes but lacks the artistic elegance.

I think Chum makes an obvious point, what is the most significant threat, the Zombies or the other dudes in a land where the only rule is "do what you wilt". I would also argue in general unless you are going to start smelting then guns are pointless as every shot is one step closer you are to being dead. I would argue you better get good with :

-traditional sling
-bow
-heavy throwing stick / knife

If we just have to actually damage the zombie brain, not actually mash it apart then you could get away with a very light hammer as you don't need to break heavy armor, it isn't like a normal person reacts well to a 16 oz hammer to the head.

I think we need some experimentation to make this quantitative, we need to find some zombies to figure out exactly how much trauma it takes to inactivate them.

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CliffStamp
I would also argue in general unless you are going to start smelting then guns are pointless as every shot is one step closer you are to being dead.

Chicken poop and rocks! Man do I love the blunderbuss.
[www.youtube.com]
[www.youtube.com]

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CliffStamp
I would argue you better get good with :

-traditional sling
-bow
-heavy throwing stick / knife

I spent several of my youthful summers perfecting my skills with a wristrocket (I still need to try out that arrow setup.) Now, I'm wasting my spare time working on my throwing skills. When the ZA begins... Forget all that, I'm carrying all the guns and ammo I can

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Chum
True, but I think the post-apocalyptic man will have more of a survivalist mindset than earlier man. Everything will be new. Everyone will be starting from scratch. They will have a greater understanding of sickness and disease. They will place a different value on human life.

People before the C20th understood perfectly well that violence was dangerous. They used it anyway because humans are hardwired for it and because violence tends to escalate - the groups most prone to violence force others to respond.

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Being in a massive melee battle made sense to a knight, or soldier in an army, or someone in a tribe who's territory is being threatened. Would it make sense for a post-apocalyptic survivor? I guess if the circumstances where right it would.

If there are scarce resources, people will compete for them.

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If Mad Max has taught us anything, it is that you need to keep moving. Get the food, water and gas... and go. Don't stop

It's a silly movie. The best thought out PA world is the 70's UK TV series "Survivors."

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One more thing... I could wipe out all of those knights with a 10/22, lots of ammo and a decent vantage point.

Yes. But no one said that violent post apocalypse groups would forego firearms.

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CliffStamp

I think Chum makes an obvious point, what is the most significant threat, the Zombies or the other dudes in a land where the only rule is "do what you wilt". I would also argue in general unless you are going to start smelting then guns are pointless as every shot is one step closer you are to being dead. I would argue you better get good with :

-traditional sling
-bow
-heavy throwing stick / knife

If we just have to actually damage the zombie brain, not actually mash it apart then you could get away with a very light hammer as you don't need to break heavy armor, it isn't like a normal person reacts well to a 16 oz hammer to the head.

I think we need some experimentation to make this quantitative, we need to find some zombies to figure out exactly how much trauma it takes to inactivate them.

Most movie zombies don't require shooting. You'd just create a barb wire trap and lead them into it to starve. Or squoosh them with a protected bulldozer. Assuming you survived the initial Event, you'd clear a defensible zone this way and set up there. Unless the zombies are supernatural and can survive without food, they'll die off inside a year. Your problems will be finding food to last that year (unless you are willing to eat zombies) and re-emerging into a pretty barren environment (which means that other humans will be willing to kill you for a case of beans, seed corn, or a breeding livestock.)

That's unless you have zombies with human intelligence, in which case you might as well just shoot yourself - or join them.

It isn't clear why they are eating exactly, depending on which zombies we are talking about, some of them clearly don't need to eat as they are often trapped for long periods of time and don't stop being not-dead. It isn't even overly clear how much do they need to eat, for example how long would it take the zombies to just eat all the animals, assuming they don't go all crossed on them.

One of the points that fails to get mentioned is that in very general zombies are not that directly dangerous, for example what would you rather fight, a couple of "walkers" or a cave bear, yet we easily survived the latter which is far more intelligent. Even the crack-amped up 28-days zombies are extremely stupid and would walk right into the most basic of traps.

Imagine for example that you had to go to war against a group of people that just ran at you blindly screaming with no weapons and would run right up onto a set of sharp spikes pointed right at them. I don't exactly think that is the kind of force that would give you much pause and I am pretty sure the Roman's would have conquered that tribe pretty easily even without Maximus.

What kills most people is :

-they spazz out
-they don't make any attempt to protect themselves in known hostile territory
-they constantly engage in CQC with an enemy which can literally kill by infection by touch

How hard is it to follow a few simple rules :

-maintain clear visuals for an extended space

This alone would solve 99% of the problems.

It looks like however that the zombies in Planet Z would make life a bit more challenging.

I'm not a huge fan of the oatmeal but from time to time it's funny

How everything goes to hell during a Zombie Apocalypse

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bubo
I'm not a huge fan of the oatmeal but from time to time it's funny

How everything goes to hell during a Zombie Apocalypse

Hilarious.

Thisway... the UK series "Survivors" was excellent. Too bad it ended before the entire story was told.

You'll just have to visit me when/if you every make it out west. We'll go out to the woods and shoot a slew of different guns. By the end I think you would be quite willing to select a Ruger 10/22 as your post-apocalyptic go to weapon. The light weight, ease of use, accuracy, accuracy of followup shots, range and the massive amount of rounds you can carry with ease makes it an great choice.

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Chum
You'll just have to visit me when/if you every make it out west. We'll go out to the woods and shoot a slew of different guns. By the end I think you would be quite willing to select a Ruger 10/22 as your post-apocalyptic go to weapon. The light weight, ease of use, accuracy, accuracy of followup shots, range and the massive amount of rounds you can carry with ease makes it an great choice.

That sounds fun, but family tradition favours the Bren gun:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuGvVJhhedE[/video]

I possible new contender for best ZA sidearm?

[www.youtube.com]

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thiswayup

Unless the zombies are supernatural

When are they not? lol

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It's not Cliff, its Dr Stamp
#kebabstickcut, it's a thing - make it happen

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cKc

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thiswayup

Unless the zombies are supernatural

When are they not? lol

28 Days Later

Crossed (Garth Ennis comic; the best, most realistic and most depressing zombie fiction I've read.)

Romero and Resident Evil series..?


Anyway, the first issue of Crossed is available here, free and legally:

[www.bleedingcool.com]

But be warned: Crossed makes The Walking Dead look like the Waltons.

Interesting. Thanks

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It's not Cliff, its Dr Stamp
#kebabstickcut, it's a thing - make it happen

..Ennis is one of those British writers from 2000AD, the home of Judge Dredd. More realistic, more grotesque, and most of all more lasting violence seems to be a big differentiator between UK and US comics. A friend who still keeps up with the Dredd story lines tells me that the population of Megacity One has been attritted to something 10% of the level it had when I was in my late teens. Google says that causes of death include a Zombie War!

[en.wikipedia.org])

I think this happened at about the time I stopped reading 2000AD/Dredd; I remember the name of the villain, but not a Dredd/Johnny Alpha collaboration - which would have "Dylan makes an album with Elvis" memorable.

[www.youtube.com]

This is amusing beyond the power of words to describe; I can only respond with an image:



Only MORE so.

Traditional slings are out. Bows maybe. Crossbow would be better, but also more complicated. As a demonstration, this guy is the best slinger I've seen, and I have no idea how he does this stuff.

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

Just finished the Zombie Survival Guide. I'm going with that. Bolt action rifle, pry/wrecking bar, machete.

[www.youtube.com]

Is this gun big enough for you thisway?

Dillon Aerospace 7.62 M134 minigun, mounted on a vintage VW microbus

When you have a six-barrel military machine gun that can fire between 2,000 and 6,000 rounds per minute - that's 33 to 100 per second - you can mount it atop any goofy-looking vehicle you'd like and it still looks fearsome.

Magpul's Jon Canipe talked about the 51mm military-only beast. 'It is - semi-legal,' he assured MailOnline after a dramatic pause. Licensed dealers 'who do the proper paperwork' can own one, but they're not permitted to sell miniguns to the general public.

Canipe's company has this bizarre contraption on display largely to draw gawks from gun show-goers, and it clearly works. The military monstrosity, combined with Magpul CEO Rich Fitzpatrick's 1962 23-window Volkswagen Samba microbus.

'We bought it from a couple of California surfer-dudes,' Fitzpatrick said. He gets extra style points for the hula dancer mounted on the dashboard. She's carrying a GI Joe-sized machine gun.

Price (not including the vehicle): $100,000

Lansky (T.A.S.K.) Tactical Apocalypse Survival Kit



[www.youtube.com]

The Lansky Rucksack is filled with a big bucket of the blood repellent goo???

[www.youtube.com]

Just want to mention I finally watched the first season of The Walking Dead, not for me.

I'll try to be realistic and say useful skills are much more important than any weapon. ZA is basically impossible if we are talking actual zombies. I think it is much more likely to have war among super powers a break down of society and a some catastrophic natural disasters to top it off.