Monthly Archives: December 2015

The Top Ten Guns for Taking on a Zombie Hoard – Part 2

As adapted from an article on Orion Woods Brigade.

Continuing our discussion of good guns for the undead . . .

2. AK-47 – The weapon designed to be used by semi-trained peasants to repel the evils of capitalism is a great choice for the undead. Though it pushes back a little harder on the shoulder than the carbine, it is uber-reliable – a boon when trying to find gun oil and extractor springs in a collapsed economy.

Its once-unusual cartridge (7.62x39mm) is becoming more prevalent in sporting goods stores and collections around the country. Even Winchester and other US manufacturers are making legit hunting and sporting rounds for it. Although tempting, I wouldn’t recommend the AK-74 unless you have stockpiled and cached a mad amount of 5.45x39mm ammo.

My dad would also be proud to see that the top two items on my list have wooden stocks.

Historical Glimpses into the Undead – 1190 AD

“It would not be easy to believe that the corpses of the dead should sally (I know not by what agency) from their graves, and should wander about to the terror or destruction of the living, and again return to the tomb, which of its own accord spontaneously opened to receive them, did not frequent examples, occurring in our own times, suffice to establish this fact, to the truth of which there is abundant testimony.”

– William of Newburgh wrote in the 1190s

The Top Ten Guns for Taking on a Zombie Hoard – Part 1

As adapted from an article on Orion Woods Brigade.

Ok, so off the bat, let me say that most likely you won’t be facing a zombie hoard, so investing a bunch of your limited dollars into a weapon to defend against zombies is probably not your best spend. However, it is a great TSHTF scenario to discuss and allows you to consider the use of a few gems that have been all but written off by contemporary gun writers.

If you are really looking for a great, general-purpose weapon for hunting and home defense buy a shotgun. Better yet, read Boston’s Gun Bible and then decide for yourself.

The list is limited to weapons that are (currently) available to civilians. A few may be expensive, but if you hit-up enough gunshows or make sure your favorite gun dealer is on your Christmas card list – you can get them to track one down.

Who wouldn’t want the use of a 5.56mm Vulcan Mini-gun to take on an army of the undead? While you’re at it – why don’t you mount that sucker on top of a tank? With that kind of money you could hire an army of displaced ChiCom mercenaries to do the fighting for you . . . I have to be somewhat realistic here. Oh wait . . . zombie invasion . . . fa!

Top criteria for weapons includes reliability, scroungability of ammunition, ease of carrying (weight), and effectiveness against the skull of a semi-necrotic, undead adversary. Remember, you kill the brain – you kill the ghoul . . .

1. M1 Carbine – Yep, that’s right haters, the venerable M1 Carbine is top on my list. Designed in a time when rifles had to perform flawlessly in the out-of-doors and also serve as a club, the M1 Carbine’s longtime pain point has been its underpowered cartridge – not a problem when dealing with offing the undead. The M1 Carbine is also lightweight, carries and handles well, and you can carry a goodly supply of magazines for it. There are even aftermarket rail kits for it, so you can add whatever accessories you’d like.

Make sure yours has a bayonet. 🙂