Battling against a Zombie takes a certain amount of finesse. You must avoid being bitten, scratched, or coming into contact with bodily fluids or debris, and you must try to finish the job as quickly and cleanly as possible… all while remaining calm and continuing to be aware of your surroundings. The longer and messier you make the situation, the more likely it is that you will be harmed and/or come into contact with a contagion that could easily cause an end to your life.
While bashing in a few Zombie heads might sound like fun to some folks; you should never fight a Zombie if you don’t have to. Involving yourself in a battle to the death (or re-death as the case may be) is an extremely dangerous thing to do and confrontations with Zombies should be avoided whenever possible.
The time to reach for a weapon is when all else fails… then it’s up to you, your weapons, and a basic set of skills.
What It Takes To Kill A Zombie
1. Destroy the brain and/or sever the brain-stem. This is the classic “go-to” for Zombie slaying, but it sounds easier than it really is. The Human skull can withstand a surprising amount of force before it opens up to the brain. Well places strikes to the temples are your best bet when using blunt force instruments… and chops to the back of the neck or just under the chin work well for bladed weapons.
2. Realize that not all Zombie types (see: 4 types of Zombie) can be killed or are easy to destroy. Sometimes you can only slow them down. To properly slow an attacking Zombie down you should focus on a few main areas such as the back of the knee, Achilles tendon, eyes, and spinal column. Causing trauma to any one or all of these areas should effectively slow most Zombie types down, giving you enough time to make an escape.
Weapon Attributes
Not all weapons are created equally. Some take more maintenance and training than others, while some aren’t really effective at all. Each type of anti-zombie weapon, has it’s place, but the more versatile your weapon is, the better chance you have at survival.
- Quick and clean
- Allows you to keep a safe distance
- Highly durable
- Multifunctional
- Low maintenance
- Needs little or no training to use
Melee Weapons (close combat non-projectiles):
While melee weapons require to you close the gap between you and your aggressor, they are needed for close-quarter combat in small or semi-confined spaces. The use of a melee weapon often allows for a heightened level of stealth, which could be a life saver.
Machete – Most bladed weapons are a bit of a joke, or require a lot or training to be effective, but just about anyone can pick up a well-made machete and swing it with effect. A great weapon for severing the head, spinal cord, and/or limbs of a Zombie, machetes are also useful tools when working your way through dense brush and heavily wooded areas.
Baseball Bat – Easy to find, carry, and maintain, baseball bats are great weapons when fighting against a Zombie or two. While non-lethal in some instances, baseball bats can buy a survivor both time and distance, which is always priceless in a fight against a Zombie.
The lighter weight of an aluminum bat will take it easier on your body and muscles, especially when used for long periods of time or when carried long distances, but the solid core of a wooden bat lends a bit more hitting power and a level of durability that can’t be beat by it’s aluminum counterpart… but we still prefer the quick and easy swing that the lighter of the two offers.
Crowbar – The crowbar is a personal favorite of ours for fending off and dispatching Zombies. A crowbar offers the ability to be used as both a weapon and a multipurpose tool. While an average crowbar is made of steel, making it heavy and difficult to use for longer fights, or against multiple attackers, a great alternative is to find one made out of titanium.
Lighter in weight and much more durable than a steel crowbar, titanium crowbars are more expensive than their steel counterparts, but are well worth the investment if the money is there to spend.
Hammer – This extremely short-range weapon is one of the easiest to find and easiest to use… but it puts you well within biting distance, and that is not a place you really want to be. While a hammer is a great anti-zombie weapon for close quarters combat, they should not be relied upon as a primary weapon.
Hatchet Multi-tool - Capable of completely destroying a wooden pallet in a matter of minutes, or decimating a Zombie brain with one good swing, hatchet style multi-tools, like the Trucker’s Friend, are both amazing tools and Anti-Zombie weapons. Relatively lightweight, extremely durable, and highly versatile, these are a favorite for all of us at Zombease.
Homemade – Simple yet effective anti-zombie weapons can be put together using everyday objects found around the home. Tools like the Pummel Pipe and the Rip Stick are two of our favorites, but anything from a heavy frying pan, to the leg of a chair, or even a kitchen knife, can help buy you time to save your life.
Medium To Long-Range Projectiles:
We are resistant to the use of firearms in a Zombie fight, and we’ve got good reason why. Firearms require ammo, maintenance, and lots of training to make them a truly effective weapon… though you might get lucky with a simple point and shoot.
Unless you are a properly trained and skilled individual, a gun in a Zombie fight can be dangerous to not only you, but to other survivors in the area. Not only can the sound of a firearm going off reverberate far into the distance – signaling any nearby Zombies of your location – there is always the risk of cross-fire, misfires, and stray bullets.
If a firearm must be used, we recommend choosing a weapon that allows for distance (which keeps you clean), silencers (which keep you stealthy), and relatively standard ammo (which helps keep you stocked). If we had to choose a firearm for a Zombie fight, we’d likely go with a handgun like you see in the photos above, or a bolt action rifle. The simplicity and standard design of each lends to ease of use and ease of maintenance.
Incendiaries, Explosives, And Corrosives:
While they might sound like fun, incendiaries, explosives, and corrosives are extremely dangerous and most often impractical for use against a Zombie attack, especially during one on one situations or when fighting small groups of the undead.
Fire – Flaming Zombies present a major problems, they keep on coming. Many Zombie types ignore pain or lack the ability to feel it at all, and so they will continue to pursue their potential victim… even if they remain on fire the whole time. Setting fire to a Zombie simply takes too long to affect the brain and body enough to remove the threat… unless you’ve got a well maintained fire-proof barrier between you and it.
Explosives – These are loud, difficult to use, and very dangerous… even in the hands of a professional. Explosives should only be used as a last resort and you have ample knowledge of how they work. However, if you happen to find yourself surrounded by Zombies with no way out, a big bang would be a hell of a way to say goodbye.
Corrosives – Corrosives, such as acid, are dangerous to handle and not very effective against most Zombie types. While you might blind or temporarily incapacitate a Zombie with a bit of corrosive, they really aren’t worth the effort or worth the personal handling risks.
In Conclusion
Avoid battling with Zombies whenever possible. But, if and when you do find yourself in a situation that you have to fight your way out of, do it quickly and cleanly with whatever is at hand. Focus on the head and brain-stem to properly destroy the Zombie, use common sense, don’t panic, and always treat a weapon with respect.
* Zombease and the staff of Zombease do not condone or recommend violence or the use of weaponry as practice for Zombie fights. We are not responsible for any accidents, damage to persons or property and/or loss of life occurring from the above stated advice.
Brainnnnnnsssssss! xD Nice blog! I’m sure I’ll be reading a lot of your posts in the near future.
O>
–> B
O>
(zombie face)
Thanks for being the first source besides my own blog that I’ve found that does NOT recommend a chainsaw. Chainsaws are just not logical. Thumbs up!
A Chainsaw is a fools weapon. Loud, heavy, gas or electric powered, high maintenance, and not very effective… it’s a complete waste of time.
Completely. It’s easily jammed, breaks easy enough if it his something it can’t cut, and it spews up blood all over the place.
Obviously stealth is preferred but in a situation where you’re not 99% sure you or your group can handle a confrontation (casualty free), then you switch to firearms and do what you came to do acknowledging the risks.
I agree with your reasoning to be hesitant to involve a firearm in a zombie battle, I can’t help but think that handguns should be preferred over a rifle.
If you are far enough away that a rifle makes more practical sense than you had might as well run.
Rifle trumps handgun in every situation, except when you’re trying to drive your kids to school and shoot at the same time.
The only reason that, in the military, pistols are even used is because there are times you don’t have your rifle nearby. Even at “close” ranges a rifle is better: you’re more accurate, period. (you can also butt-stroke and bayonet (lol).)
I think that a shotgun would be even better that a rifle seeing you can put buckshot in a shotgun and even a child could point it in the general direction of a zombie if needed. Rifles are a little more skill oriented to use if not trained. With a shotgun and a slug you can easily hit targets 100 yds away and still have tons of knockback power.
That’s true Todd, but we also have to consider the massively explosive sound of a shotgun, and the force of the kickback when using a slug.
We took a slug to a watermelon recently, and it completely disintegrated the melon, but it hurt our shoulder like hell, and the boom was loud enough to call Zombies from miles around… had there been any lurking nearby.
We like a well-made rifle because of quick reload times, relative ease of operation, and less collateral damage. But really… it’s each to their own, as long as they outlive the undead hordes!
Ever consider a smaller gauge shotgun such as a 20 gauge. As a gun retailer I often change the mind of many women and small framed shooters who are fraud of the ‘scary’ kick and noise a 12 gauge produces. While 20 gauge shells are slightly less numerous than 12 gauge they are still very very common, not to mention lighter weight.
good point on the smaller people, I wonder what the potential of a 20 gauge compared to a 12 would be in the same situations.
Might have to see if anyone I know haw them & check it out.
I Shoot everything from 8 gauge shotguns to high powered rifles, now i deer hunt with a shotgun mostly because of where i live we cannot use rifles and i have killed deer with a 20 gauge at 100 yards, so if you would use buckshot at approx 30 yards or less i don’t think it would be a problem and a 20 gauge has hardly any recoil, you could even use a .410 thats almost no recoil at all that a child could use it. Now i relize that noise might be a problem but id rather have a little noise and bug out of the area, than have to hit something close up, the idea is to keep them away. I would like to say i can load a shotgun just as fast as a rifle depending on if it it clip fed or not most rifles that are common hunting rifles are not clip fed.
Reading a recent article in fur-fish-game shed some light on shotguns that I had not realized. To summarize the advancements in rifled slug barrels, optics, and sabot ammo have made the once 40yd lethality range of a slug gun to possible ranges of up to 250 yards. What this means to me is instead of carrying a rifle and a shotgun now just carry an interchangeable barrel shotgun. I.E. one solid receiver with a rifled barrel and a smooth barrel. With the huge variance of ammo from dove/target loads (little recoil, notice not much louder than a small calibre hunting rifle) to turkey loads, goose loads, buckshot, slugs, and various defensive loads makes the shotgun a very viable one gun option. Since most hunting and even military engagement occur within 100 yds the shotgun has you covered. As both an firearms dealer, avid shooter and prior USMC infantryman and firearms instructor I can attest the report from a shotgun really isn’t much louder than many firearms. It seems so when right next to it but for those listening the diffence in decibels is not that much more or less noticeable.
For those who do not have the money or firearm knowledge or like me don’t want to carry multiple firearms the shotgun is the multitool of guns and is also easy to pick up and shoot. To reduce recoil simply shoot a lighter loaded shell and/or invest $10 in a recoil pad.
Just my two cents…hope it helps at least one person. Cheers.
Just a second thought. Add a breaching muzzle attachment and/or a bayonet and you have a solid melee reach weapon for when shooting the zombie is not the best option.
At the risk of sounding like I’m jumping on the Darryl Dixon bandwagon… I can’t help but notice that there is no mention of any type of bow or crossbow. While they do require more training than a bat, they are worth learning how to use. Range, stealth, stopping power (with the right tip ans some practice), and the ammo is readily available (not to mention recoverable after practice and/or battle.
Why does everyone love that guy so much….
Just kidding. I’ve actually been wanting to add both of those things to the list for a while Brad, but I haven’t had the opportunity to get much experience in with them yet or interview folks that have.
Keep your eyes out though, everything on Zombease is constantly evolving as new information is learned about the Undead!
I want to do some reviewing of bows as well. They are definitely useful weapons but take a lot more training and know how than most other weapons. As for DD from Walking Dead, I can understand why so many like him. He’s like the go to guy. Has all the qualities that people want. Honorable, self sufficient, willing to put himself at risk for others without a thought, can hunt, can protect you etc etc. Women want to date him and men want to be him, isn’t that the line? lol
Yeah…but I bet he smells like sweat all the time.
ROFLMAO! good point.
Well, for bows i can understand they are silent and pack a heck of a punch but the learning curve for a bow is pretty high, like i have said in earlier posts i hunt a lot and i do bow hunt for deer and bear, but unlike a gun a bow is something that takes long time to master and constant practice to keep very good with it, now im not sure about crossbows seeing as i dont use them. but i would assume it would almost be the same as a rifle. Most people can pick up a gun and be adequete at it.
i reccomend a wakazashi wich is shorter than a katana but long enough that you have good range (a little over 2 feet) so it could be used in more close quarter situations like inside a house
I second your logic on firearms.
All to often, firearms are portrayed as the go to weapons of the zpaw.
But, realistically, discharging a firearm alerts every zombie in the area to your position, as well as other predators.
As such, cqc with melee weapons should be preferred for stealth until such a time that enemy numbers make melee combat unfavorable. Or, in other words, save your ammo until you’re up shit creek.
not living in a firearm rich environment (quite the contrary: Melbourne, Australia), i’ve opted to consider my melee options:
http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-zombie-tools-deuce.html
http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-cold-steel-boar-spear.html
http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/07/video-review-ka-bar-zombiekiller-blades.html
http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/07/video-review-ontario-black-wind-vs-meat.html
http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/10/review-united-cutlery-m48-ranger-hawk.html
and
http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/07/video-review-fubar-annihilator-vs-meat.html
hope you like!
Great list!
I really like the spear idea, back in olden times before firearms the general soldiery were given spears because just about anyone can use a spear without any training, and it keeps a good distance from what you are trying to kill.