The NecroResistance

A firearm is a weapon that fires either single or multiple projectiles propelled at high velocity by the gases produced through rapid, confined burning of a propellant. Because of the power of most firearms, with enough skill you will be able to take zombies out with a single shot from a safe distance. However, firearms require ammunition, which can weigh a person down, and they make noise, which can attract nearby zombies. When choosing a firearm, it is always advised that one selects a weapon that fires a common ammunition type and has low to medium recoil. High-powered rounds will strain the shooter, and exotic ammunition may be difficult to find during a crisis.

[edit] Handguns

Handguns are weapons that are designed to be drawn, aimed and fired with one hand. They are usually small, light, and have low recoil, making them easy to carry and use. However, they are also fairly difficult to aim at long range, especially at a target as small as a zombie’s head. They are best suited to close encounters and indoor combat.

The two types of handguns are semi-automatic pistols and revolvers. Semi-auto pistols can fire as quickly as one can pull the trigger, and are fed through detachable magazines. They can hold a great deal of ammo (most 9mm magazines hold 15 rounds), and they can be affixed with silencers to reduce the noise that they make. However, the higher number of moving parts makes semi-auto handguns jam far more easily. Revolvers are fed through a chamber that rotates whenever the gun is cocked. They are known for being extremely reliable, low-maintenance weapons - in fact, it is often said that a revolver will absolutely never jam, no matter how much abuse it is put through. Also, revolvers are often chambered for more powerful rounds than their semi-auto counterparts, such as the venerable .357 Magnum. However, revolvers hold less ammunition than semi-autos (most revolver chambers hold only 6 rounds), and can take longer to reload.

Recommended handguns include semi-autos chambered in 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP, and revolvers chambered in .38 Special and .357 Magnum (the latter is preferred, as it can also fire .38 rounds without a problem). All of these rounds are common, have low to medium recoil, and are powerful enough to kill with one shot to the head. Larger calibers, such as the .44 Magnum and the .50 AE, typically constitute overkill against a zombie at anything less that the outer limits of a conventional pistol’s range.

Of particular note are rim fire handguns chambered in the .22 Long Rifle cartridge (or rim fire). Though underpowered by conventional standards, the round is easy to transport (fifty rounds can fit in the palm of your hand), plentiful (no self-respecting gun store would fail to carry it), has negligible recoil, noise, and muzzle flash, and is effective at the close-quarters ranges where the handgun comes into its own. It also can fragment or ricochet inside of an organic target, causing tremendous trauma. This is especially handy with a headshot.

[edit] Rifles

Rifles are firearms that are designed to hit targets at long range. There are four types of rifles: bolt-action rifles, lever-action rifles, semi-auto rifles, and assault rifles. With bolt-action rifles, fresh cartridges must be loaded into the chamber through manual operation of the bolt. With lever-action rifles, cartridges are manually loaded through the operation of a lever near the trigger guard. Semi-auto rifles automatically load cartridges whenever the trigger is pulled. Finally, assault rifles are selective-fire weapons that can fire in either semi-auto or full-auto modes.

Rifles are among the best anti-zombie weapons for one simple reason: their long range. A single sharpshooter with one rifle can bust multiple zombie heads from over one hundred meters away before the zombies even have time to turn around and start walking to his or her position. In addition, it is easy to learn how to aim and fire a rifle, and most rifles allow for the addition of scopes to improve accuracy even further (see the sniper rifle section below). One’s choice of rifle depends on personal preference - the slower fire rate of bolt-action and lever-action rifles can make the user less likely to shoot wildly in a panic, while semi-auto and assault rifles can take down zombies more quickly. However, when using an assault rifle, it is important to only use it in semi-auto mode, as full-auto fire only wastes ammo against zombies. Also, some longer rifles may prove to be fairly bulky in close quarters.

Common rifle rounds include the .223 Remington/5.56×45mm NATO, the .30-30 Winchester, the 7.62×39mm Soviet M43, the .303 British, the .30-06 Springfield, and the .308 Winchester/7.62×51mm NATO.

[edit] Sniper rifles

“Headshot!” - Counter-Strike

Sniper rifles are rifles that are designed to hit targets from very far away. Most sniper rifles are bolt-action, although there are some semi-automatic models that allow for higher fire rates in exchange for reduced accuracy due to recoil. A basic sniper rifle is easy to create - you simply attach a scope to a regular rifle. However, a specially-designed sharp shooting weapon will possess greater accuracy and range than a regular scoped rifle, and some are capable of hitting targets from over a kilometer away. If you plan on surviving the zombie apocalypse in a fortified structure or a wide open area, then it is highly recommended that you get a sniper rifle. However, if you are going to spend most of your time on the run, then it’s advised that you look for another weapon - sniper rifles are tricky to aim at close range, and they are often bulkier than regular rifles.

[edit] Carbines

Carbines are similar to rifles, only shorter and usually with lesser range. They were originally designed for mounted cavalry units, but later adapted for rear-echelon units and special forces units such as paratroopers. Thanks to their versatility in urban combat, they have been seeing more use among front-line troops. They are available in many forms - some, such as the Hi-Point 995 and the Beretta Cx4 Storm, are designed to fire pistol rounds, while others, such as the M4A1 and the AKS-74U, are basically shortened rifles. Like rifles, they are easy to aim, making them good weapons for those unskilled with firearms. In particular, pistol-caliber carbines have extremely low recoil and make less noise than rifle-caliber weapons. The smaller size and lighter weight of a carbine makes it easier to carry and manipulate in close quarters than a full-size rifle, although the shorter barrel also limits its accuracy and effective range, while the reduced weight increases its recoil (something for smaller shooters to keep in mind, especially when considering a rifle-caliber carbine).

[edit] Shotguns

“My name is Ash, and this… is my boomstick!” - Army of Darkness

Shotguns are commonly found in three varieties: break-action, pump-action, and semi-automatic. Break-action shotguns have hinged barrels, and are reloaded through opening the hinge and exposing the breech, allowing for old shells to be removed and new ones to be inserted. Break-action shotguns usually hold two rounds (double-barrel shotguns), although single-shot variants can be found. Pump-action shotguns are operated through a pump mechanism that ejects spent shells and loads new ones into the chamber. Semi-automatic shotguns are capable of firing as quickly as one can pull the trigger. They can fire faster, but they have more recoil, and as with all semi-auto weapons, it is easier to waste ammo when panicking.

While they are often glamorized in zombie films and games as the ultimate zombie-killing weapons, shotguns are not perfect weapons. First, they have a shorter effective range and less accuracy than rifles and carbines. Secondly, the ammunition for a shotgun is bulkier than pistol or rifle ammunition. Third, reloading a shotgun takes a lot of time, no matter what type it is. Finally, shotguns, particularly 12 gauge shotguns, have a tremendous recoil, which can startle and even injure an inexperienced or weak shooter. However, a shotgun can be very useful for pushing zombies back, for blowing open doors, or for fighting living humans that may pose a threat. Also, shotguns are versatile in the ammo that they can fire. Slugs, for example, eliminate most of the problems that shotguns have with range, while birdshot and buckshot can be used for hunting game in a survival situation.

If one is to use a shotgun for fighting zombies, he or she should do so with a knowledge of the weapon’s limitations. It is recommended that a less-powerful ammunition type, such as 20 gauge, be used instead of the more powerful 12 gauge, especially if the shooter is of a smaller stature. 20 gauge shells have less recoil, they take up less space that can be used for other things, they are readily available, and they will still stop an attacker cold at the close ranges that a shotgun is used at. It is also recommended that a shotgun’s barrel (but not its stock, which is necessary for absorbing the recoil) be sawed down to a reasonable length. A sawed-off shotgun is easier to carry and to aim in close quarters, and the reduced range and accuracy matters little for a weapon that is primarily used at close range. However, one must be careful if they attempt to modify any weapon, if the modification is not done correctly, it may reduce the weapons effectiveness or outright destroy it. Shotguns are best used like pistols - in close quarters and in indoor environments.

Shotguns and ammo are very easy to find, as they are common police, home defense, and hunting weapons in most countries.

[edit] Sub-machine guns

Sub-machine guns are compact automatic weapons that fire pistol-caliber rounds. They are easy to use and carry, they usually hold large amounts of ammunition (about 30 rounds per clip), and the ammo is fairly common. They are comparable to pistol-caliber carbines in power, range, and accuracy. However, unlike most of the above weapons, they are not available to civilians, which will make it difficult for most people to obtain them. (As SWAT and special forces teams are overrun, however, it may become easier to obtain one of these weapons.) Also, when using a sub-machine gun, it is important to keep it on semi-auto mode, as fully automatic fire is only a waste of ammo against zombies. The temptation to go full auto may be an argument against the use of these weapons by some people.

[edit] Machine guns

The primary use of a machine gun is to lay down suppressing fire to scare the enemy and get them to take cover. And zombies don’t get scared. It’s best to just forget about using these weapons. They’re difficult to aim, fully automatic fire is a waste of ammunition (why fire ten shots into the torso and limbs to cripple the zombie, when one in the brain will actually kill it?), and even “light” machine guns like the M249 SAW are often much bigger and heavier than rifles. The only reason to use one is if you see it lying around, there’s a big crowd of zombies after you, and the ammo can’t be used in any of the guns that you’re carrying. After you’re done, just drop it and leave it behind.

[edit] Minigun

This weapon is a 6-barrel, air-cooled, and electrically driven machine gun. The electric drive rotates the weapon within its housing, with a rotating firing pin assembly and rotary chamber, fed by a linked ammo strip. Hollywood has shown the massive destructive potential of this super-weapon in the hands of action stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger: Turning a man into a one-man weapon of mass destruction capable of taking down tanks, shredding houses like paper and clearing acres of rainforest at a rate to put even the most aggressive logging companies to shame. Unfortunatly, this weapon ranks about as low as the chainsaw in terms of use as a zombie weapon. The first is noise: had Schwarzenegger really used a minigun without earmuffs, than the Governator would have to communicate via sign language by now. Second, this thing eats through boxes of ammo in seconds, and it will be tough to find ammo. Third, a minigun is much too heavy to carry around and fire. This weapon is usually mounted on a vehicle or in a fortress not only for this reason, but because the recoil on the weapon makes the Desert Eagle look like an air rifle. Finally, it is electrically powered, and when the battery goes dead or the power is otherwise cut off, the thing is dead weight. Although it could turn a small hoard of zombies into rotting hamburger, the disadvantages of the minigun far outweigh what few advantages it has. Remember, if it looks good on camera, it’s likely to get you killed in real life, and that’s not counting the undead!

This entry was posted on Friday, January 2nd, 2009 at 1:36 am and is filed under Weapons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.