Comments on: Handgun Choices for Close Range Zombie Defense

By: Monty

Monty — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:25:50 +0000

I don’t feel that I fit the profile of most posters here. Here’s my two cents… my tactical background is as a martial artist for eighteen years, and as a hunter for ten, and as a rock climber for two. Here are some random strategic zombie-related thoughts (while still staying in the general same book as the thread topic):

Capacity, accuracy, practical stopping power, ease of use and maintenance, universality, and convenience are all pluses.

Many of the good (in my opinion after having read way too many forums-and watching tactical videos) ones have been listed: USP, Sig226, 1911 (although it has a lot of haters out there), 92FS, .357… all powerful, accurate, and easy to feed. Maybe a nice .22 for training or light-duty use… am I missing anything important? The only pistol I have fired is an old .22 revolver half a dozen times and a glock 9mm once. I’d drop the .22 it in a heartbeat for any of the others, but until I see something better it’s my best friend (after my BSA, double-barrel (sawing it into a near-pistol on Z-Day), and wakizashi.

I’ve spent infinitely more time firing rifles and shotguns than pistols (remington speedmaster .22 (8×32) , BSA Monarch 30.06 (w/Bushnell), Win 1897 12ga, Colombian ver. of k98 30.06, and Beretta side by side 20ga. A pistol would just be another tool-and likely a little-used one. I’d trade some pistols for a high-end wakizashi or even really good-quality hunting knife. Generally, we want distance, and distance means rifles. Vs. Z’s I’d take shotgun>pistol close range… conclusion:

Bang for the buck-on topic? I’d want to have a 9mm and a .357-ammo versatility and I’m confident I can use either. Really though, I’d pick up as many pistols (and holsters) as I could find. Btw… no one has even once mentioned mag drop pouches that I’ve noticed-seems like a good accessory for all the reloaders (brass) and magazine-using types.

Other useful Z-day measures: greaves, a good shield (plywood is fine), good leather boots, hand to hand weapon (even as an elite martial artist if I’m having to throw or push kick this ZMFer to the ground I’m closer than I ought to be-at least one teammate should have a ‘real’ katana, another a sword/shield combo for guarding the stairs), climbing and rappelling gear (including rope).

If you have the luxury to be worrying about what pistol you’re going to carry you should first go over all the other preparations “one more time”. Please bring whatever you like-I’ll take whatever spare you can spare…

Okay.. that’s coming out pretty haphazardly, but I’ll leave it at that.

By: Zombilicous

Zombilicous — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:56:13 +0000

As for finding good steel weaponry, go to where they originally were made. Toledo in Spain and Kyoto in Japan are two big ones i know of, but i am sure there are great forgeries around europe and the east. I would not go with a scimitar simply because most were made of iron back in their hay day, and obviously the demand for major improvements have not been as on par as the development of Spanish steel, that which ruled the oceans at one point in time.
Overall for weapons, I would probably prefer the beretta firestorm, as while it’s a rifle it does accept clips and as with many old west guns, is chambered to use the same ammunition as your sidearm. I would prefer a .45 for stopping power but given that quantity might weigh in over quality, you may prefer going with the slightly smaller .40 or even 9mm for increased ammo capacity. I wouldn’t go with a smaller cartridge.
As far as actually carrying a sword, i wouldn’t. maybe a machete for it’s pure hacking power and multifunctionality, but def not something as heavy as an axe or similar bladed weapon. And also, you’re going to get really tired regardless of what bladed weapon you use..that’s why the old armies worked in formations and had shields out of necessity, not just because it was a splendid idea.

By: taekwondoeman

taekwondoeman — Sun, 10 May 2009 00:12:43 +0000

seriously though, think about revovlvers. I’ll admit, single actions suck, and double actions are slower to reload than semi-autos. But auto-loaders Jam up very easily, I have a .45 and i only shot maybe 200 rounds out of it and it jamed up half the time, as what happens with most auto-loaders. DA revolvers on the other hand never Jam up and if zombies are comin for u, u want something u can rely on. although most revolvers only carry six rounds they are so easy to reload. wat will happen if u run out of mags for ur auto-loader? it is gonna be a bitch to push those rounds into a clip, especially if ur surrounded by zombies who are eating u. whereas all u have to do with the revolver is push the cylinder out, empty the bullets and put new ones in,it only takes about 10-20 seconds and and less if u have a speed loader. but if ur tryin to put new rounds in a clip, it takes a few minutes and by then ur already digesting. Im not sayin that auto-loaders are bad but in my opinion a DA revolver would be better in the long run, in dependibility and reloading.

By: FallenKnight

FallenKnight — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:30:13 +0000

Albino, you are definitely singing my song! I have a Ruger Redhawk with a 2x scope on it:

http://bunny-gunner.deviantart.com/art/Gun-Control-39660619

That’s 5 shots through the same hole at a range of 25 yards. I saved that target to bring my wife back to reality when she gets a tad cocky…. 50 yard head shots should be no problem!
I don’t know about carrying it around, though, it weighs a ton. The good news is you can get a really comfortable across-the-chest holster for it, with or without the scope, and speedloaders are readily available (I only have 2 though). Talk about the “Voice of Authority!”

The real beauty of a 9mm is that so many people & agencies have switched to the .40S&W, used guns are really affordable. Even better, ammo is still plentiful & inexpensive, if you look around. I bought 960 rounds of Swiss surplus ammo for something like $80. You’d be lucky to get three boxes of decent .45s for that much!

I don’t really see that as a victory, Albino, you just took a step back and looked at the situation objectively and came to an unbiased conclusion. Besides, my Glock is a 15-shot .40S&W. Is it perfect? Hell no! Will it get the job done? You better believe it, Action Jackson.
Besides, I’ll be carrying my 10mm until it becomes untenable to do so. And trust me, I know all about hard-to-find ammo! But if you want the power of a .357 and the convenience of 10 shots, it’s the way to go.

And Doc, that’s a very good point about black powder guns. As long as you have the storage issue sorted out, you’re golden. I’m with you on the exotic weapon front, too. When it comes to firearms, I like the K.I.S.S principle, because complicated

By: Scaryalbino

Scaryalbino — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:19:35 +0000

alright, most of you know me and know that my posts usually mean high caliber cannons, Fallenknight i hope you still read this forum.
So i was looking at a good pistol for my girlfriend and *sigh* the Sig P232 just jumped out at me. its a 9mm so i shot a few rounds, yeah i liked it, it was good it had great recoil, i could put the muzzle back down where it was after each shot. so yeah, im not saying i would use a 9mm but i know its something i would consider.
THAT said, Ruger Redhawk double action .44 magnum, why kill a zombie when you can turn three of them into paste.

So there you go Knight, theres your big victory I ScaryAlbino just advocated the nine millimeter. Now if you can get me to like Glock then i will be amazed.

By: Dr Who

Dr Who — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:50:34 +0000

One thing you have to realize is that what you use against living targets and undead ones are two different things. Against people you want high knockdown and you aim center mass. Blow nice big holes and toss them across the room. Try that on a zed and he’s just goind to get back up and come at you again. That coupled with muzzle rise (I’ll go into that in a moment) and magazine capacity give the larger calibers some drawbacks. Against zombies you want to make headshots, knockdown power doesn’t mean much here unless you like turning zed heads into tomato paste. Mind you knockdown CAN be effective. If you’re suddenly surrounded by a group, you don’t have to worry about aiming at their rotting noggin, just go centermass, knock them back and down. Then pull your .22 and make head shots.

As for muzzle rise, yeah with a decent gun and a little strength and training the rise on 9mm and .45s isn’t too much to deal with, but that 1/4 second difference could be the difference between dead zombie and getting your first zombie love bite.

Revolvers vs. semi-autos, they both have advantages and disadvantages. CARRY TWO pistols. If you do happen to jam one (it will happen at the worst time of course) pull your second, if you empty your revolver, you have a second.

It’s been said before, but needs restating, ammo is going to be hard to find. While you .50AE may do REALLY neat things to walking corpses when you run out of ammo you’re screwed. Reloading helps, but you still have to collect the spent brass and have the powder (you’ll use it up quicker), the bullets themselves (still hard to find, but you could cast them, still uses more lead), and larger primer caps. .22 cal ammo is going to be everywhere, after that you’ll have 9mm, .380ACP, .45cal, .380cal, .40s&W, then others.

Melee weapons is another thread, but I’m using a flail (ball and chain). I’ve trained with one for years though.

Other specific points. Calico’s an interesting pistol but it won’t hit the broadside of a barn, it’s a bastard to reload the helical mag (a reason it has a loading machine to do it), plus you just can’t find clips for it , AND it wieghs a ton. Get yourself a .357 derringer and make a necklace out of it, just in case. A coach gun is a good “Oh SH..T!” weapon for one use. You’ll probably shoot both barrels at the same time and clear everything in front of you, then pull your pistol out.

Another thing, if it is zombie apocolypse, look into black powder. You CAN make it youself. But we’re talking TRUE handcannons now.

Just my thoughts.

“Zed’s dead baby, Zed’s dead.” – Butch

By: --

-- — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:08:57 +0000

Alternatively, if you happen to be A ninja and a doctor, you could attempt a highly reckless yet badass move demonstrated aptly here. http://drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=22&issue=8

By: Docwade

Docwade — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 02:39:23 +0000

Oh, I nearly forgot to mention, yes, they do make 20 and 30 round drums for the Saiga 12. Wraithmaker makes one that adds around 2.5lbs to the weapon unloaded as well as having terrible customer service, a rediculously overpriced product, and a drum that the company recommends that the end user modify their weapon to conform to the finicky nature of their drum. Sadly, MDarms hasn’t started shipping their drum yet though initial beta testing seems promising. Stick with the agp 10 round mags if you go Saiga 12 for your “defensive pistol” choice. Tromix makes a nice 8 inch barrel conversion Saiga 12 that could qualify as a pistol that you could also use as an improptu flamethrower.

By: Angryvikingman

Angryvikingman — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:12:23 +0000

I honestly hadnt considered the Ruger for that, but you are correct, it is functional, and has a ready supply of mags that you can get at walmart, or local retail chains. I have one thing to say about the ceiner conversion though. I have one in my AR-15, and it functions flawlessly, and black dog machine makes hi cap mags for it. The kit did have a break in period though, and it was really frustrating until all the kinks worked out. One bad thing about the rugers though is that they have problems feeding certain types of 22lr ammo. At least in my experience they do.

By: Docwade

Docwade — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:55:05 +0000

Well, you are correct…the topic is which “freaking handgun” would you choose. Hell, if the topic were “which tactical shotgun would you choose”, I would choose mine:
http://www.gunco.net/gallery/data/500/medium/032.JPG
It’s better than the tromix off the bat simply because it’s in my hands NOW and not waiting 6 -12 months to get one converted.

Now, why…oh why…would you suggest that Spike’s tactical 22lr??? It is based off a Ceiner conversion so you are limited to Ceiner magazines and parts availability (neither of which has a good reputation). If you wanted a useless 22lr pistol that does the exact same thing as the one you suggest, why not the Ruger Charger? It at least is already a proven base firearm with reliable steel lip hicap magazines that are also proven, and it costs around 40% of the Spike’s.