10 Things every zombie hunter should know
There are things that everyone should know how to do, but for those aiming to survive the zombie apocalypse, there is a particular skill set that people need to learn. There are things that you can learn easily, and things that you will have to practice to hone your skills.
The ZAC top list of 10 skills you to help survive the zombiepocalypse:
10. How to sharpen a knife.
9. How to use a knife.
8. How to use a large blade for self defense.
7. How to load and use a firearm.
6. How to shoot a 5 inch or smaller group at 100 yards with a rifle.
5. How to grow your own food.
4. How to process farm and game animals.
3. How to shoot a pistol well.
2. How to kill as quickly and quietly as humanly possible.
1. How to get around the psychological barriers you’ll face in this extreme survival situation.
I could go on a long winded rant about how if you don’t know how to do at least 5 of these things already, you’re pretty much screwed, but we’re here to educate, not humiliate, so here we go with the “Edjimication”.
Why do I say that? Well, most people who live in rural areas of the world already know somewhere between 5 and 8 of these things by the time they hit puberty. The world has grown soft during its urbanization and modernization. A few do the things that many can’t do for themselves. Lets start with the simple things, learning to care for and use a blade.
Numbers 10, 9, 8, 4, and 2 are the basis for much of what you will have to use for survival in a world that no longer has manufacturing, mega farms, supermarkets, butcher shops, or police. Lets begin with number 10.
#10 Sharpening a knife
Sharpening a knife. Refer to our article “Blades for Z-day” for blade information such as uses, selection, and sharpening.
#9 How to use a knife
Using a knife is pretty simple, and yet wholly complicated on a scale that is scarcely imaginable. You can learn to use a knife in as little as 10 minutes, but its intricate and niche uses take a lifetime to master. Also, each knife size and style has its own uses, refer to the above referenced article again for descriptions of these knives and their uses. Do a little bit of research and learn what you can.
#8 Using a large blade for self defense
Just swinging a blade like a crazy person isn’t a good idea. Hell, you could even injure yourself if you’re not careful. Especially if you have a really really sharp blade. This Kata is for Kamas, but is easily transferable to any large blades, especially machetes.
#7 How to load and use a firearm
Generally, a firearm comes with a manual. In this case, refer to the manual for the use of the firearm. If it doesn’t:
Shooting a pistol Aligning pistol sights
How to shoot a rifle Rifle Part 2
#6 Shoot a 5 inch or smaller group at 100 yards with a rifle
Apply the fundamentals and it should be easy.
#5 How to grow your own food.
Find a guide: Here is one.
#4 How to process farm and game animals
Search youtube for how to process various types of animals. Here is one I made for chickens, but it applies to any kind of bird. (Over 4k views. ;) )
#3 How to shoot a pistol well
Refer to #7.
#2 How to kill as quickly and quietly as humanly possible
Well, short of spending 20 years learning ninjitsu, all I can say is spend time in the wild learning how to quietly stalk game, practice walking silently over different types of terrain, and as we all know, knives don’t make noise when you put them in someone. You can also learn from the army combatives manual.
Finally, #1 How to get around the psychological barriers you’ll face in this extreme survival situation.
Well, all I can say is we’ll all have to cope in different ways. Grow a pair and do what you have to to survive. Try and enjoy the little things and keep your mind on keeping your ass alive.
Comments (54)
McLuvin on 19 Jun 2011 at 12:53 pm #
Really? Learn to shoot a handgun “well” by reading the manual? This makes me kind of question your shooting abilities Viking.
QAZZY 1-9th on 19 Jun 2011 at 2:00 pm #
I think I should clarify more on the knife skills.
-Hold the knife with your thumb, so it is parallel to the handle. It should be a extension of your forearm.
-Keep your weapon close to you, don’t want it knocked out of your hands.
-Keep your elbows near your ribcage, don’t want to be grabbed, either.
-You want your blade to be long enough, so that if you stab through the palette of the mouth, you can hit the brain.
As for killing silently, there are plenty if places to find out where to make a homemade silencer, it’s easy.
-Learn several ways to break a neck.
For psychological limitations, be a cold, hard bastard. Nothing further on that topic.
There are other useful skills that people in your group should know too.
-Mountain climbing.
-Rappelling.
-SCUBA.
-Scout/Sniper.
-Improvised explosives.
-Hot-wiring.
-Piloting aircraft/watercraft (more optional).
-Shelter making.
-I can’t believe this was missed, but fire making.
These are things you should KNOW, but you should also work on endurance. Running 3 miles in 28 minutes is reasonable, but you should be able to hike long-distances, carrying a heavy pack. Yes, just like the SAS.
Angryvikingman on 19 Jun 2011 at 2:25 pm #
No no no, I wasn’t a top 10, just 10 things. Of course fire making would be in the top 10, but until all the matches and bic lighters run out, I don’t think that many people will learn primative fire making skills. As for all of that stuff you mentioned, it is good to know. Like I said, not a “TOP 10″ just 10 things they “Should” know.
QAZZY 1-9th on 19 Jun 2011 at 2:49 pm #
These are Top 10 things you HAVE to know.
Can I become a writer? I’ve sent a sample writing. I have an idea for an article on picking a group.
Angryvikingman on 19 Jun 2011 at 3:00 pm #
Email it to me, and I’ll post it. Even though I post most of the content lately, I don’t get to pick writers. angryvikingman@yahoo.com
McLuvin on 19 Jun 2011 at 4:18 pm #
So what you’re saying is you are more of a rifle kind of guy.
Angryvikingman on 19 Jun 2011 at 4:35 pm #
Generally, yes, but like I said I haven’t shot in a few months so I’m rusty.
QAZZY 1-9th on 19 Jun 2011 at 5:13 pm #
Angryvikingman, I’ve already sent some, I’ll resend if your inbox is quite full.
Another thing a zombie hunter should know: STAY REALISTIC. I just read an article on fantasy loadouts, and if I got a dollar for every time I heard ‘LAV-25′, ‘.44 Magnum’ or ‘AA-12′, I’d be a rich man. Fantasy loadout? Belt-fed selective-fire .338 Lapua Magnum. Because I can. Considering how the moly-coated rounds are a couple bucks a pop, I’ll take a thousand. And maybe something with a .50 BMG SLAP.
Semper Cogitant on 19 Jun 2011 at 8:12 pm #
Well, #8 I’m weak on, #2 I’ve got the theory but no real practice.
#1 is very important, and very difficult to prepare for, or to predict how you’ll react. I’ve seen a lot of bad shit in my twenty year in the emergency business, and gotten past it, other people I know have not. We have a few veteran here, and they certainly know that going to war affects people differently, and that it’s hard to tell ahead of time who will cope and who won’t.
Our scenario here is different though. In my experience I’ve always been able to go home afterward, I always knew it would end. Even in war you know it’ll end eventually if you survive. In the zombie apocalypse it never ends, you”ll be dealing with it for as long as you live, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. That makes the psychological aspects unique.
There are of course tons of other skills that will be needed to survive, but as far as hunting zombies these are a good set.
I’ll add a couple very important things to Qazzy’s list too: breaking and entering skills, and medical skills at least at the advance first aid level (or something like the military’s combat lifesaver course).
QAZZY 1-9th on 19 Jun 2011 at 8:31 pm #
The psychological similarities and differences to the sandbox are quite interesting. There were times where I didn’t think the enemy see me, then all hell broke loose, and I was sure I’m going to their lovely Muslim hell. I pulled my ass out, but agreeing with Semper here, you aren’t surviving this hellhole. You can find rest, but civilization is over. You have to save YOUR world and rebuild it. You can exploit human weaknesses against terrorists, but you are facing a non-resting enemy, and that may be scarier than those B-2 pilots.
My weakness is doing things I have normally placed in a woman’s duties. Cooking, growing food and medical care. Sure, I can prepare a MRE and make a sandwich when she won’t make me one, but otherwise, I can’t do much more than fire roast or grill my prey (non-zed). That’s why you can’t go one-man army, you need a team where members will make up for other members’ weakness. My brother and I together can cover long and short-range very well, but neither of us can care for wounds too well, or do vehicle-related duties besides hot-wiring and stealing. Also can’t operate any of those big Army ‘toys’ or USAF/USN planes. You can’t be a polymath and cover absolutely everything like an expert, so you absolutely need a team.
But if you need a sniper, a burglar, a martial artist/knife fighter or IED maker, I’m a blog post away (after Z-Day, the government likes me at the moment).
Semper Cogitant on 20 Jun 2011 at 8:35 pm #
@Qazzy – learn first aid, get yourself sent to the combat lifesaver course or take an EMT class. Those skills are absolutely indispensable in a long tern survival situation. If it’s just you and your brother or a couple friends or something you can’t call for the “doc” when someone gets hurt.
Learning about dressing a wound, splinting, airway management, and dealing with basic medical emergencies are key. If you team up with a mechanic, whose skills you need to keep mobile, and he happens to be diabetic, you better recognize the signs of hypoglycemia and and know what to do about it.
Even better, take a wilderness medicine course, learn how to suture a wound, how to start an IV, how to manage a sick person for a longer period of time.
The more you learn the better. Knowing which medications to collect when scavenging will be infinitely helpful too.
Cooking is another matter. As long as you can build a fire and can figure out when the meat is cooked enough, and can heat up whatever you can find in a can, you are good to go. Everything else is just luxury. Though a good meal can be nice from time to time.
What other skills are traditionally “woman’s work”? We should all know basic sewing, to be able to repair clothes (though initially new clothes will be easy to find).
As for growing food, that stopped be traditional woman’s work during the neolithic revolution.
Also, in terms of teams, you want to make yourself as valuable as possible to you team. Me, I can shoot better than 1 MOA with my Remington 700p out past 300 yards, I can shoot well closer in with my AR and closer still with a handgun. I have a lot of medical training and experience (I’m an ER nurse for those those that don’t know), I know my way around communications (ham radio operator), I can make electricity, do basic mechanics, cook well, sail a boat, scuba dive, and a few other useful skills. I’m perhaps only expert at the medical stuff, but I try to maintain a wide range of skills where I’m competent.
In all likelihood you would be starting off alone in this, and have to survive long enough to hook up with a team.
QAZZY 1-9th on 20 Jun 2011 at 9:18 pm #
I know basics (stitching wounds, IV (sort of, from watching Shooter, which is having me consider signing up for Force Recon, stupid media influence), splinting stopping bleeding, knocking out for purposes, and I have only been sick with flu/fever 3 or 4 times in my life, so I can’t do that), but anything further I would need an EMT with me. My weakness is definitely communication, since I even have trouble using a computer (stupid technology). My only experience with sewing was as a teenager, fucking around and making ghillie suits, but I know my way around a sewing machine, or even needle and thread. But point taken, I’m going to sharpen up only medical skills. I do mild gardening (herbs, some fruits, berries), so with experimentation, I could extend my green thumb. As for cooking, I guess I can do the survival basics of roasting and whatnot, but a nice meal once in awhile will go far to boost morale.
These are mostly only useful long-term, so I could hook up with a team pretty fast. My shooting, hand-to-hand, burglary and vehicle skills will be good early on for looting. But I got plenty of current/former military contacts (all I know are above proficient shooters, and other notable skills to boot), and I’m a short drive from Andrews and Bolling Air Force base, MCB Quantico, D.C., Norfolk, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center, to name a few. Too bad one of my better friends is Secret Service, since he’s one of the best hand-to-hand/shooters I know.
Semper, were you in the Corps at one point, or a different service?
survivor811 on 20 Jun 2011 at 9:58 pm #
hmm lets see….. I am fine with Hand to hand combat. My shooting is a little rusty so I need to work on that. I can hunt, fish and farm decently for a group. with others it will also be alot easier.
Im ok with most of these, I dont think I’m going to go “zombie hunting” I will kill them if I absolutely have to but i’d rather avoid too much conflict. as for quick and quiet killing. a nice blade through the spinal cord between the sholderblades should silence them quickly and quietly.
QAZZY 1-9th on 21 Jun 2011 at 10:22 am #
Agreed, we’re not out to ‘kill’ all the zombies, just stay alive.
wheelgunner on 21 Jun 2011 at 2:15 pm #
I actually have a problem with that. If there are no zeds left, there is not a problem.
survivor811 on 21 Jun 2011 at 8:17 pm #
So your solution to this problem is try to kill the 5.9 billion people on the planet who have turned into zombies because they werent prepared or lived in heavily populated places?
QAZZY 1-9th on 21 Jun 2011 at 8:31 pm #
I don’t think there would be over 1.1 billion survivors. Nuke the hell out of major cities though.
The Army has a new, legitimate manual to fight zeds.
big bear29 on 21 Jun 2011 at 9:29 pm #
@QAZZY 1-9th
By the time any of the authorities worked up the courage to give the order to nuke the major cities there likely wouldn’t be anybody left to carry out the order and those that are left might refuse to obey it anyways .
I actually would go out and do some zombie hunting . A lot of the people on this site talk about how they would just try to avoid the zombies , personally I think that will only work for so long before you have to start taking them out as they would likely be hunting the survivors rather than just milling around until somebody shows up .
But I wouldn’t waste my time trying to take them out one at a time with silent knife kills as that would take forever . I would find some way to lure them out into the open and wipe them out in mass . I would likely just use the 2 1/2 army transport truck that is nearby to plow them over . A five thousand pound truck traveling at fifty miles an hour with a solid steel cattle guard on the front will do a massive amount of damage to a persons body , it would shatter bones and tear off limbs . I would only use guns or knives on individual zombies not entire groups .
QAZZY 1-9th on 21 Jun 2011 at 9:58 pm #
I don’t know, but we need to stop thinking so negatively about the government. We shouldn’t rely on them, but hope for the best.
QAZZY 1-9th on 21 Jun 2011 at 10:02 pm #
Forgot to include this, but I will establish, or join a colony before doing humanity a favor and exterminating zombies. If I’m safe, humanity has a better chance of surviving. One lost in a colony is less damaging to our race than one lost while traveling nomadically. You come first, the you can tear up zombies.
Maybe we can utilize zombies for power, if they turn out to be tireless (not realistic), pop ‘em on a wheel or treadmill, and have them chase a ‘person’.
USER_73211 on 22 Jun 2011 at 4:49 am #
Angryvikingman, thanks for the link to “How to process chickens”. Do you plan
on doing one on larger animals (deers, pigs, cows) any time soon?
McLuvin on 22 Jun 2011 at 6:34 am #
I think a certain amount of zombie hunting will be necessary. Even if you establish a remote, secure base you will want to send out roving patrols to clear the immediate area. This will keep the horde down so you don’t risk getting overrun. It will also make it a little safer to hunt food. Silent(or at least quiet) kills will be very helpful in not attracting more undead to your area. I’ll stick with a suppressor unless a stealthy bat/machete kill is safe and easy at the time.
QAZZY 1-9th on 22 Jun 2011 at 7:08 am #
I would only want to go ‘silent’ like that with individual, for safety purposes. With groups, I would fashion a silencer (easy) and snipe the zeds.
As for power, maybe putting them on a transparent wheel, but with opaque sides, so they won’t see victims to their left or right and attempt to attack.
wheelgunner on 22 Jun 2011 at 12:13 pm #
Not worth the risk for that wheel.
McLuvin on 22 Jun 2011 at 12:55 pm #
A water wheel accomplishes the same thing and water won’t eat you.
survivor811 on 22 Jun 2011 at 12:58 pm #
a silencer might not make the gun quiet enough to avoid attracting attention though. One of the Guns I have fired was a pistol (forgot what type) with a silencer. I still remember it being fairly noisy. if you are in an enviornment were there are zombies and it is quiet that silencer will still make alot of noise.
Of course once Z-day hits i plan to be on a small Island in the Carribbein, anyone who wants to help reestablish Civilization can meet me there.
also as for there being 1.1 billion survivors. I dont think there will be that many but I also took into account people who live in remote areas, are prepared so who knows how many there will be. I myself fully intend to be one of them.
McLuvin on 22 Jun 2011 at 2:05 pm #
A good suppressor will only reduce the gunshot by around 40db. That doesn’t make it movie quiet by any means, but it significantly reduces the distance it can be heard at. Even bows make a decent amount of noise when fired. Hell, a bat to the head isn’t exactly silent.
QAZZY 1-9th on 22 Jun 2011 at 3:23 pm #
However, bats and bows are silent enough, and a .22 suppressed is very quiet. The purpose of a suppressor is to make sure your enemy does not know where the shot came from, which is a good thing.
McLuvin on 26 Jun 2011 at 2:55 pm #
Okay, we have gone several days without any comments. This is when a new topic should be posted. You gave us a “part one” two months ago. I assume there is a “part two” waiting in the wings.
Angryvikingman on 26 Jun 2011 at 5:09 pm #
Yes, but you know that for the last year or so I’ve done 90% of the writing for this site, and I don’t like to rush articles so that people can’t sit there and say that I didn’t do my research, and considering that I don’t get paid for writing, well, I have to work. QAZZY sent an article that I’ll be posting when I have more than 30 seconds to comment.
wheelgunner on 27 Jun 2011 at 12:17 am #
Fine with me. We don’t have time or inclination to comment, I reckon that those of us got a problem with it best find something to post about, hadn’t we?
Angryvikingman on 27 Jun 2011 at 9:51 am #
sorry, mcluvin just likes to bitch sometimes, and I’ve been kinda overwhelmed at work and home. Qazzy’s article will be up by 6pm cst.
wheelgunner on 27 Jun 2011 at 12:21 pm #
Notice that, I think we all have. It’s all good. Still here, aren’t we?
McLuvin on 27 Jun 2011 at 1:55 pm #
I’m just trying to keep things rolling. Don’t want another two month shutdown like we had a while ago.
QAZZY 1-9th on 27 Jun 2011 at 4:13 pm #
Just came home from a trip in New Jersey. I’m convinced half the people I saw there are zombies. Atlantic City is the watered-down East Coast Vegas.
Angryvikingman on 27 Jun 2011 at 5:53 pm #
New article posted before 6pm cst as promised.
McLuvin on 27 Jun 2011 at 6:58 pm #
Thank you
QAZZY 1-9th on 28 Jun 2011 at 6:45 am #
@Angryvikingman
What do you do for a living?
Angryvikingman on 28 Jun 2011 at 9:08 am #
Right now I transport vehicles and make paracord bracelets for sale, and some for John Fitzen when he sends orders.
QAZZY 1-9th on 28 Jun 2011 at 10:09 pm #
By hand? That’s a bit time-consuming. I’d totally do it though, I could just sit in front of the TV all day and tie knots.
Red dog on 29 Jun 2011 at 10:51 pm #
People will say this is wrong but I think a 22.lr is a excellent gun to use you can carry literally thousands of rounds of ammunition easily they are small and light, i wouldn’t under estimate one if you are a good hot they are good I have shot more rounds with one than I can count and they would definitely take down a zed after all they are only really people that are really psycho
QAZZY 1-9th on 30 Jun 2011 at 8:58 am #
In the other post, we were discussing how great .22LRs are actually. After I run out of 5.56, 7.62, 9mm and .300 Win Mag, I’m cracking out my 22/45 and 10/22. I’m hopefully getting a Lakeside belt-fed too.
Haslantis on 06 Jul 2011 at 5:01 am #
i don’t think i would use a gun in a zombie apocalypse but i would have one handy just in case.
for one reason they are noisy you would have every ghoul(zombies) in town learn your position.
McLuvin on 06 Jul 2011 at 1:41 pm #
I’m ok with that. The less people using guns the better. More ammo for me and less chance of some idiot accidentally shooting me.
QAZZY 1-9th on 07 Jul 2011 at 5:37 pm #
The downside to the 2nd Amendment, unfortunately. Any idiot can get a gun.
wheelgunner on 07 Jul 2011 at 9:52 pm #
Upside to being an active proponent of it. Anything ever gets bad enough for them to try to use it on you, you know how to take it away from them in a hurry.
QAZZY 1-9th on 08 Jul 2011 at 5:36 pm #
Yup, Krav Maga FTW. MCMAP is pretty BA too.
Michael Noble on 13 Jul 2011 at 2:08 am #
Just saying, anyone acting like zombies would be looking for water or food. If there was a CME (The Sun’s Coronal Mass Ejection), that would fry the worlds electrical power grids. Or North Korea firing off a missile to explode a EMP (Electro Magnatic Pulse) nuclear bomb 300 miles over Kansas City, it would wipe out the power grid of North America.
The first day. Everybody waits for the power to come back on. Cell phones don’t work (there’s no electricity for the cell phone towers). Water isn’t flowing, the electric pumps aren’t working. Car’s don’t work, 99% of them have vampire systems, so they are all fried. The only car’s or trucks that do work, are the old cars with carburators. Oh….
The second day. People are now getting hungry and thirsty. They go to the stores, and they have to walk or ride a bicycle. The stores are all shut down. Everyone is waiting for the power to come back on. But it won’t. By the end of the second day, some stores are broken into, and cleaned out (I would imagine even TV’s are taken).
The Third Day. Everybody is in panic mode, they need water. You can go three days or so without water… then you will die. People on oxygen and meds will die soon. People without water will die after seven days. A big stink will happen a city of 70,000 people. No police, no government. Zombie’s? Yeah, the survior’s that stole the water and food.
And what about disease? Bubonic Plague (endemic in the wild animal population), Cholera (water that is not boiled or treated with chem’s).
It is projected that given these outcomes that one out of ten Americans will survive. We will be thrust back to an era of 1790.
The electrical grid we rely upon will not come back on line. The transformers will all be blown out. It takes six months to build a new transformer, and they are no longer built in this country.
Here’s a really good event for you to think about, The first day, no communication, cell phones won’t work, land lines won’t work. Everybody wants to go home and take care of their loved ones.
And then they realize, as the hours go on, that they aren’t prepared. They may have a 22 pistol with little or no ammo. Water supplies, none. A few canned foods for a day or so. A bicycle ridden by their son, whose not home. The man and woman of this household, begin to realize they must do something, but unfortunately they don’t really have the faintist clue as to what to do. They don’t realize that the society they lived in, is breaking down. There is no government to step in to protect them. There is no FEMA. These people are cut off from what the knew before. They may go to a water source, and drink from it. Only they didn’t no about the contaminents of protozora in the water, and they all have diaherra after two days, and they all die soon after. Bones by the riverside.
But there will be those that survive. After one month or two, there will be those that survive.
It will be one out of ten. The old people on med’s and oxygen will die, the fools and idiots will die, the well meaning but unprepared will die. The gangs might survive, for they now how to exist in a changing landscape of humanity.
But what of the future? The gangs must be put down or brought into the future social structure. The rebuilding must begun.
So the story of mankind continues
QAZZY 1-9th on 14 Jul 2011 at 7:01 pm #
I like your insight, but this is in the possibility of a zombie apocalypse, not a CME or a nuclear weapon used as an EMP…
Off Grid Survival on 17 Aug 2011 at 5:10 pm #
What about the Double Tap?
wheelgunner on 18 Aug 2011 at 12:46 am #
I use big bullets. Big, expensive, hard to pack around bullets. I’m good at one, and you should be too. If you have any doubts, sure, why not, dump the clip. Just remember that it takes at least two shots to acurately locate a gun shot.
Bottom line, do what you feel the situation calls for.
Mercenary on 05 Oct 2011 at 3:13 am #
Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. The fact of the matter is, the faster you react, the easier the problem can be dealt with. Control and quarantine may seem humane or safe, but it is not. The rate of an epidemic like this would be exponential. It is far more effective to take an effective offensive strategy from the beginning. Well thought out, proper survival kits (food water, batteries, radio, first aid kit, etc.), weapons that you are most comfortable and accurate with, plenty of ammo, get your fire teams figured out, devise a battle strategy, LZs, fallback plans, call-signs secondary points of contact for every fire team. I may sound a little paranoid, but as a combat Veteran, I want to know every bit of intel I can about the situation before I jump in. Surprises can kill you. Stay alert, stay alive!