Role Playing- what type of gun would you choose?

[PistolPete]

For strictly purposes of discussion, please consider the following scenario.

The zombie apocalypse has happened. Sadly, you were knocked unconscious by an explosion early on and spent the first two weeks unconscious. When you are recovered you are offered some basic supplies by the governing council of the local town. Much like the US government offered land to homesteaders, they have chosen to offer food and a firearm to anyone who comes to their town, and the option of occupying a deserted dwelling in town or striking off on your own. They figure the more people who can fight off the zombies the better, and they have plenty of supplies to share. The package is a standard assortment of food, medical gear and clothing, the only thing a person can pick is the firearm. There are 4 choices- a handgun, a shotgun and two rifles, each with 2kg of ammo. Because the first thing that happened during the zombie uprising is everyone ditched the imperial system of measurements and embraced the metric system. Yes, that's what it took.

Your choices are:
1) Beretta 92, 2 mags, 175 rounds of 9mm ball

2) Mossberg 500 pump shotgun, hunting variety with 26" barrel, 40 rounds of #6, 10 rounds of 00 buckshot

3) Remington 700 bolt action rifle, 223 with scope, 16" barrel, 160 rounds of 55gr FMJ

4) Saiga 308, 16" barrel, single 5 round mag, 80 rounds of 147gr ball

Please vote and share why you made your choice if so inclined.

[Phoenix David]

#3

Longer range, a scope, more bullets cause I an't staying here..

[spanningtree]

I'd pass on the handgun being my only gun, it would be nice to have both but that's not an option. I can see long range shooting being common.

The shottie would be nice but not enough ammo to use at long range.

The 700 will have to be it. Nice stash of ammo, scope and it hold 5 rounds. Just try to knock the horde down from as afar as possible.

The Saiga would be my second pick but I would be missing a scope dearly, it would also be nice to have a second mag.... BTW: I have one of these with wood furniture and I'm pretty sure lugging this bitch around would get pretty old pretty fast.

[MacWa77ace]

Can't vote 'cause I'm using the eTech grey version of the boards which is 'safe for work', but doesn't work with polls.

If the town had plenty of supplies to share; and therefore we didn't need to hunt, just defend against Zombies, I'd probably rock the 92, instead of luggin long guns around all day, and take over a deserted dwelling. With a hot tub and cable TV.

If we had to hunt for our own food, in my AO I'd take the 500 and set out on my own for at least a while. [I'd rather have 40 rds of #8 but I'd have to make it work.] Then I'd go to the next town get my allotment and pick the scoped remington, and off to the next town to get my allotment with the 92. Then I'd have a rifle/shotgun/handgun taking full advantage of the Gubment programs.

[Mall Ninja]

Are they fast zombies or slow zombies?

[NamelessStain]

I'd go with the pistol. Why?

1. The most rounds and 2 magazines.
2. I don't want to initiate at too long of a range and be making noise unnecessarily. Just escape and evade.
3. Lightest firearm so I can skedaddle.
4. Better in close quarters imo.

[PistolPete]

Can't vote 'cause I'm using the eTech grey version of the boards which is 'safe for work', but doesn't work with polls.

If the town had plenty of supplies to share; and therefore we didn't need to hunt, just defend against Zombies, I'd probably rock the 92, instead of luggin long guns around all day, and take over a deserted dwelling. With a hot tub and cable TV.

If we had to hunt for our own food, in my AO I'd take the 500 and set out on my own for at least a while. [I'd rather have 40 rds of #8 but I'd have to make it work.] Then I'd go to the next town get my allotment and pick the scoped remington, and off to the next town to get my allotment with the 92. Then I'd have a rifle/shotgun/handgun taking full advantage of the Gubment programs.

I meant it as a one time thing- you get one and have to stick with it, but that perhaps isn't very clear.

I see advantages to all of them. Small game and defense favors a shotgun. Being easy to have on you all the time favors the handgun. Long range use favor the rifles. They are all useful in my mind. Useful enough I think it would be hard to pick if it were real life.

[Bearcat]

My vote is for the saiga 308. Even though it only has one 5rd mag. I'd pick the saiga because it has the reliability that comes with an AK and I don't want to get close enough to use a handgun. Assuming the town is pretty well secured and no zombies can wander through, reloading the mag isn't a big deal if you're picking them off from a wall. Weight isn't a big deal either if you are staying put.

[Gingerbread Man]

Does the rem 700 have iron sights?

[PistolPete]

Does the rem 700 have iron sights?

I'll say no since most ones made in the last 25 years don't.

[Gingerbread Man]

Okay, I'd still take the bolt action 223 even though I prefer the option iron sights. I find loading bolt actions with scopes to be slow. With irons you could just top load between shots. Hopefully its a low power scope. I'd work at clearing paths and scanning areas before proceeding. Easily has the ability to engage out to 300m.
Second I'd grab the 92. Fast firing, reloading and potent out to 50m.
Third would be the shot gun. Again, high shot to shot speed, rapid reloading and a solid 50m range.
Lastly the saiga. One mag in a semi auto without a bolt hold open would require a reloading of the mag then the gun which really limits the gun to 5 rds for practical use.

"Because the first thing that happened during the zombie uprising is everyone ditched the imperial system of measurements and embraced the metric system. Yes, that's what it took."
Booooo, hisssssss... Long live imperial standards! Boooo *Throws various pieces of garbage*

[MacWa77ace]

Can't vote 'cause I'm using the eTech grey version of the boards which is 'safe for work', but doesn't work with polls.

If the town had plenty of supplies to share; and therefore we didn't need to hunt, just defend against Zombies, I'd probably rock the 92, instead of luggin long guns around all day, and take over a deserted dwelling. With a hot tub and cable TV.

If we had to hunt for our own food, in my AO I'd take the 500 and set out on my own for at least a while. [I'd rather have 40 rds of #8 but I'd have to make it work.] Then I'd go to the next town get my allotment and pick the scoped remington, and off to the next town to get my allotment with the 92. Then I'd have a rifle/shotgun/handgun taking full advantage of the Gubment programs.

I meant it as a one time thing- you get one and have to stick with it, but that perhaps isn't very clear.

I see advantages to all of them. Small game and defense favors a shotgun. Being easy to have on you all the time favors the handgun. Long range use favor the rifles. They are all useful in my mind. Useful enough I think it would be hard to pick if it were real life.

So if we accept the gun and supplies we HAVE to stay in town and defend it, then? Can't go out on our own. For how long would you be obligated to defend the town [serve]? I'd have to get the deal in writing first and go over the contract and town manifesto with my lawer before joining forces with the Holnists and getting the brand on my arm.

If I decided it was a good deal and was staying in town: the pistol for the reasons I said before. Town = urban = CQ = pistol. The shotty's barrel is to long for interiors, and the remington's scope, capacity, and reload speed also makes it useless for CQB, although both would work well as melee weapons. And for me the Saiga has a notched blade rear site so that wouldn't work for me either, plus the capacity and reload speed thing.

[NamelessStain]

Okay, I'd still take the bolt action 223 even though I prefer the option iron sights. I find loading bolt actions with scopes to be slow. With irons you could just top load between shots. Hopefully its a low power scope. I'd work at clearing paths and scanning areas before proceeding. Easily has the ability to engage out to 300m..

Why am I having flashbacks of you with an Enfield?

[DarkAxel]

Gimme the Remmy 700. For make-work zombie head popping, nothing else on that list is going to allow you to maintain a steady, constant rate of fire at distance. Fill up the magazine, go prone, sit the loose ammo on the shooting mat, and then load singles after the first five shots. As a plus, if it can bring down a man at range, it can bring down a deer at range.

The Saiga .308? Only one 5 round mag and 80 rounds, plus no scope and no good way to load singles? Too much time reloading. With stripper clips to reload the mag I might consider it, but loose rounds? Nope.

The Beretta 9mm? For concealable defensive carry against non-undead threats, it would be the clear winner, but the ball ammo and short range are going to be deal-breakers for me.

The Mossberg 500? In hunting config with a mixed bag of shotshells and no slugs? I'll pass.

[Boondock]

I'll play. I picked the Mossberg, mainly because I'm familiar with the weapon and can use it for different purposes. Still, I'd be keeping my eye out for a secondary, preferably a handgun. Nice thread.

[.milFox]

I'll roll 1d4 to decide.

[maldon007]

700, cause that is what most everyone else said.... Kidding, before I got to the choices I thought, I will take the weapon I can shoot the farthest/most accurate, that has the most ammo... Was actually hoping for a .22 rifle, as long as it was agreed the zombies in question were the "head shot" type, and not some "gotta blow them too pieces" freaks... Or like another asked, if they are berserkers... maybe the shotgun for that.

Btw, I like the concept of a character waking up from a coma, like weeks into the shtf... Write that story now, please!

[northernxposure]

Urban area, it'd be the Beretta handgun. More than enough for that range, can reload fast and get bullets on target fast for multiple aggressors in close. I won't be kicking in doors or looking for a bad day, but the ammo amount and fast reload would make it easier to escape.

Suburban area and all else, the 223 bolt action. Distances are greater, has more opportunity to evade before the problem is in your face, and it's light enough and agile enough to move with. The fact that it's also got the most ammo outside of the pistol bodes well for longevity.

The other two may have attributes that I can't think of immediately, but with the limited ammo and weight for both I just can't see using them as an option.

As I'm not in an urban area, with rural less than 2 miles out, I vote 223 Bolt.

NXP

[We'reWolf]

shotgun because i think its the most versatile for hunting although the r700 was a close second

[raptor]

I would want to know what the other living humans had because lets face it we know from Hollywood that the zombies are not as much risk as the other living people. Hollywood tells us that zombies cannot think thus if you use your brains as anything other than zombie food you should be able to out think and plan them. Likewise Hollywood tells us that a single fire arm is not useful against the hordes of zombies. Gun fire attracts more zombies. Any zombie extermination best conducted up close and person with quiet blunt objects.

So why do you need a fire arm? For self defense against the apex predator. What is the apex predator? Most likely the apex predator is the armed living.

Thus if most of the living are carrying AKs or ARs, a bolt gun may be less useful than a SAIGA in .308 even with 5 rounds. Likewise if most prefer a pistol, then a longer range bolt gun with more ammo may be more useful in a self defense situation.

[jaowens76]

So I initially chose the Saiga but was not really looking at the ancillary information. If I had I would have voted Beretta for the main reason of a convenient reload. This is assuming urban usage and not having to leave to hunt.

[Sikiguya]

#1 for the most rounds...

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 4

[azrael99]

i think a 12ga pump action shotgun 3 inch is like the best choice you can get. it can hunt everything in a reasonable size (no Elephant please) and since it a 3 inchs ANYTHING can fit in it, any kind of cartridge and a pump action got FAR LESS chance of jamming than a semi-auto ( less chance but still got 1/10 chance to get jammed though if you aren't careful)

[Rogue45]

I'll roll 1d4 to decide.

hehehe, THIS!

I chose the .223 700 with the Beretta 92 a close second. I would probably base my choice on if I were to stay or go. If I stayed in the town I'd probably choose the pistol for convenience. If I were roaming the countryside I'd think the bolt gun might be better suited due to the long range and game getting ability.