SHIELDS

[Penance]

Okay, so i was watching the movie 300 and the thought occured to me that a shield could be an asset during the zompoc. Not only for blocking but for the offense stand point. Ive never seen one tested so if you think it would be a good weapon or to much of a hassel then let me know. Thanks

[Rob Salem]

If you plan on being close enough for melee (CQB) combat, it would have its uses. But consider the disadvantages of having a shield that's strapped to your arm and is suddenly grabbed by zombies (or looters or whatever); now you're pretty much at the mercy of the hordes pulling you around. Unless you use a center grip shield (like the Vikings used). Defensively, the perks are obvious, but there are offensive advantages as well, such as smashing with the face or 'cutting' with the rim. I suppose it would be a matter of what your situation is and if you wanted to add it to the rest of the gear you're carrying. Historically constructed shields weighed from a few pounds to several pounds depending on their construction. Modern aluminum street signs make for decent lightweight shields though.

[Doctorr Fabulous]

Okay, so i was watching the movie 300

Carry more ammo, food, and water. Save the weight on an item that will prevent you from using a rifle, or will require you to unstrap it from your pack to use.

[jor-el]

Limited value w/o training.

With training it depends. When coupled with a good one hand melee weapon and in formation with other personnel similarly equipped it could be effective against Romero types so long as the formation doesn't get flanked.

If the formation is too small or a single defender is presented, skilled opposition can bypass the shield.

[KentsOkay]

Watch the deadliest warrior Spartan vs Ninja and Back for BLood Season 1 for moar Spartan goodness.

[jor-el]

Okay, so i was watching the movie 300

Carry more ammo, food, and water. Save the weight on an item that will prevent you from using a rifle, or will require you to unstrap it from your pack to use.

In the early stages of a zombocalypse one could argue the nascent hordes could be dealt with IF the .gov enacted an aggressive containment strategy. At the start humanity has the advantage in numbers. The longer the .gov sits on its hands, the undead hordes recruit from human casualties. The zombies for the most part only attack in melee and in a sort of melee formation, a horde.

In the late stages of a zombocalypse, ammo, food and water will be scarce, with food and ammo in convenient pre-packaged form becoming even more so.

At some point surviving humanity will have to replenish food and ammo supplies in order to restart civilization.

[dragon rouge]

Just for grits and shiggles I made a shield out of a 16 inch plow disk one time put an almost razor edge on the outside edge and leather padded the inside edge [the one close to the arm] It was kind of fun but heavy, Some one with more money than brains took it off my hands Truthfully a secondary weapon with a fairly large guard has much more merit, In defense of the disk it would turn a 22lr or a charge of birdshot though

[Doctorr Fabulous]

Right. So, in your late stage PAW when you are vastly outnumbered by the shambling dead, weighing down one side of your body will aid you survival. I think I'd rather be lighter and faster in that situation. 'Speacially since even my Ren-Fair friends tell me how tiring swinging a sword is, and how much worse a shield makes it. I'll stick with run, hide, and stab them in the back for a 3x crit bonus and chance to coup d'etat for an instant-kill.

[foxx]

Seems like shields work best at blocking other weapons, arrows, and help pushing back a riot. With Zombies, there will either be too many to hold a lined position, or not enough to warrant a shield. Zombies will just keep pushing against your line, they won't stop due to pain or fear, and some will flank your line. Like said, not the best solution. Better off running, staying light, and have long range weapons, and some sharp edged weapons or impact weapons, and running shoes.
I'd rather use my other arm for two handed weapons, or have a weapon in both hands. A pistol and a tomahawk for example. You can go with numerous options, hopefull what you choose works well with your group, not everyone needs exactly the same weapons.

[DeadCanadian]

Make all your attachment points detachable so that you have a huge wok to cook in when needed

Seriously, it would be better to armour your non-dominant arm from the wrist to the elbow by using modern sports gear adding metal straps if you want to protect against common knives.

[dragon rouge]

truthfully plow disks make excellent woks weld up the center hole add 2 or more handles, will give you a superb outdoor cooking device, I didnt make a second shield but have recycled several into woks

[Slugg]

I have 2 shields I made of wood at the house. One is a table and the 4 legs turn into 2 batons. The shields are rectangle and are longer than a door is wide. Real life they are going to be nailed to the door/windows to barricade. I used one against a dog once and it helped. I also had a buddy staple some camo to the shield and would go prone behind it in paintball to blend better. Just some tips.

[Merovech]

As someone else suggested, you would be MUCH better off armoring your forearms in a non restrictive way between the wrist and elbow on both arms.

Key would be weight and being non restrictive.

To be honest, you are better off just not being in the fight in the first place.... run, hide, evade... fight only when there are no other options.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Carry more ammo, food, and water. Save the weight on an item that will prevent you from using a rifle, or will require you to unstrap it from your pack to use.

Yeah, I'm going to have to be a party pooper and agree with Doc Torr on this. Basically, for this reason:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I_Ds2yt ... re=related

Though if you want a shield for fun, by all means get one! I just don't think I could justify it as a worthwhile prep. Unless you are in a no-gun area like the London riots, then it would go nicely with a cricket bat!

[shoggoth80]

Why not make one? It can be done, and for a lot less than you can purchase one for. It doesn't have to be as tightly strapped as folks are making it sound. However, to stand a stiff hit, I imagine that it would need to be decently snug. I made my own Targe out of 1/2" plywood, thick leather bought from Tandy, lots of felt backing, tons of carpet tacks, and upholstery nails. I used a scooped door pull and an old leather belt for the furnishings on the back. The center boss took a little creativity to attain. It was a candle holder base. Probably the weakest part on the whole thing. Lol. However, I'd trust my own handiwork before I trusted some mass produced piece that is supposed to hang on a wall.

[polliedes]

I like shields but, like all weapons/tools, they are best suited to their original purpose.
Zombies are grabbers and biters. The shield will stop the bites 100% of the time directed at the shield. The grabs are a whole different ballgame. the shield gives the zeds a nice strong grab point and several can latch onto it at once. An edge on the shield would be meaningless to a grab by a zombie because without inertia behind it is only going to cut the fleshy parts and not the bone so the zeds maintain their hold.

I agree with Doc that where zeds are concerned, I would much rather have maximum mobility in a ZPAW.

[Kutter_0311]

Why not make one? It can be done, and for a lot less than you can purchase one for. It doesn't have to be as tightly strapped as folks are making it sound. However, to stand a stiff hit, I imagine that it would need to be decently snug. I made my own Targe out of 1/2" plywood, thick leather bought from Tandy, lots of felt backing, tons of carpet tacks, and upholstery nails. I used a scooped door pull and an old leather belt for the furnishings on the back. The center boss took a little creativity to attain. It was a candle holder base. Probably the weakest part on the whole thing. Lol. However, I'd trust my own handiwork before I trusted some mass produced piece that is supposed to hang on a wall.

Something like this, or a buckler, could be handy opposite a lightweight mace...

Melee is a bad situation, but if you plan to live long enough, you may exhaust your ammo.

Also, gunshots are bloody noisey, and may draw more unfrienly types.

Bashing someone's face onto the guy next to them may disuade other parties from coming over to play...

[jor-el]

Carry more ammo, food, and water. Save the weight on an item that will prevent you from using a rifle, or will require you to unstrap it from your pack to use.

Yeah, I'm going to have to be a party pooper and agree with Doc Torr on this. Basically, for this reason:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I_Ds2yt ... re=related

Though if you want a shield for fun, by all means get one! I just don't think I could justify it as a worthwhile prep. Unless you are in a no-gun area like the London riots, then it would go nicely with a cricket bat!

Only because the crowd didn't join in. Indiana was surrounded. If the whole crowd were zombies he wouldn't have made it out even if he had an MG-42 and standing on an ammo fort.

Where's your resupply coming from in the PAW? Is everyone that fit in your group?

[Rugger]

Only because the crowd didn't join in. Indiana was surrounded. If the whole crowd were zombies he wouldn't have made it out even if he had an MG-42 and standing on an ammo fort.

Where's your resupply coming from in the PAW? Is everyone that fit in your group?

You don't have to be the fittest, just not the MOST unfit. Same adage as not having to be the fastest, just not the slowest.

[jor-el]

Only because the crowd didn't join in. Indiana was surrounded. If the whole crowd were zombies he wouldn't have made it out even if he had an MG-42 and standing on an ammo fort.

Where's your resupply coming from in the PAW? Is everyone that fit in your group?

You don't have to be the fittest, just not the MOST unfit. Same adage as not having to be the fastest, just not the slowest.

Now you're going into undesirable territory. Does everyone else in your group know about this aspect of your strategy? Does your group include family?

[mystic_1]

If I were to use a shield against zombie hordes at all, I wouldn't want 10 lbs of wood hanging of my arm. Something like this rather would be better imho:



Or,




And I'd want a couple buddies with spears and short swords* backing me up.

mystic_1







*assuming we're not using guns for whatever reason

[azrael99]

i would like something like that

[jor-el]

I'm the last man on Earth to say a firearm with ammo isn't a better idea than melee weapons. The caveat to that is AMMO.

The OP did specify a zombocalypse, indicating most of civilization, to include ammo factories would shut down, rendering a Peak Ammo moment.

OTOH, I don't anticipate a world where THIS would be happening...



BTW, how do you get youtube to embed?

Never mind.

[squinty]

highlight the link you posted, then click the "Youube" button.