Combat tactics 101: Melee weapon choice

[Doctorr Fabulous]

IMO, the melee weapons of choice in a zombie apocalypse would be some sort of durable yet lightweight staff-type item (baseball bat, hockey stick, and the like).

My reasoning behind this is because in practical terms, zombies will always (ALWAYS) outnumber survivors, and killing should only be done if necessary. The idea behind the staff-type weapon is that it increases your available options when it comes to taking down (not killing) zombies; instead of investing energy into killing zombies, you use the weapon strictly defensively.

While I understand the wisdom of avoiding zombies whenever possible, I don't see this as an infallible truth. A zombie apocalypse is not a problem that will resolve itself with time, in fact, it will get exponentially worse with time. With this in mind, doing nothing but laying low will only help you in the short run. In the long run, it will almost certainly be your doom.

Personally, I'd rather go on the offensive and proactively clear my local area of the walking dead. While this should be done smartly and with extreme caution, it will do much more for your chances of survival then simply letting them roam freely and multiply all around you. Doing nothing but hiding will not keep you safe, not for long anyway.

Definitive statements about zombies raise this question: where are you getting your facts?

[squinty]

Definitive statements about zombies raise this question: where are you getting your facts?

Same place we all do: movies books and videogames?
So it depends on the movie. In the "28" series, the disease eventually killed the host, or they starved to death, so you could conceivably wait out an epidemic. In a Romero movie, wherein everyone who dies - by any means - somehow rises as a mindless cannibal that can apparently move and act indefinitely or at least until it decays or loses structural integrity, in that scenario there's no end to the exponential multiplication of zombies.

[mystic_1]

in that scenario there's no end to the exponential multiplication of zombies.

Sure there is!

Once the entire human race is converted to zombies, no more new zombies!

mystic_1

[Turtlewolf]

Don't forget spores from the actual fungal zombies!
Cover your airway people!

[shiddymunkie]

Definitive statements about zombies raise this question: where are you getting your facts?

Same place we all do: movies books and videogames?
So it depends on the movie. In the "28" series, the disease eventually killed the host, or they starved to death, so you could conceivably wait out an epidemic. In a Romero movie, wherein everyone who dies - by any means - somehow rises as a mindless cannibal that can apparently move and act indefinitely or at least until it decays or loses structural integrity, in that scenario there's no end to the exponential multiplication of zombies.

True. Since zombies aren't real, there aren't any actual facts per say, just inferences we can make based off those works of fiction. I haven't seen every zombie movie or read every zombie book, but it seems to me that the most common zombie type is the Romero zombie, and so this is what my statements are based off of.

Of course, there are physiological facts we know about the human body that make something like a Romero zombie an impossibility. For example, the human body is basically a machine, and as such, the machine is going to require certain things in order to function. To name a few: oxygen, water, and nutrients. In short, no human body, infected or otherwise, can walk around and bite people unless the brain is getting what it needs in order to send those signals to the rest of the body. Similarly, muscles aren't going to be able to function unless they too are getting what they need in order to respond to those brain signals. Basically what I am trying to say is that the human body is hardwired to work a certain way whether you are a zombie or not. Since a Romero zombie's is supposed to be dead (except for the brain or part of the brain), it simply can exist as we see them in Hollywood. Without working lungs, digestive system, circulatory system, etc...a zombie is not going to be able to walk around an attack people because the body itself won't be able to get what it needs to do so.

And if those system do work within a zombie, then they will be much more vulnerable then they appear in movies for the simple fact that taking out any one of these systems will end the zombies "undead" life.

[dizie]

My melee weapon of choice, good ol louisville slugger with 8in nails in it. Or a custom hockey stick with a sharpened blade.

How do you think a blow dart gun would work?

[azrael99]

How do you think a blow dart gun would work?

useless again the undead ? you know, the dart it shoot take their power not from the tip, but what covert it. usually they have some kind of poison.

well there is always the option to use blow dart to hunt small games. those blow dart with LOT'S of practice can be quite accurate.

[ferball]

Definitive statements about zombies raise this question: where are you getting your facts?

I am guessing the info comes from the same place that bigfoot hunters get all their facts on habitat and behavior patterns of Sasquatches.

[OffWhiteKnight]

Oh geez, I forgot about that.... I'm used to people using them interchangeably but I do know the difference between the two. Apologies for the coming storm....

I grew up hearing them used interchangeably as well. Also, on my stepdad's side of the family (I have a six sided family) any round of ammunition, of any caliber, was a "shell."

Now that is something that would drive me up a wall.

A rural Pennsylvania thing, I think. Stepdad's not a gun person, but he grew up around hunters and spent a few years in the Army, so he isn't ignorant. Just a quirk that I assume is regional dialect. If that were the most annoying thing my family did there would be comparative harmony.

But, yeah, OT:
I have a couple machetes and sword like objects that I play with, but they are more toys than anything else. I like the shape of bronze age and early iron age swords, for no good reason. No use for a melee weapon in the NAW other than OC and a flashlight (2cr123 size. Makes a good kubotan or fist hardener.)

In ZPAW, bayonet and long framing hammer, for specific Romeroesque threats.

Rural Pennsylvania eh? Just out of curiosity.. did your stepdad call a shotgun slug a pumpkin (actually "punkin" ) ball? Just wondered because my ex father in law
was from rural PA and he called them that... had no idea what he meant the first time I heard it.

[OffWhiteKnight]

I don't know...I think I'd be more comfortable with something a bit more practical (and served multiple purposes). I mean, a sword or battle axe is cool and all...but there is many-a-way to melee a zombie. Hell, look at a simple hammer:

- Small
- Light-weight
- Fits on a belt
- Simple one-handed, one-strike kills (blunt or pointy end)
- Can easily carry one in each hand for double the mayhem
- Doesn't require sharpening
- Doesn't require years of training to use effectively
- Can be used to reinforce/fortify your hold-ups
- The back can be used like a crowbar to crack open doors, cabinets, windows, locks, etc.
- Can be thrown effectively with practice
- Can be found almost anywhere
- Dirt cheap / practically disposable

If a hammer's good enough for Thor it's good enough for me

The only thing missing from a standard hammer would be a blade of some sort. Not sure if a chopping blade would be preferable to a cutting blade, but I think an actual cutting blade would be used more often than an axe-like blade. So, in short, if someone makes a hammer with a knife built into the handle, that's the winner.

[squinty]

Rural Pennsylvania eh? Just out of curiosity.. did your stepdad call a shotgun slug a pumpkin (actually "punkin" ) ball? Just wondered because my ex father in law
was from rural PA and he called them that... had no idea what he meant the first time I heard it.

Nope.
Pretty much everything's a "shell." I call shotgun rounds "shells" and so do most of the people I know. Maybe the shotgun was the weapon he was most familiar with growing up, and he just generalized the term to every type of ammo.
I have heard of "pumpkin balls" as a specific kind of slug - different from sabots, fosters, brennekes, etc. - that were just lead globes, nearly as big around as the bore. Musket balls really, stuffed into a shell.

I think they predated the more common type slugs we're familiar with today, so if your FIL was a real old timer that might explain it.

[Gadsden_63]

Just to add my 2 cents...
My melee weapon of choice would be my good ol wood-choppin axe. Not fancy, but it has reach, cutting power, and smashing capabilities with either end. Most importantly I've been using one forever so I'm comfortable and fluid with it as a tool or weapon. Not to mention there is decent chances of finding one scavenging.
As far as the discussion goes, use whatever's comfortable for you. Your killing zombies for chrissakes, whatever gets the job done.

[shiddymunkie]

Your killing zombies for chrissakes, whatever gets the job done.

Exactly my point as well, you don't need anything fancy to crack a skull. There are many things you'll need to be able to do in order to survive a ZPAW, killing zombies is just one of those things.

[Shelob]

Essentially you're going to have to take what you can get- whether it's ideal or not. For example, I live in suburban Australia, and unless my neighbours are into some weird fucking kink/murder shit, I'm not going to get a gun or katana or whatever other weapons have been mentioned. I, and the majority of the population, would have to arm ourselves with garage-like items: hammers, metal poles/crowbars, shovels, mini chainsaws (cliche, I know), maybe a machete. Speaking of which, do you think a portable drill would work? I mean of course you'd have to be close range, but surely it would drill through the skull into the brain if you got close enough?

[KentsOkay]

For example, I live in suburban Australia, and unless my neighbours are into some weird fucking kink/murder shit, I'm not going to get a gun or katana or whatever other weapons have been mentioned.

Come on, we aren't that weird!

You would be better off beating a zombie with the drill then trying to screw them.

[Doctorr Fabulous]

For example, I live in suburban Australia, and unless my neighbours are into some weird fucking kink/murder shit, I'm not going to get a gun or katana or whatever other weapons have been mentioned.

Come on, we aren't that weird!

You would be better beating off a zombie than trying to screw them.

FTFY

[KentsOkay]

For example, I live in suburban Australia, and unless my neighbours are into some weird fucking kink/murder shit, I'm not going to get a gun or katana or whatever other weapons have been mentioned.

Come on, we aren't that weird!

You would be better beating off a zombie than trying to screw them.

FTFY

Ahh yes, my common sense forgot to inform me that this was ZCT, not OW.

[DarkPhoenix]

For my BOG setup, I have a katana (which I have training with, but I am no means a master), a tomahawk, and a big ass knife for melee weapons, cuz it ain't the Zed that scare me, it's the humans that are roaming and pillaging. I would be okay with a baseball/cricket bat or a 5' hardwood bo staff as well.

[azrael99]

well, i started to train with both danish type axe and tomahawk,

for as far as i can tell, those are the most reliable and useful tool/ self defense weapon you can get. and there is the grey man factor.

you can have a axe in most "normal" place.

-next to your fire place,
-at your cabin
-while camping
-while hiking

even in your trunk, if you also have camping gear to explain it.

[KentsOkay]

So guys, I dreamed a dream and now know what I want for a sword.

I want a katana blade with the last 1/3rd of the false edge sharpened on a side sword grip/guard. Technique would be a mix of katana slashes and side sword/rapier thrusts.

40 inches of edged hatred.





Why? I've never liked the katana because I can't do one of my favorite moves, a quick back hand flick with the false edge into a face, side, or into a thrust. Also, complex hilts are more better. At 40" overall, it would be long enough for modern day people.

[Jsimmonsgr]

Tomahawk for me, its fast, light enough to not tire you right away, you can carry it with out worrying about the extra weight, and it gives me ( granted, its not much) a slight reach for a melee weapon.

[foxx]

In a CQC situation, tomahawks are about the best weapon for me. More power than a knife of the same length, plus you can throw them. You gotta love the hook, it has so many uses, and not just in a fight. Then you have your choice of spike or hammer out the back, either way you go won't be wrong, unless you put a spork out the back.
I love tomahawks, but they will get used after a longer weapon. Guns, a spear, baseball bat, whatever you use, in the open a longer weapon can be "safer". Yet, I still want my hawk(s) on my person, they have too many uses to not carry one. Grappeling hook, hook the top of a wall to help pull yourself up, break glass, chop wood, kill a Zombie, break through a wall, puncture a tire or fuel tank, throw, there's just too many uses to list them all.

[Doctorr Fabulous]

In a CQC situation, tomahawks are about the best weapon for me. More power than a knife of the same length, plus you can throw them. You gotta love the hook, it has so many uses, and not just in a fight. Then you have your choice of spike or hammer out the back, either way you go won't be wrong, unless you put a spork out the back.
I love tomahawks, but they will get used after a longer weapon. Guns, a spear, baseball bat, whatever you use, in the open a longer weapon can be "safer". Yet, I still want my hawk(s) on my person, they have too many uses to not carry one. Grappeling hook, hook the top of a wall to help pull yourself up, break glass, chop wood, kill a Zombie, break through a wall, puncture a tire or fuel tank, throw, there's just too many uses to list them all.

My rifle vs. your tomahawk. You pick the distance. Paycheck vs paycheck says I win.

[foxx]

In a CQC situation, tomahawks are about the best weapon for me. More power than a knife of the same length, plus you can throw them. You gotta love the hook, it has so many uses, and not just in a fight. Then you have your choice of spike or hammer out the back, either way you go won't be wrong, unless you put a spork out the back.
I love tomahawks, but they will get used after a longer weapon. Guns, a spear, baseball bat, whatever you use, in the open a longer weapon can be "safer". Yet, I still want my hawk(s) on my person, they have too many uses to not carry one. Grappeling hook, hook the top of a wall to help pull yourself up, break glass, chop wood, kill a Zombie, break through a wall, puncture a tire or fuel tank, throw, there's just too many uses to list them all.

My rifle vs. your tomahawk. You pick the distance. Paycheck vs paycheck says I win.

Read the title of this thread again, it's "Melee weapon choice". Of course your rifle has more range, how about unloaded? Allow me to clarify...Tomahawks are great weapons, when you can't use your rifle, pistol, airstrike, grenade, RPG, nukes, or all the other shit you don't have with you.
Point is, the Tomahawk is a melee weapon, and can be used with stealth, in tight spaces, or when your buddy has some asshole ontop of him. The are not the best weapon, just my favorite bladed melee weapon.