Chapter 2: Weapons, Armor & Transportation

In chapter one we covered food and supplies for the professional Zombie hunter.
In chapter two we are going to cover the fun side of this sport.

There is a lot of polemic regarding the adequate, sufficient and suitable weaponry effective at the moment of facing the undead. Zombies in order to be considered as K.I.A. (Killed in Action) oughta be slaughtered in a very practical way, explosion, burning, shoot or decapitated but the rule is simple, the brain must no longer be active.

We are going to divide the Weaponry in three different segments:

1. Distant attacks
2. Crowd control
3. Melee atack

There are several effective weapons to fight the pestilent walking corpses but some are more effective than others while being sometimes less fun, anyway we are going to start with the Official Z.E.R.O. issue weaponry that every elite member of the group carries on the field.

• 1 Beretta 92 FS (side weapon left hand)
• 1 Steyr TMP (side weapon right hand)
• 1 Saiga 12 (main weapon)
• 1 Mk 11 Sniper Rifle (secondary weapon)
• 1 Katana (melee weapon)
• 4 Frag granades
• 2 Claymores

Beretta 92FS

From the jungle heat of Panama to the sandstorms of Iraq, the US Armed Forces have counted on Beretta pistols for almost two decades of distinguished service. This 9mm
side gun is a great option for keeping the nemesis away on short distance. Amunition aint expensive but you will need
at least 3 shots in the head to kill the infamous zombie.





Steyr TMP

The Steyr TMP (Taktische Maschinenpistole/Tactical Machine Pistol)
It is renowned for its controllability, allowing a shooter to accurately fire the weapon in bursts of more than 10-15 rounds, instead of the typical two or three round bursts that other machine pistols are limited to. Magazines come in 15/30 round detachable box types. A supressor can be also fitted. This gun is a great option for crowd control using the same unexpensive 9mm parabellum ammo.





SAIGA 12 Shotgun

It doesn`t get much better than this. The SAIGA 12 is an automatic russian made shotgun capable of providing a lot of damage! they also could be modified in a variety of ways and it handles like an assault rifle. This weapon is intended as a short distance/crowd control/path opener. This is the main weapon of the Z.E.R.O. team.




MK11

Semi automatic sniper rifle, the mk11 is a mean killing machine. This rifle is intended as a distant attack control device and is the secondary weapon of the Z.E.R.O. team. The rifle fires 7.62 mm rounds, and the MK-11 is accurate up to 800 yards.


Katana

Everybody knows that you have to avoid melee atacks against zombies. Why? Cause it`s dangerous! your first option oughta be shooting them from the distance, blow them with explosives and open yourself a path with a shotgun while walking on corridors for instance but well those are techniques to be explained later. Now we have to continue with stocking up with the right gear.

Loads of people think that having a machete is a great option for when the melee defense is inminent. Not a bad argument but blood and normal wear makes machetes a bad option because the edge rusts and you have to sharp the blade constantly.

Zombie hunter Pros around the world agree that the best option is a Katana You won`t have to sharp the edge daily and you will obtain clean cuts all the time, plus if the time comes, dying with honor with a Harakiri is much better than letting those zombies eat you for dinner.


Frag Granades

You just need to have them period! blowing a group of zombies is time saving and lots of fun. You can be creative and leave traps for them like some raw meat on a stick and the frags around it with a wire to blow the safety ring.

Claymores

If you happend to be late at night on the field and must stay outside for the night camping in an unsecured area well, the claymore would be your alarm system to let you sleep like a baby till you hear the BANG!


Other considerations regarding weapons:

The infamous chainsaw,

Yes it`s fun but not very practical, heavy and consumes too much fuel!


The Ultimate Weapon,

The ultimate weapon in this business is the flame thrower hands down! but there is one big problem. You have to carry 70 pounds of equipment on your back. Try to run with that and tell me later.

Another must have Weapon is a bow. I have to thank Sargeant Suiz from the Z.E.R.O. team for appointing this missing ingredient. It`s not only fun to hunt Zombies with a Bow, but it is also silent and you can retake the arrows to shoot again once the menace is over without wasting your precious ammo.

My advice, get your bow from Martin Archery, a good model to look at is the "SABER" or anything else in the Gold series. A complete Saber Package will set you down $600 but it`s worth it. Martin`s are very very accurate weapons.

Remember to buy yourself quite a few arrows and different points and arrow building supplies to replace damaged points or feathers.

*UPDATE*
By popular demand, readers have been asking for suitable weaponry to comfront zombies readily available for civilians. From the ones mentioned as issue weaponry for the Z.E.R.O. team, all of them are available to civilians with the exception of the MK11 and the explosives. Also the civilian TMP version is only semi automatic.

Let`s start with rifles first:

As a replacement for the mk11 You can use a long range high power weapon like the
Barrett 82A1. This weapons is available to civilians and is an excellent aquisition for any zombie hunter, specially if you are planning an evening shotting those bastards from the rooftop while having a beer on a warm sunset from the comfort of your hideout. The only problem with the Barrett is it`s high retail price.

Other than this and on a budget you will do just fine with a Remington 700 SPS Tactical, Dakota T-76 Longbow, or any similar characteristic rifle. just remember to pick the right optics and feel comfortable using it.

As for Shotguns if the SAIGA is out of your league for any reason, the second option must be the Benelli M4. It`s more expensive than the SAIGA but is worth it. One hell of a gun but less mag capacity and options to modify.

Again if a semi automatic shotgun is too much or you are in a budget just get a pump action shotgun like the Benelli Supernova which is a gift for only $500!!

Another Option is the Mossberg 500 series.

Stay away from single or double barrell shotguns, you just wont have time to reload that thing if you are attacked by more than two pestilent zombies.



Ammo,

Keep at your hideout as much as you can!!! this is very important also the supplies to charge your own cartridges will be a usefull aquisition.


Molotov Cocktails,

General knowledge and a useful one!
In its simplest form, a Molotov cocktail is a glass bottle containing petrol fuel usually with a source of ignition such as a burning cloth wick held in place by the bottle's stopper. The wick is usually soaked in alcohol or paraffin, rather than petrol.


Sights,


Nowadays you have a plethora of options for sights and scopes for your weapons.
Z.E.R.O. field operatives rely on red dot scopes during the day and night vision systems at night.
A common Noob misconception is that the best option are thermal systems EPIC FAILURE!!
Remember, Zombies are dead they don`t have warm blood flowing through their veins so thermal systems are ineffective.


Armor,

So dead guys are walkiing around wanting to sample some of your tasty flesh. Now you need to find a helmet and full body armor, right? WRONG!! Zombies typically grab and bite hands, feet, arms, and legs. If you wear something difficult to bite through to cover these, you should be fine. If you allow a zombie to grab and bite your torso, neck , or head, you deserve to be eaten alive. Don't forget: you're not preparing for a shark attack... Just a bunch of dead guys whose bite is only as strong as say, a crazy person. Any armor you get will get hot, heavy, loud, and uncomfortable. Unless you're out in the field, keep armor to a minimum.

At the field Z.E.R.O. operatives wear kevlar tactical masks, gloves, boots and Chest guards.




Transportation.


Here depends if you are going for long or short distance. For short distance the best option is a bicycle. Yes a bicycle! Consider it as the ultimate stealth vehicle, while zombies have their hearing pretty damaged and their smell is their most powerful receptor, they can sense the vibing of the roaring engine and the lights will atract them like flies.

The silent vehicle is the best option plus you wont spend precious fuel, the downside is that you wont be protected.


For the long distance rides, a 4x4 armored vehicle with extra gas tank is the right choice for any terrain.

You can hire someone to modify yours or do it as a home project. Any way don`t forget to leave
shooting shutters and appropiate ventilation. Remember that the virus won`t spread on air.

Also while driving run over them! it`s fun, it`s easy and the right thing to do for your team and your country.