Hey there zombie killers! Ready for busting another great myth? One that will save your life one day? Good, keep reading this…

Today’s myth: I need lots of guns to protect myself from zombies

Now before you jump to any conclusions, I do think guns are useful for some situations, but not for defending yourself against zombies. So why do you ask?

1. Sound

For anyone that hasn’t fired a gun, it’s not the cute “pew pew pew” from the movies. Guns make a lot of noise. Even out in the open, a few 9mm rounds will get your ears beeping. You could of course get good electronic ear protection, this will filter the gun sounds and bring them down to a reasonable level. They also allow you to still hear other sounds (like a zombie sneaking up on you). Problem solved right? NO! Your ears might be fine, but zombies will hear the gunshots! There will be zombies miles and miles away that will now start shuffling in your direction. Relentlessly chasing you, the more you shoot, the more will come. You’ll run out of bullets faster than the zombies come at you. To survive, run silent, run deep 😉 Sure have a gun around, but as a concealed carry piece, as a last resort to fend of looters and other bad people.

2. Ammo

Ammo is heavy! If you’re going to be on the move, on foot or with any other form of transport that involves physical labor to move, ammo will wear you down. Of course, if you have the luxury of a fortress or any other secured and guarded location, store as much as you can! Now back to the heavy part.. For those of you that go to a range, you usually drive up there, put your guns and ammo on a table and shoot for fun or target practice. But having to walk with all your gear, running from zombies and possibly other people, will wear you down. Combine that with my previous point on the noise guns make and how that will attract zombies, you’ll be overtaken in no time!

3. Maintenance and reliability

Most guns on the civilian market aren’t the quality used for military purposes. They take fewer rounds before they break or malfunction, they’re not held to the high stress tests and are generally of a lesser quality. This will result in your gun failing due too poor maintenance (because you’re always on the run), or because it just can’t take all the rounds needed to put down the zombies that keep coming at you for making THAT much noise 😉

So what should I do?

If you’re going to get a fighting rifle, get one of higher quality, from a real gunsmith. Make it an assault rifle. These have magazines that will hold around 20/30 rounds, come in readily available calibres, they’re made to fire lots of rounds for a longer period of time and they can be fitted with the right accessories. Think night vision, red dots…

Of course if you’re going to be in a secured place, where zombies don’t have a chance of breaking your barriers, you could use guns more often. However, don’t forget if the apocalypse lasts longer, you will run out of ammo and spare parts. For those of you on the move, pack light and get a re-curve or crossbow. They’re silent, the ammo is reusable and Daryl has one 😉