The Walking Dead Scenario

[zmtd8]

Yes, I am this bored. Ok so the scene is Atlanta. A SHTF scenario has broken out, you know what ever tickles your fancy. Unlike the story though, you get the options of ONE firearm of your choice and ONE bladed weapon of your choice. I would be interested to know what those choices were. Then what would be your gameplan from there? Would find a place in the city and hunker down? Plenty of resources close by, but lots of competition for those resources. Would you head for the country? Would you try to get out of the state? Go north, south, east, or west? Would you be a loner or would you try to team up with people? If you did decide to team up would you want a big group or small group? Have fun. Also, I am sure this has been asked 9,434,038,001 times in a different way or maybe the same way. For that, I apologize.

Thanks,

Tyler

[TNcitizen22]

If stuck in any major city I would attempt to hunker down for as long as possible. Since I am single and have no personal connections to speak of, I would be able to stretch my resources for quite some time. I would remain in the city for up to two weeks. After that,I would try and make my way to my family land here in East Tennessee from Atlanta. If gridlock occurred during SHTF I would take my bicycle for transportation. All of this is contingent on certain variables. Is there immediate danger to me in the city? Am I dealing with nuclear fallout, EMP, civil unrest, or similar situation? I will not even entertain the zombie possibility. I am SICK to death (no pun) of the phenomenon. It was cool when it was niche. Regardless I would travel alone, or possibly with one other if the situation dictated it, but I would prefer not. I can move faster, and if operating by myself, I am left to my own devices and code of ethics to govern my actions.

As for weapons, if I am left with only ONE gun and ONE blade, I would pick:

Ruger 10/22 take-down. It is stainless, and synthetic, hence weatherproof (mostly). I have many high capacity magazines available. The round and rifle are lightweight and can be tailored to many situations. Given that I would be traveling some distance I would want to stay out of the way of folks and mostly try to blend, this weapon is easily hidden due to its break down nature, but quickly pulled into action. It is more than capable of taking game or serving in a defensive role.

ESEE Junglas. It is an extremely capable blade. If pressed into a survival role I can process food, wood, really whatever I need. Though it is a bit heavy, it can be pressed into a combat role with great efficiency, so It would serve well here. My Cold Steel Recon Scout would be a close second.

So, I would wait out the chaos of whatever has gone down assuming it is reasonably safe for me to remain where I am for a period of two weeks or so until it starts to die down and then make my way 'home'. The Ruger 10/22 and ESEE Junglas would serve well with my strategy of lone, fast, light travel while still maintaining plenty of capabilities.

Edited June 16, 2012 by TNcitizen22

[jtmaze]

I would head for the hills. Gun....10/22 is good choice but I would take my mosin Nagant just due to I have several stashes of ammo and capable of taking down big game. Blade...119 buck. Like the size and keeps a good edge. I am thinking survival not last stand.

JTM

Sent from my iPhone

[Guest ochretoe]

I'll play. My kids, 15 and 20, are almost always with me and my wife most of the time. I would head north to east tn also. My Bronco will go almost any where and being 40 years old it's emp proof and almost nuke proof. My one gun would be my kel-tec sub 2000. Compact and good out to 150 yds but uses very common .40 cal ammo and glock clips. My knife would be my leatherman. If I don't have it on my I'm naked.Secondary roads driving very early in the morning about 4 hours a day. Holding up when not driving. I also need to ask, does everyone in the party get one gun and one knife? Both my kids have guns and are fine shots. My 15 year old would have his AK and K-Bar and I think my 20 year old girl would have her 10/22 and her tomahawk. My wife would shoot off her mouth and cut with her sharp tongue.

Edited June 16, 2012 by ochretoe

[RichardR]

I'd start by having everyone refer to me as "Lord Humongous" then I'd strap on a little leather codpiece, grab my hand crossbow, jump on my motorcycle & start scouring the area in search of juice.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Back in the 1950's when dad was a lineman he carried a big bush whacking implement on his service truck. As best can recall the blade was about 12" long with the shape of a giant case knife "sodbuster" blade. Fat heavy blade. Unlikely to break. Seemed to keep a pretty good edge.

That fearsome blade was attached to a crooked several-foot-long handle resembling a scythe handle. Am pretty sure the front part of the handle had an optional "right angle" hand grip so you could grasp and swing the implement two different ways. Can't recall if there was also a back angle grip. Unless memory fails, the handle was long enough to chop overhead with a pretty good reach and you could also swing it in an arc to take out underbrush.

Recently asked dad what that thing was called and he didn't remember. Dunno if they could be bought nowadays or even if they were mass-manufactured back in the day. He did say that he would tote that bush implement any time he had to work at night in "bad neighborhoods" and nobody ever gave him any trouble.

Such an implement might be good for mowing down the undead from a safe distance, but it is an ignorant guess. On the other hand, a traditional scythe as carried by the grim reaper might be better. Dunno nothin.

Dunno what gun would be better. Maybe depends on fast zombies vs the slow breed, and whether they just fall over with a .22 to the head or if you have to empty a magazine on each one? Ideally the ammo should be as light as possible per round and easy to find in abandoned houses and stores?

Many of the movies don't follow the laws of physics, but if the laws of thermodynamics hold up after the outbreak, then maybe holing up should be the initial strategy? After the zombies run out of food then thermodynamics will make em slow down and eventually go quasi-dormant.

[jtluttrell]

This.

Wait, nevermind. This:

Edited June 16, 2012 by jtluttrell

[Dolomite_supafly]

I would have a machette of some sort. Something with a 14"-18" blade with two edges. A rough but sharp edge for the majority, then close to the tang a thinner area that is razor sharp. The razor sharp area is for the finer work.

As far as a gun, I would hope for something that has more than one use. For me it would be a 5.56 AR with a conversion and have ammo for both. I would make sure the ammo for the 22 is subsonic.

5.56 is about as common as 9mm and probably more common than 40 caliber. Remember every cop also has an AR in their trunk. Most cops carry about 50 rounds of ammo for their duty pistol but generally have way more than that for their duty rifle. Any military personnel or gov't personnel are going to be using a 5.56.

And something I consider a mandatory part of any survival firearm is a suppressor. Gunshots attract attention because they are a sound that only humans make. Eliminating that sound is critical to staying hiding. When firing supersonic ammo the suppressor does nothing to the sonic crack. But what does happen is it sounds like the gunshot comes from the direct the bullet passes you. That is if someone is shooting at you from the front and the bullet passes over your right should it sounds like the gunshot came from the right, not the front. This can be very confusing to those being shot at. Then add in the echos from all the flat surfaces in an urban enviroment and it can be very difficult to find the firing position of the shooter.

Also a 22 with subsonic ammo and a good suppressor can be a devastating defensive weapon for those wanting to remain hidden while they engage the "enemy". I know I can make hits on man sized steel targets out to 300 yards with a 22 rifle and subsonic ammo. A 22, even at that extended range, could easily kill.

Dolomite

[BigK]

I'll make do with a Lorcin .380 and a Victorinox Executive...cause that's how I roll. I'll just ninjy chop them zombies to death.

[Caster]

Thinking about this for a while this morning, I figure, mehh, it's just Atlanta. Them walkers got a lot of rednecks to get through before they get up as far as me so I'll sit tight and let my apathy keep me alive for a while longer. I'd probably break out the Stihl and drop a few trees around the neighborhood to make some decent barriers. Keep my garden watered and set out some extra rain barrels Start a new rationed diet and triple check my potable water sources.

As far as the gun I would choose, here at home I'd probably keep carrying me G19 but I'd take up carrying a satchel with a dozen magazines in it though. You know, enough to let me retreat back to my AR.

[Guest Scramasax]

I'll play and cheat. Since my wife will be with me we get two guns. When the family is together we will have six guns. They will be 1 870 12ga, 2 ar-15 300 blkout supressed, 1 mkIII suppressed, 1 1928 Thompson, 1-1911. For blades we will have 2 Condor Goloks, 2 Ryan hawks, and two Wheeler fighters.

For transport we have two Grumman whale boats. They are 18' double oar locks with 9.8 Johnson outboards. We all live within a mile of the river system with my parents in the middle. Once together we can either keep the boats separate or turn them into a catamaran. Haven't decided yet. We will have enough gas to bug out and oars for backup. It will take us around three to four days to use the river system to get to 3 miles from our farm.

The farm has a 3br brick house with wood stove,fresh running water, solar power, generator, root cellar. It is separated from the road by a 4' foot creek with 8' banks. The road has three bridges that can be blocked or demolished to inhibit egress.

Well that is more info than you asked for. Just couldn't resist a little bragging. This is not a fictional wish but a planned and practiced scenario. Just an over view. Not complete for security purposes.

Cheers,

ts

[Spots]

Alright I'll play. My one gun would be a suppressed Ruger Mini 14. I just prefer the platform over the AR platform, and with the suppressor it would make it that much more of a good offensive weapon. For my bladed weapon it would be a Tom Brown Tracker knife. They are the best survival knives I've ever seen, and extremely useful. I would move by myself, on a mule at night. Mules are smarter, and more sure footed than horses. I would move north towards TN, heading towards the family land, where we have plenty of resources, for the long haul if necessary. My wife doesn't travel with me most of the time, and she knows to head there, so in all probability thats where we would meet at.

[UncleJak]

This is a no brainer (like zombies are no brainers, get it??) : Glock 23, cold steel finn bear, and the 50 yard line of the Georgia Dome is where I make my stand.

[Ebow1]

Stuck deep in Atlanta? I would hunker down. Barricade the house, move everything to the roof and destroy the staircases. Gun-my Ruger Gunsite Scout. Blade-my Kabar machete.

[Timestepper]

I'll play - although I'm not really ''playing'' since I've actually given this a tremendous amount of thought...

I'm a truck driver. If I'm stuck in Atlanta when TSHTF, I'll use the truck (provided it's immobile) as a base for a couple of days while I take stock of the situation and solidify plans to get back home (to East Tennessee).

First order of business would be to take stock of what I've got in the truck that would help me get home:

Crowbar? Check.

Bedding? Check.

Folding knives and diamond hone? Check.

Basic toiletries and minor first aid kit? Check.

Several different ways to make fire? Check.

Something to carry water in and something to boil water in as well as a few basic food items? Check.

Tarps that can be cut up and used as portable water proof shelter? Check.

Mini binoculars? Check.

4 inch cargo straps which could conceivably serve a multitude of uses? Check.

Etc, etc...

After that, I'd do some late night/early morning reconnaissance and see what else I could come up with that would help in my primary objective of getting home in one piece - this is where the crowbar might come in real damned handy. If I can come up with a good bicycle, preferably an off-road or mountain type, so much the better, although I wouldn't be terribly particular at first. Might even be able to pick up another knife and/or a firearm and ammo (can't carry in the truck due to company policy, so I'd be automatically gun-less at the start).

After I've gotten as organized and squared away as possible, it'll be time to move out. Traveling primary routes at night would be the quickest way out and a bicycle would provide great mobility and maneuverability as well as being reasonably quiet. I'm guessing that, at least at first, I'd do my best to travel alone and avoid contact with others as much as possible, although that might change due to circumstances.

So I guess that's it in a slightly over simplified nutshell.

On foot, it'd probably take me 3 weeks or a month to get home (from Atlanta) and my wife and I have previously agreed upon an allowable time period in which to expect me if this scenario should indeed ever take place. If I can find a bicycle, then that should cut the travel time to about a week, depending upon what ''difficulties'' I encounter along the way.

...TS...

[atlas3025]

I fear big cities, so I wouldn't be in Atlanta. If I was somehow teleported there against my will I would probably be looking for whatever rifle was nearby. I would hunker down and let the yahoos do the work.

Rednecks will take a terrible toll on Zombies. http://www.cracked.c...quickly_p7.html

They will also take a toll on each other, and everyone else.

Now if I were here (knoxville) when the dead stood up, and had access to my gear, my rifle would be my 300 BLK AR with my 30 Cal can. I have several hundred rounds of subs and supers, and I can fire either from a standard AR mag without making any changes to the gun. I would also carry a 16" 5.56 barrel and wrench in my bag, so that if I ever ran out of ammo, I can switch barrels and roll with any 223 I might find. I would tote the 22 conversion kit too.

For Knife, probably a machete or ghurka. I have both. I fancy the Gerber LMF 2 I have as well. Of course, if you are going to carry an AR, wouldn't be a bad choice to go with a M7 bayonet or something similar.

Edited July 5, 2012 by atlas3025

[Guest FiddleDog]

I'd start by having everyone refer to me as "Lord Humongous" then I'd strap on a little leather codpiece, grab my hand crossbow, jump on my motorcycle & start scouring the area in search of juice.

"what a puny plan..."

[Moped]

I'd get the hell out of Atlanta as quick as I could. Don't want to be stuck in some city as most of the population turns into zombies! Weapon of Zombie Hunters world wide is the Remington 870 pump action shotgun with an extended magazine and plenty of shells to go with it. And since I might have to cut off some zombie heads on the way out, I want a Cold Steel Grosse Messer ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/COLD-STEEL-GROSSE-MESSER-SWORD-88GMS-NEW-/360471007785?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53edbf1229 ). And I will be headed to Knoxville with a full tank of gas, in something that can mow down the hords at 70 MPH and not be stopped.

[Chris]

Hard to beat the good old EBR. Stock up on ammo and keep a good quality machete close at hand.

[dou44]

i would grab my ar15 mand make tracks out of there,would rather find some where safe to hold up away from the big city .i would give the wife the mak 90

[tennessee01tacoma]

I would definitely head for the hills no way I would make my stand in the city. Of the weapons I own I would want my 870 with buckshot and slugs and I would have a machete. My plan would be to use my truck since it does well off road unless it was an emp, then I guess it would be a bike. I don't know anyone between Atlanta and Kingston so until I got there I would be on my own I would probably swing by my uncle's house in Kingston and then make the final leg home. I'm guessing it would probably take a couple weeks to get home from Atlanta on a bike and more on foot but if I could use a car maybe 2-3 days. Edited December 30, 2012 by tennessee01tacoma

[Caster]

I don't mean to criticize but why does everyone keep going to the shotgun?
I can feasibly carry close to two hundred rounds for my AR and easily carry more than that if I stick with pistol calibers.
Wonder how comfortable 200 rounds of 12g would be to carry?

The perception that the shotgun has exponentially more destructive power is a bit stretched and practice and training will overcome that anyway.

Just curious.

[Dolomite_supafly]

I would definitely head for the hills no way I would make my stand in the city. Of the weapons I own I would want my 870 with buckshot and slugs and I would have a machete. My plan would be to use my truck since it does well off road unless it was an emp, then I guess it would be a bike. I don't know anyone between Atlanta and Kingston so until I got there I would be on my own I would probably swing by my uncle's house in Kingston and then make the final leg home. I'm guessing it would probably take a couple weeks to get home from Atlanta on a bike and more on foot but if I could use a car maybe 2-3 days.

Do you own the land you are planning to bug out to?
Are you already living on that land?

Reason I ask is there are plenty of people who plan on bugging out and I wonder where. Most of them say they plan to head to the hills which is a huge problem because there are already people in those hills living there right now. And those people are going to defend their location or at least I know I will. And don't expect others to openly welcome a large group of people. I know I won't welcome anyone unless they bring a significant skill to the group and honestly I can't imagine what that skill might be that isn't already covered. There are less than 5 people that will be invited in and all others will be turned away with overwhelming amount of force.

I will say this to all of those planning on bugging out to the hills. I will defend what is mine, including land, from any squatters or looters. After all if you show up and try to take what isn't yours you are a thief. That includes wild game, plants or anything on my property even if I do not need it or not using it that stuff is still mine. I may have more than I need to survive but I will not share any of it with complete strangers. I have made preparations to ensure my survivability and I would be a fool to give any of it up to complete strangers.

It takes a lot of land to support a person year around. An acre or two isn't going to cut it. It will likely take 10's of acres per person.

And what makes the average person think they are going to make it ouf of a population center before the other 50% of the other people leaving the cities clog the roadways? What is going to happen is the highways are going to clog like Rita/ Katrina leaving leaving them stranded and with the option of walking to the "hills" or walking back to the cities. And when you start walking you are going to be able to carry far less than what you left with or even left behind.

Bugging in has some real advantages and if I lived in a city I would, without a doubt, stay put. First is you already have everything you are going to have without the need to transport it to a new location. You can call for help from those around you while in a remote location you cannot call for help. Another big advantage is you know the area. You also know who friend and who foe is or at least have a good idea. Travelling exposes you to more dangers. It is also easier to defend a building or high rise than a tent in the woods.Those buildings are going to protect you from the elements and be easier to keep warm in and survive in for the average person especially those used to living in the city. Food, at least initially, will be easier to come by in the cities as well as potable water. There are literally a few weeks worth of potable water in your water heater and toilet bowls and that is if you don't ration. With rain gutters, collecting water is much easier too. And as disgusting as it might sound cities have tons of rodents that can be harvested for food. If any type of relief or supplies is handed out it is going to be in the population centers first.

The average person is going to have a far easier time surviving in the city than in the "hills".

But if you must bug out and have any hope of bugging out you must be packed and ready to go in a moments notice. Vehicles have to ALWAYS have the gas needed to make it to that location. When the SHTF gas will be gone within minutes unless you are at the pumps pumping your gas as it takes place.

You need to also realize that there are going to be a lot more people than just you heading to a bug out location. This is going to clog the roadways like we saw during Rita/Katrina. The only way you might get a head start is if you are in a position to get some notice, like LE, emergency services or the government would get to prepare. Otherwise it is going to be a race to get out and if you are not in the lead you will find yourself stuck in the rear. And once you are stuck you and your stuff become vulnerable to roaming bands of thugs set on taking your stuff for themselves. And honestly it would be easy pickings.

As far as your bug out location you need to own the property you plan to go to. This can give you a little bit of a delay in the squatters that will show up. And once there, the squatters are not going to readily leave even if you tell them you own the property. If your bug out location is "public lands" you are not going to be the first there, it will be like winning the lottery if you are. You are going to find yourself surrounded by thousands of others who have the same plan.

Most people don't realize that best case scenario crops will be edible in 4 months. If it happened today we are looking at 6-7 months before crops can begin to be harvested. So that means you are going to have to transport that much food because you are not going to be able to kill a years worth of food with everyone else trying to do the same thing.

And as much as I hate to say it in order to survive people must loose their conscience. They must be willing to turn those less fortunate away unless they bring a substantial advantage to the group.

People have this grand illusion that they are going to be able to find virgin land to live off of. Look around, how much public land do you see? And of that how much is going to be free for the taking, not much if any, by the time they make it?

Dolomite         

[Caster]

100% right Dolomite.

What people aren't stopping to consider, that perfect parcel of land, remote, isolated, with a spring fed lake and open fertile fields; That land is already inhabited by people who know the terrain better and will be very upset by your intrusion.

I don't like where I am. Filthy suburbs!
BUT! I've lived in this area for 35 years. My teenage years were spent traveling places I wasn't supposed to be, doing things I shouldn't have been doing. Hey! I was a boy. No justification for some of the crap I was doing but it gave me an intimate knowledge of this area. I know where things are and how to get to them.
Putting myself into an area I don't know scares the crap outta me. Edited December 30, 2012 by Caster

[tennessee01tacoma]

I said shotgun because you could use slugs for longer range or buckshot for close quarters. I do own the land I'm planning on retreating to between my neighbors and I there is around 70 acres total that is surrounded by forest and fields that I don't know who owns it. My mom owns 14 acres that borders frozen head state park and is about 7 miles from my place I wanna make that journey on foot this summer to try and find good route.