Allright turn off the seriousness and take off your thinking cap for a sec, and I'll give yall a scenario.

 The year is 2016, Society has colappsed and every man and his family is forced to fend for themselves, some make it to the hills, most are stuck in urban areas where they have to escape and evade. In addition to this a widespread epidemic is spreading (causing something along the lines of what are known as zombies).

You are temporarily stuck in an urban area, fending for your life. Would you use your sling to further you survival or just as a back pack strap? BTW you can choose multiple options above. Keep in mind by 2016 you'll probably be a better slinger. If you don't lie zombies just stick to break down of society like Mad Max or Terminator without the machines.

Zombies, while fictional, have generaly realy improved the awareness of much of todays society so now we have things like BOBs and an excape plan. If you are ready for this foreign invasion, nuclear break down, natural disasters will be no problem.  8-)

Anyway it's been awhile since we had a theoretical sling scenario (sling vs black powder was last) just figured like trying somthing new.

I chose absolutely not - I may improve as a slinger in 2016, but that's sure I'll be a far better bowman  :)
I just feel much more sure of myself with a bow!
Greetings,
Mauro.

Well,  there are a number of implied circumstances as well.  By this time the "G" has probably confiscated most of our guns and ammo because by gosh, what would we possibly need such things for.  In order to kill a zombie you have to hit them in the head, as everyone knows.  They are also attentive to gunfire so you have to be quiet.  Not a problem since most of the guns have been confiscated.  Mauro, on the other hand, will quickly run out of arrows unless he comes back later and pulls them out after the "Z"'s friends are gone.  If Mauro's bowstring breaks, what then?  Run down to the five and dime for a spool of dacron?  No, the sling is king.  lots of rocks you don't care about losing, very quiet, Z's are stupid so they won't know where the rock comes from unless they see you.  Ammo is everywhere and so is cordage.  And I'm talking about the U.S. Zs, which are more agro than the easy going Italian Zs.  Practice now, or practice later, but start slinging your hearts out because dark days are coming.........................

Heck yeah,  juss give me 1000 stones and on top of a tower or steep hill and I can pick em off all day supposing I hit anything.  Which I will eventually I never stop til I hit something

i probably couldn't do much with one, but seeing that i've got the skills to use one i might as well. i chose the second maybe option

Dan wrote on Nov 29^th, 2011 at 3:30pm:

Allright turn off the seriousness and take off your thinking cap for a sec, and I'll give yall a scenario.

What the heck are you talking about?  Discussions on zombie apocalypses are to be taken VERRRRY seriously.






:)
I'd carry some slings on me incase I ran out of gunpowder propelled bullets.   In such a situation, I'd use stones and arrows for quiet taking of wild game.  Bullets for zombies.

i disagree with the assumption that you have to just hit a zombie in the head.  i feel that if you take out the legs , ie: cuttin them off or breaking with stones, than you can finish them off with a hammer to the head.
they might still crawl with broken legs, but they will not be running. and that is a huge difference

and i voted for bring them on, and the seconed one :)

I couldn't put it any better than fletch_man did.  Bring them on!!

First of all, zombies must be burned - otherwise they just reanimate. See, I've actually learned something useful, playing computer games  :o

Second, I'd use just about anything, including the kitchen sink and the loo, to keep them at bay. The more different weapons available, the more zombies we can deal with, before they eat our eyes/skin/brains/big toes/noses/whatever.

Holy water and water gun. check! <- that would be my primary weapon!
"Petrol"="gas"="benzin" and a water gun, plus matches. <- secondary weapon.
Sling and plenty of ammo. Check!
Bow with plenty of arrows. Check! Extra bowstring. Check!
Crossbow with plenty of bolts. Check!
Atlatl with plenty of darts. Check!
Molotov cocktails. Check!
Bolas. Check!
Bricks! Check!

A good boar spear to keep them at distance while we chop them up, would be nice as well.

Dig a moat and fill it with flesh worms - that will weaken them. They also try to avoid water, as it dissolves them.

Be sure to have some silver, for when the weres come out  :P

Perhaps you should keep a solarium ready for the vampires. Otherwise a blowpipe and some wooden tooth-picks may do the job.

And garlic! Don't forget garlic!

Liberty dog wrote on Nov 29^th, 2011 at 9:29pm:

i disagree with the assumption that you have to just hit a zombie in the head.  i feel that if you take out the legs , ie: cuttin them off or breaking with stones, than you can finish them off with a hammer to the head. they might still crawl with broken legs, but they will not be running. and that is a huge difference and i voted for bring them on, and the seconed one :)

Thats pretty much what I was thinking is to save your ammo for final dispatching and you can at least stop them to make them easier to take down. It Kinda depends on the zombie because in some scenarios inclueded in the outbreak is a kind of steroid/adrenilen relasing action that can actually make them stronger but if you use your with enough shots, against a determained enemy, eventualy you will get one one of these situations  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhEw7nD9C4  :) .

I have also slung half-bricks and broken/shaped pieces of cinderblocks and they are usualy quite effective up to around 100 yards where the shape and weght tends to make them slow down and fall. Definitely enough to snap it's leg enough so that it couldn't use it.

Mauro, I have a dozen aluminum arrows that are realy just for that purpose, Idealy used like this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbdM69hhUYw   8-)

Ping, this is more of a chemical outbreak than a "raise from the dead" scenario (easier to think about) and make sure you don't inhale those fumes!   ;)

The general problem with lighting "live" zombies that are chasing you on fire, is then you have zombies that are on fire chasing you. Better just stick to burning the dead(er) ones.

Dan wrote on Nov 30^th, 2011 at 9:00am:

and make sure you don't inhale those fumes!   ;)

Those from the holy water, right?  :P


Dan wrote on Nov 30^th, 2011 at 9:00am:

The general problem with lighting "live" zombies that are chasing you on fire, is then you have zombies that are on fire chasing you.

That would solve my lighting problem ::) They'd still have to get through the moat, and I'd have a good supply of crispy worm roast.

But yes, slow them down, hack them to pieces and destroy the evidence so we wouldn't have to deal with neither PETA, nor the smell.

You know, I just thought of something regarding what PingHansen said.  What if the Vampires and Lycanthropes formed a coalition?  Well, you fill balloons with colloidal silver water and then have them blessed and voila, you have an indirect fire weapon that when it bursts it takes out both factions with Holy/Silver Water.

fletch_man wrote on Nov 30^th, 2011 at 11:26am:

fill balloons with colloidal silver water and then have them blessed

Then I've got a major issue we need to clear up. We'd naturally need some kind of priest, but from which religion? Or have the catholic priests cornered the holy-water market?

Now, in a post apocalyptic world, I'd raid a few supermarkets for those misters they use for vegetables. We are talking WMD here  8-)

Or,  would this suffice?
http://engrospriser.dk/typo3temp/pics/41a14c29e6.jpg

Quick, Robin! Pass me the bat anti-vampire spray

Vampires and weres forming a coalition????? Not very likely. How about making up some sling ammo out of silver. You could even add a small cross to the side of each one. 8-)

Silver tipped, Ironwood biconicals with inscribed crosses and varnished with garlic infused linseed oil and dusted in wolfsbane pollen. 8-) One can never be too careful. Maybe getting my sling blessed by a priest would improve my aim...

I think the options are too strict here. What about using it in support of other weapons? These options only seem to allow for primary weapon, never use, or tentative use without confidence.

I'll use it;
When rocks are plentiful.
I need to be silent.
I'm bored and want to do something.
I have the time to spare.
To tie what needs to be tied.

My primary weapon would probably be an atlatl, as I can actually make that compared to a bow. I own no guns nor have enough experience with them. for effective use in an outbreak.

We've got isolated pockets of people in suburban areas? Great! Slinger (note- this word is underlined in red  :'( ) friends to be made. Get a group, volley attacks at the zombies, relying on abundance of ammo and slung shots. Always make friends.

Soo I think I would just be a scout gatherin intel on where they are,  armed with a good pistol for close up defense or otherwise,  and a Wakizashi(dont know exact spellin) or medium sized Katana,  with a small fanny pack or sling bag on my back with bare essentials,  flashlight for various reasons,  and a multi-tool for tackling some problems,  a crowbar wouldnt be bad either.  But I wouldnt mind pickin em off at distance with a suppressed ar-15 platform marksman rifle with a 3-10x IRNV scope(infrared nightvision) if I can get my hands on it,  thats if they're the zombies that can be killed by headshots.  

ohhhh I forgot aboot slings,  cant live without em  ;)

Wakizashi (わきざし) is the correct spelling, at least in English. Though I must raise the question, why swords? Do you have any intentions of being trapped that close? You've got guns, stay away. Sure, if worse comes to worse the swords may help, but spears are lighter and can be effective. Don't want to waste precious weight on useless weapons.

They can decapitate easily if sharp?  :-?,  or any good multifinctional bladed/blunt weapon can suffice if my pistol/carbine jams or runs out of cartridges,  possibly a machete,  they can work in smaller places,  an knife would work though for mainly extreme last chance retaliation.

Jabames wrote on Nov 30^th, 2011 at 10:45pm:

But I wouldnt mind pickin em off at distance with a suppressed ar-15 platform marksman rifle with a 3-10x IRNV scope(infrared nightvision) if I can get my hands on it,  thats if they're the zombies that can be killed by headshots.

I hate to be nit picky.  I like the idea of the rifle, but your infrared scope wouldn't help you much.  Such scopes work by detecting heat.  Zombies are dead and don't give off any body heat.  

Using a rifle would probably not work with zombies. Too little damage. Look back at the popular reason for the introduction of the M1911 .45 - the fanatics more or less ignored the wounds lesser calibers.

Look at the 'science' of it: The human body is 75 % (or thereabout) water, and that is why the chock from the impact spreads. Zombies are known to be mostly dried up husks, so they merely get better ventilation.

At least, use a shotgun, preferably loaded with flechettes, or something explosive.

For the same reasons, I'd doubt a sling would be effective, unless we used something rather large for projectiles.

Ping granted a 1911 has a lot of knockdown power (I actually shot one just last week) but with the 22.3 tumbles and will no doubt take down just about anything with a head shot. I have a pretty good amount of expierience with ARs and they will no doubt take down a zombie. Ar's also have a much better mag cappacity and faster reload than shotguns so there are plus and minusus to both. But you should no doubt have both in your colony.

Also just keep it simple with the zombies, head shots kill, body shots slow them down. Generaly stronger than humans but have little knowledge other than that they want to destroy humanity.

Not sure if I would chose A kukri or a waxizashi. here would be my 2 Ideal choices thuogh.  8-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uJues8TAbk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRnVY9qLCEE

zombies don't run with busted kneecaps..........in other words, aim low ;D

Dan wrote on Dec 1^st, 2011 at 9:14am:

but with the 22.3 tumbles and will no doubt take down just about anything with a head shot.

Still relies on hydrostatic chock. Put a round through a plastic bottle with water, and it explodes. Put a round through an empty bottle, and you will get two holes. Same with one filled with cardboard. Shooting zombies and mummies are akin to shooting at cardboard.

Just wait till the next zombie infestation, and I'll prove it to you ;D



p.s. I think we need a "purely nuts" category  ;)

How bout Incendiary rounds?   :)

Rat Man wrote on Dec 1^st, 2011 at 7:38am:

Jabames wrote on Nov 30th, 2011 at 10:45pm:  But I wouldnt mind pickin em off at distance with a suppressed ar-15 platform marksman rifle with a 3-10x IRNV scope(infrared nightvision) if I can get my hands on it,  thats if they're the zombies that can be killed by headshots.   I hate to be nit picky.  I like the idea of the rifle, but your infrared scope wouldn't help you much.  Such scopes work by detecting heat.  Zombies are dead and don't give off any body heat.

Ok never though o that  :D

Jabames wrote on Dec 1^st, 2011 at 10:10am:

How bout Incendiary rounds?   :)

Dan has that one covered:

Dan wrote on Nov 30^th, 2011 at 9:00am:

The general problem with lighting "live" zombies that are chasing you on fire, is then you have zombies that are on fire chasing you.

Jabames wrote on Nov 30^th, 2011 at 10:55pm:

They can decapitate easily if sharp?  :-?

Very debatable. I maintain that it is impossible to completely decapitate a person in a real world situation using a sword. And yes, zombie apocalypse counts as a real world situation because it CAN happen. ;)

Jabames wrote on Dec 1^st, 2011 at 10:10am:

How bout Incendiary rounds?   :)

Modern incendiary rounds would work. The bullet burns, but the target just explodes. [smiley=evil.gif]

How bout Frangible rounds???   :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4jQsaqBGOY

I imagine they would do considerable damage to a human body nonetheless a zombie one.

I would use it when I see a large group, but a rifle or handgun would be better if there is only one, chances are you could miss, and just get his attention going your way.

p.s. The seriousness we put into the idea of slingers vs. zombies makes me think of how much I love this forum, lol.

;D

Morphy wrote on Sep 8^th, 2010 at 3:37pm:

Am I the only one who finds it slightly amusing that people are debating the merits of riot shields against zombies in a totally normal manner?   ;D ;D I do love this forum.

Looks like I'm not the first one to say this forum is hilarious.  ;D

EDIT: I just saw that quote as ilovepancakes's signature  :P

My primary weapon would be my trusty 12 gauge shotgun with plenty of pumpkin balls and buckshot.  When I ran out of shells I'd revert to my trusty war sling with plenty of near fist sized river stones.  They're all over the place here.  For close quarters I'd like something with some heft to it.  Maybe these would be good.  For when the fight had deteriorated into a close quarters brawl I'd like the bayonet in my right hand and the boar knife in my left.  

---

Masiakasaurus wrote on Dec 1^st, 2011 at 3:01pm:

Jabames wrote on Nov 30th, 2011 at 10:55pm: They can decapitate easily if sharp?  :-? Very debatable. I maintain that it is impossible to completely decapitate a person in a real world situation using a sword. And yes, zombie apocalypse counts as a real world situation because it CAN happen. ;)

You would get far better leverage on cutting pole arms anyways. Hewing spear, naginata, anything with a decently long blade and a fairly long shaft. Plus, if all you have to do is significantly damage the brain, you want something that can punch through a skull. Pollaxes and hammers are suddenly a very good option.

Some one voting for a Dane axe?

Little, fangible Rounds would be awesome but again put a few hole's in the brain and it's lights out. I'd rather have a few thousand hollow points than a couple hundered varmint grenades.
Would he be most dead with a 12gage yeah but just completely dead would be good enough for me.  

Assuming I had adequate cover (shamagh and long pants and sleves) and less than a dozen zombies or so (or if the were in a more confined space so I could take them on in fewer numbers) I am still pretty sure I would prefer a kukri or a wakazashi. If you have ever tried to hit a moving head or neck with a long spear you know how difficult it can be, not to mention if you have 3-5 undead spines that need severed within the next few seconds. Would a spear be better for keeping them at a distance, yes, but what happens it the spear sticks in a bone or the zombie(s) starts moving up the shaft? However It is easier to train previous non-fighters to stab with a spear than hack into the zombie horde without getting flanked.

With a Kukri I could cut the arm then head, arm, neck, arm, arm, head. etc with out the risk of getting my melee weapon stuck and if I had some cover fire and then sheath the kukri and freerun back to the colony. And as we all know from childhood you aren't supposed to run with a sharp stick in your hand. And an AR is ususaly a lot easier to shoot with both hands.

The Chinese War sword Rat Man showed would be pretty awesome but me being of normal stature would probably slow down after the first few zombies.

One of the better melee options would probably be a bayonet at the end of a shtogun.

Dan wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2011 at 9:37am:

Little, fangible Rounds would be awesome but again put a few hole's in the brain and it's lights out. I'd rather have a few thousand hollow points than a couple hundred varmint grenades.

Around here small, high velocity, hollow point, rimfire rounds are what's called varmint grenades. It would be pretty easy to stockpile a couple thousand high velocity, hollow point .177HMR rounds, although I prefer to basemy zombie planning around what I'm likely to have/find. While I own guns I don't have a ton of ammo, so I'd stick with my sling, make an atlatl, and carry a machete and a knife (or three). And hand sanitizer, lots and lots of hand sanitizer.

You seem to like that bottom knife RM,  I remember that in that one dinosaur thread

I like this knife,  its enough for me

---

Very nice, little.  I'm sure that would fill the bill.  Out of the blades in the pictures, in a situation I'd probably grab the bayonet first.  It's got a nice weight and feel to it.  Maybe I like it because it's very old and cool.  But the boar knife is cool too.

Masiakasaurus wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2011 at 11:43am:

Dan wrote on Dec 2nd, 2011 at 9:37am: Little, fangible Rounds would be awesome but again put a few hole's in the brain and it's lights out. I'd rather have a few thousand hollow points than a couple hundred varmint grenades. Around here small, high velocity, hollow point, rimfire rounds are what's called varmint grenades. It would be pretty easy to stockpile a couple thousand high velocity, hollow point .177HMR rounds, although I prefer to basemy zombie planning around what I'm likely to have/find. While I own guns I don't have a ton of ammo, so I'd stick with my sling, make an atlatl, and carry a machete and a knife (or three). And hand sanitizer, lots and lots of hand sanitizer.

They called the Frangible rounds "varmint grenades" on the commrecial so I was just lableing accordingly. Now don't get me wrong the concept of a tactical atlatl is cool but I (althouhg I don't have a lot of expierince with atlalts) would find it to be pretty tough to hit the head/spine of a zombie running towards me. My accuracy with the sling is probably comproable to my accuracy with a atlatl so I think I would probably spend more time break up lots of bricks than making a few darts.

The only time I wouldn't have acess to "tons" of ammo would probably be on raids. In which case having light weapons like a sling and a kukri, in addition to your main light weapon (AR, AK, 1911, etc) really come into play.

Rat Man, Having done a good bit of knife training, I can say that even a couple inches on a fighting knife makes a big difference so start with the bayonet (prefferably at the end of a gun) and keep the boar knife for option D or E.  

The Romans would have loved a good Bowie - they'd call it a short sword.

I'd love to have a good big knife. It's a very versatile tool - cuts, chops, cleaves ... Alas, not allowed without a weapons permit here.

Roman tactics would have been more like support this giant shield and when the enemy comes up stab around and move forward. But this realally only works if you have hundreds-thousands of people cause if they break the line or flank (assuming you aren't in phalanx) it becomes chaos. So short sword/Large knife tactics would change to say run to a hall way and that way you have them coming at you from one direction and only a few at a time.
Then once you have enough of them stacked up so that the others can't immediatly procede you can run back to the colony.

Crow Hat wrote on Dec 1^st, 2011 at 9:24pm:

Looks like I'm not the first one to say this forum is hilarious.  ;D EDIT: I just saw that quote as ilovepancakes's signature  :P

True, True. I loved that quote and it's been my sig for at least a year.

As far as using a sling against zombies I picked the second option. I sling almost everyday and I am not confident I could pick off zombies with a head shot. While I do think a sling would have it's uses I don't think sniping zombies with a sling would be very effective, at least for me.

My go to weapon would be my H&R Pardner Protector, while I am not some shotgun fanboy that believes that every shell will cause a head to explode I also am not a marksman. So I purchased my shotgun because I think it has the most practical applications, namely skeet shooting.


EDIT- As far as a melee weapon Rockman posted a link to the Cold Steel Irish Walking Stick in one of the other zombie threads.
I purchased one and carry it around with me every day. It easily would crush a skull, certainly breaks a windshield and just looks badass.

I am seriously considering getting a kukri from the kukri house, the only question is which one! They are all so well priced and well made it's turning out to be quite a difficult decision.

However companion weapons are somthing for another thread, hopefully within the next few weeks.  ;)

Yes this forum is pretty awesome. I think it's becasue of the small amount of members it kind of like a slinging clan and we can joke around often.

Dan wrote on Dec 3^rd, 2011 at 8:21am:

Roman tactics would have been more like support this giant shield and when the enemy comes up stab around and move forward. But this realally only works if you have hundreds-thousands of people cause if they break the line or flank (assuming you aren't in phalanx) it becomes chaos. So short sword/Large knife tactics would change to say run to a hall way and that way you have them coming at you from one direction and only a few at a time. Then once you have enough of them stacked up so that the others can't immediatly procede you can run back to the colony.

The Romans dropped the Phalanx in favor of the Manipole fairly quickly. You still need hundreds to thousands of people, but the Manipole is fairly good at not getting out flanked.

Or should I say...outphalanxed.  8-)

Maniple
[edit]Fixed, Masi.[/edit]

Rat Man wrote on Dec 6^th, 2011 at 3:40pm:

Maniple [edit]Fixed, Masi.[/edit]

You need to add the ")" to the link

Odd, I lifted it right from the page.  OK, thanks, Mas.

Knaight wrote on Dec 6^th, 2011 at 8:51am:

Dan wrote on Dec 3rd, 2011 at 8:21am: Roman tactics would have been more like support this giant shield and when the enemy comes up stab around and move forward. But this realally only works if you have hundreds-thousands of people cause if they break the line or flank (assuming you aren't in phalanx) it becomes chaos. So short sword/Large knife tactics would change to say run to a hall way and that way you have them coming at you from one direction and only a few at a time. Then once you have enough of them stacked up so that the others can't immediatly procede you can run back to the colony. The Romans dropped the Phalanx in favor of the Manipole fairly quickly. You still need hundreds to thousands of people, but the Manipole is fairly good at not getting out flanked. Or should I say...outphalanxed.  8-)

Either way, it's just best to pick your battles where small numbers have the advantage. Like what the Spartans did at thermopolye, minus the flanking of the persians. I would have the same tactic in a Zombie apocolypse wher if you couyld say funnel them into an area between cars or debris you could take much more reliable shots and it would also be a more dence group to sling into.

Dan wrote on Dec 7^th, 2011 at 9:14am:

Knaight wrote on Dec 6th, 2011 at 8:51am: Dan wrote on Dec 3rd, 2011 at 8:21am: Roman tactics would have been more like support this giant shield and when the enemy comes up stab around and move forward. But this realally only works if you have hundreds-thousands of people cause if they break the line or flank (assuming you aren't in phalanx) it becomes chaos. So short sword/Large knife tactics would change to say run to a hall way and that way you have them coming at you from one direction and only a few at a time. Then once you have enough of them stacked up so that the others can't immediatly procede you can run back to the colony. The Romans dropped the Phalanx in favor of the Manipole fairly quickly. You still need hundreds to thousands of people, but the Manipole is fairly good at not getting out flanked. Or should I say...outphalanxed.  8-) Either way, it's just best to pick your battles where small numbers have the advantage. Like what the Spartans did at thermopolye, minus the flanking of the persians. I would have the same tactic in a Zombie apocolypse wher if you couyld say funnel them into an area between cars or debris you could take much more reliable shots and it would also be a more dence group to sling into.

Agreed. I was just being a nitpicking pedant, as you basically described the phalanx and not the manipole, which wasn't very Roman. Well, that and I wanted to use the term "outphalanxed".

So was the phalanx greek then?  :-?

Mainpoint is that ancient mass infantry tactics wouldn't work very well against zombies on todays battlefields.

Dan wrote on Dec 10^th, 2011 at 8:27am:

So was the phalanx greek then?  :-? Mainpoint is that ancient mass infantry tactics wouldn't work very well against zombies on todays battlefields.

They probably invented it. By the time Rome was around, the phalanx was pretty ubiquitous.

Let's move up a couple thouand years to the Revolutionary War. The British (which in mass numbers and tactics it was kinda like fighting zombies, and the hessians actualy fought like em too. Just bear with me) were using mass infantry tactics like they had for a thousand years and units like Morgan's Rifles used small unit gureilla style tactics against them and well the reasults are evident by Morgan's Rifles Battle record which one works better.

I think the Small unit tactics would undoubtly be one of the best things to have a good knowledge of post Z-day. And also the easiest to organize with a normal sized colony.

Dan wrote on Dec 10^th, 2011 at 3:05pm:

Let's move up a couple thouand years to the Revolutionary War. The British (which in mass numbers and tactics it was kinda like fighting zombies, and the hessians actualy fought like em too. Just bear with me) were using mass infantry tactics like they had for a thousand years and units like Morgan's Rifles used small unit gureilla style tactics against them and well the reasults are evident by Morgan's Rifles Battle record which one works better. I think the Small unit tactics would undoubtly be one of the best things to have a good knowledge of post Z-day. And also the easiest to organize with a normal sized colony.

                                                                                                                                                        Morgan's Rifles and any other colonial Rifle unit was never sent into battle without regular troops to protect them. In every instance where they went up against British Infantry, they were swept off the field by the Light Infantry. That's why Washington stopped sending them in unsupported.

No way to know for sure but I'm learning to sling for the times I can't use gun or bow.

Masiakasaurus wrote on Dec 1^st, 2011 at 3:01pm:

Jabames wrote on Nov 30th, 2011 at 10:55pm: They can decapitate easily if sharp?  :-? Very debatable. I maintain that it is impossible to completely decapitate a person in a real world situation using a sword. And yes, zombie apocalypse counts as a real world situation because it CAN happen. ;) Jabames wrote on Dec 1st, 2011 at 10:10am: How bout Incendiary rounds?   :) Modern incendiary rounds would work. The bullet burns, but the target just explodes. [smiley=evil.gif]

                      Trust me, it is VERY Possible to decapitate a person in a real world situation with a sword.

Where's my flamethrower??? ::)

bigkahuna wrote on Dec 16^th, 2011 at 8:35pm:

Masiakasaurus wrote on Dec 1st, 2011 at 3:01pm: Jabames wrote on Nov 30th, 2011 at 10:55pm: They can decapitate easily if sharp?  :-? Very debatable. I maintain that it is impossible to completely decapitate a person in a real world situation using a sword. And yes, zombie apocalypse counts as a real world situation because it CAN happen. ;) Jabames wrote on Dec 1st, 2011 at 10:10am: How bout Incendiary rounds?   :) Modern incendiary rounds would work. The bullet burns, but the target just explodes. [smiley=evil.gif]                       Trust me, it is VERY Possible to decapitate a person in a real world situation with a sword.

There are lots of stories about the legendary Gurkas using their large knives (kukris) in beheadng the enemy actually ther was one recently I believe.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1296136/As-Gurkha-disciplined-beheading-Taliban-Thank-God-side.html  and here is where I found the thread  
http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?95029-Gurkhas

Lots of stories like this invovlving the Gurkhas. As with any blade work there is probably a certain skill and technique used. For example you can't cut a tatami mat simply by swing a sword at it like a baseball bat, you'd just push it over. Edge orientation and form are big factors.

But again post Z Day you'd probably have to be really confident in your blade skill in order to take down a large group of them.

nice its called sling sticks of tnt or dynamite BLOW THEM UP ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
or incinderaries.   or water.
or lead glans coated in naplam. ;D

Dan wrote on Dec 17^th, 2011 at 1:23pm:

bigkahuna wrote on Dec 16th, 2011 at 8:35pm: Masiakasaurus wrote on Dec 1st, 2011 at 3:01pm: Jabames wrote on Nov 30th, 2011 at 10:55pm: They can decapitate easily if sharp?  :-? Very debatable. I maintain that it is impossible to completely decapitate a person in a real world situation using a sword. And yes, zombie apocalypse counts as a real world situation because it CAN happen. ;) Jabames wrote on Dec 1st, 2011 at 10:10am: How bout Incendiary rounds?   :) Modern incendiary rounds would work. The bullet burns, but the target just explodes. [smiley=evil.gif]                       Trust me, it is VERY Possible to decapitate a person in a real world situation with a sword. There are lots of stories about the legendary Gurkas using their large knives (kukris) in beheadng the enemy actually ther was one recently I believe.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1296136/As-Gurkha-disciplined-beheading-Taliban-Thank-God-side.html  and here is where I found the thread   http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?95029-Gurkhas Lots of stories like this invovlving the Gurkhas. As with any blade work there is probably a certain skill and technique used. For example you can't cut a tatami mat simply by swing a sword at it like a baseball bat, you'd just push it over. Edge orientation and form are big factors. But again post Z Day you'd probably have to be really confident in your blade skill in order to take down a large group of them.

And that's before we get to the mountains of Archeological evidence and first-hand accounts from eyewitnesses and such. If you can cut through a 50 pound Javelina hanging from a skinning rack, there's no reason to claim that you cannot decapitate someone. (Even so, a clean decapitation isn't necessary to kill someone/thing: you just need to get far enough sever the spine :P)

Although I agree that if you have a sword, it better have another purpose aside from fighting. (Machete, messer, seax, etc.) For fending off zombies, there are FAR better melee weapons than swords. Swords just have too short of a range. Just stick with a polearm: they have a much shorter learning curve, and can be just as effective in escrima/knife range as they are at spear range.

wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 3:33pm:

nice its called sling sticks of tnt or dynamite BLOW THEM UP ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D or incinderaries.   or water. or lead glans coated in naplam. ;D

We had a discussion about incinderarries earlier in the thread. Baiscally, the only thing worse than a horde of zombis chasing you, is a horde of flaming zombies chasing you.  ;)

Donnerschlag, I think you are underestimating the importance of traveling light weight.

Have you ever tried to run through houses, jump in the back of cars, climb up structors, vault over objects, ride a bike, or preform everyday tasks with an 8ft pole arm constantly at your side? I've tried a few of these (not the bike thing yet  8-) ) and it's not really easy, at all. In fact I'd say after a little while, it's quite cumbersome and the desire to throw it at a zombie would be overwhelming. A ple arm has it's place at a strong hold, but it should really just stay there.

I've considered the sword thing too but after awhile I've pretty much settled on my large kukri.

Here's a pretty cool article about traveling light on Z Day.  http://ww2.zombieinitiative.org/node/547

Dan wrote on Sep 26^th, 2012 at 5:06pm:

wrote on Sep 26th, 2012 at 3:33pm: nice its called sling sticks of tnt or dynamite BLOW THEM UP ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D or incinderaries.   or water. or lead glans coated in naplam. ;D We had a discussion about incinderarries earlier in the thread. Baiscally, the only thing worse than a horde of zombis chasing you, is a horde of flaming zombies chasing you.  ;) Donnerschlag, I think you are underestimating the importance of traveling light weight. Have you ever tried to run through houses, jump in the back of cars, climb up structors, vault over objects, ride a bike, or preform everyday tasks with an 8ft pole arm constantly at your side? I've tried a few of these (not the bike thing yet  8-) ) and it's not really easy, at all. In fact I'd say after a little while, it's quite cumbersome and the desire to throw it at a zombie would be overwhelming. A ple arm has it's place at a strong hold, but it should really just stay there. I've considered the sword thing too but after awhile I've pretty much settled on my large kukri. Here's a pretty cool article about traveling light on Z Day.  http://ww2.zombieinitiative.org/node/547

I was planning on mentioning how even a polearm would be impractical unless you were holding a fort or something, but it looks like I forgot to stick that part in there :-/

But yes, you are 100% right. If you have a melee weapon, it better be useful for something other than fighting. (Kukris are originally heavy-duty work knives, so you've got it made in the shade right there)

It's all good man, it happens. A lot of people were considereing the use of pole arms anyway so it was kind of a genreal response.

I really like my Kukri. I originally just thought I'd be okay bringing a medium sized fixed blade or two, but cutting through a 5inch neck with a 7in blade seemed like it would be pretty difficult.  ;)

Thus the kukri was the perfect (non firearm) fit for me.

I picked up a kuri a while back, use it all the time, not once (to my utter dismay) in a fight) to cut up wood, slash vines while trail blazing, roughing out carvings, and other various knife related stuff lol, definitely useful outside of a fight