Zombie Research Society
By 1LT Chris Post
One of the first considerations of many zombie survivalists is what kind of firearm they want by their side. High powered rifles, military grade hardware, and other specialized weapons look great in zombie movies, but in an actual doomsday event you may want to think smaller.
Though it’s not the sexiest or most powerful caliber of firearm, the .22 LR is an ideal apocalypse survival tool in more ways that one.
- COST: Purchasing firearms in .22LR is very cost effective. Dependable rifles can be purchased for as little as $150. Semi-automatic rifles with large volume magazines are available for as little as $250. You can also purchase a .22LR pistol for less than $300. Ammunition is also plentiful and inexpensive.
- PORTABILITY: While .22LR weapons tend to be lighter than their high-powered counterparts, the difference in bulk size and weight of ammunition is the real advantage. With its small size, you can figure 10,000 rounds will weigh about 75 pounds, or about 16 pounds for the case of 2,100.
- CROSSOVER: If all your firearms are chambered in the same caliber, then you need only stock one kind of ammunition. This simplifies storage, transport and supply, which makes the 22LR series of weapons a compelling choice.
- EASE OF USE: Even if your survival team is made up of military personnel, sooner or later you’ll probably need weapons that anyone can use. The .22LR series of firearms can be easily used by novice shooters with very little training. The same can’t be said of other more advanced weapons.
- LETHALITY: A .22LR is not going to blow a huge hole in your enemy, but it will kill. While it is accurate out to about 150 yards, the velocity of the .22 round is still lethal as far out as 400 yards. Each year, roughly 15% of homicides in the United States are committed using .22 caliber weapons.
- PRACTICALITY: The .22LR is also a functional survival tool. Both the .22 rifle and pistol make ideal hunting weapons capable of killing a wide variety of small game, making it a versatile tool that will help keep you alive in more ways than one
When it comes to zombie survival, it’s important to pick the right weapon for the job at hand within your range of abilities. No weapon is the best weapon for
everyone or every purpose. One person’s top pick might be last on another person’s list, and rightly so.
What is your ideal zombie firearm?
My personal belief is that their are a few calibers that are extremely common and are good choices 22lr is on that list along with.22mag .223 rem/5.56NATO, 308.win/7.62×51 nato, 30.06 sprngfld , .270 win, 357mag/38 special, 9mm, 45acp , 20 gauge and 12 gauge, 30-30 win ,7.62×39, and depending on were in the country you live 40 S&W and 7.62x54R. of these chamberings and cartridges they are all zombie capable but not necessarily a round id wanna take into a fight against man. the 22.lr would work in a pinch but considering that firefights are won by the amount of hits not the amount of bullets you have having a larger caliber weapon may not be the worst idea because all in all if you fire 25 rounds of 22lr out of a ruger 10/22 and make 1-2 hits because your under pressure wile firing and moving for cover wile an enemy is shooting back or charging you then you probably have a wounded enemy that is still able to fight for several minuets. now compare that with 25 rounds and 1-2 hits with any of the other rounds except .22 mag and your likely hood of taking someone out of the fight is increased tremendously. the other thing is 22lr is prone to failure and not a very weather resistant round
Bro no lie 22lr is perfect especially if u have something with tac rails like the Mauser m15
And another thing people are saying nothin about a 243 wouldn’t that be a good gun for #1 sniping and #2 self defense hello
The problem with .243 win is that it burns out the throat of the barrel after about 1000 rounds not a problem for a hunting gun but when you consider it in this application its not the best suited rifle also .243 ammo is scarcer than .223 and .308 chambered weapons wich will preform the same if not better than the .243
I think that the 22lr is perfect for the zombie apocalypse it’s lightweight and reliable. My zombie survival guns are the ruger 10-22 tactical and a ruger mk3 pistol
Me, my Mossberg 142a 22lr, and my ruger sr9c. That’s it, and my bugout bag of course.
I have a s&w m&p 15-22. I have a eotech sight 6 25 magazines. It’s lightweight. Working on getting a suppressor for it now. I personally think it would be better than carrying a .308 or shotgun. U would b more mobile with a .22lr. My 15-22 is my bug out gun/zombie gun.
I agree that a little .22 long rifle is probably the best firearm to possess in the Zombie apocalypse. When it comes to carrying ammunition the venerable .22 LR round stands out compared to centrefiire rounds. Yes the .22 only produces 160 ft per pound but this is more than capable of inflicting mortal wounds on human tissue. The .22 rimfires round is lethal out to 400 yards and is accurate at up to 150 yards in the right hands. As far as Zombies are concerned why waste heavy expensive rounds on a headshot when the little .22lr is suffice.
Just my opinion but i favor the 5.45×39 or the 556 aka 223 For zombie hunting. they are light weight rounds with low recoil and capable off reaching out 600 yards. An experienced individual with the appropriate optics should have no problem scoring head shots all the way out to 500 yards. 7.62X39 7.62×51 and .50 BMG are my choice go to war rounds but they are rediculous over kill on zombies that being said i can start to see the pros of the 22lr. One you can carry thousonds of rounds and most 22 rifles are light very light my mossberg blaze is 3 pounds i can move my ass along all day in the apocalypse and not get tired humping a rifle like that. In a zombie situation the ability to move faster longer is critical. Now on to the non shooting ass sitting experts that say 22lr wont do the job to make it clear YES IT WILL ! out to 200 yards yes i said 200 YARDS ! i havent shot a Z before but i have made successful head shots on many types of varmit out to 200 yards with a mossberg plinkster with a weaver tactical scope now will it make head shots on Z’s 100 yards out and penetrate skull and shred brain matter you bet your sweet ass it will in the most undramatic anti climatic fashion. Another pro of the 22 rifle is you can easily find materials in the feild to construct makeshift suppressors you tube it im not gonna go into all the ways you can but rest assured you can sorry ATF did i say that i ment you cant 😉 if you wanna put more Z’s on the ground and not become a chew toy suppressors are not a luxury they are a vital necessity. So to wrap up my 2 cents im saying 22 is a hellva lot better then nothing has some pros and useing the appropriate tactics and game plans will put Z’s on the ground and save your ass so you may live another day
Whatever gun you choose, it will be useless when you run out of ammo, chances are Walmart and your favorite toy shop will be stripped bare, so I’ll take a .22 and as much ammo as I can carry. It will, of course limit me with a less powerful round but a 30-06 won’t kill squat when empty.
Personal courage is part of the equation in terms of what weapon you use. Some people are very comfortable with engaging a threat at close to very close range, which would sort of be a requirement using a .22LR at least. If someone is not comfortable with this type of distance then perhaps a larger caliber would be more appropriate to provide a greater protective distance buffer? Also it takes courage to engage at close range with a minimal weapon such as .22LR when the threat possesses greater numbers or firepower.
No criticism here, just realize that when you get in the cage with the lion the size of the whip you use will affect to some degree how you can deal with the lion.
Thank you.
The firearms used depends upon which TV-show or game defined zombie you’re dealing with. I like Walking Dead and I watch it consistently and always wonder about the weapons. I own a number of rifles in various calibers and agree that the .22LR is the easiest to carry. When dealing with the Walker-type zombie I was wondering how effective the .22LR would be in penetrating the skull, judging by the ease with which Walker skulls are dealt with I believe the .22 would be an ideal weapon… in that venue. Apparently any disruption of the Walker brain is sufficient to disable it… birdshot might be good for scatterguns. The weight and the availability of the ammunition is a deal maker of the .22LR Everyone makes their headshots with their larger weapons (even handguns), so a headshot with a .22LR wouldn’t be any more difficult… in that venue.
OTOH… quiet is the key to survival as the death by zombies seems to occur when people are taken from behind or surprised by masses of zombies. Hand weapons (like a lightweight morning star or flail) would be ideal unless you are well trained with a katana or sabre.
I really want people to realize that 22LR is over-hype way too much for a zombie outbreak. Now don’t get me wrong if you are dealing with slow zombies 22lr is probably going to work just fine, for zombies only, but that is it. What about if you happen to run into marauders, who will not hesitate to kill you and your friends to take your stuff. Heres the point i am trying to get to, 22lr for zombies and 30-06 or 308 for the a-holes who want to kill you.
Jon – I disagree with your statement regarding the limited usefulness of the .22lr in post apocalyptic survival. I have been accurately and actively using a .22 for the better than 48 years to take wild game from squirrels and deer to wild hogs, mostly with head shots and it has yet to let me down. Sure I have, on occasion had a misfire, but I have never had that happen more than once in a row. The.22 or round will penetrate a human skull,especially from the side. It can be extremely accurate out to 200 yards, is very easy to handle, light to carry and you can carry a hell of a lot of ammunition quite easily, moreover it can be quite effectively silenced. I have a number of different weapons as well, but the .22 long rifles I own are the ones that I go to first.
I deal with the reliability of rimfire rounds (like the .22LR) by buying match grade ammo. Since making the switch, I’ve had zero misfires. As others have noted, I too have never had a detractor agree to let me shoot them with a .22LR. Apparently, they don’t believe their own press.
And .22 rounds are known to bounce around and ricotche inside of the brain case, doing extensive damage to the brain.
I would stock primarily 22 and 9mm just due to their abundance. Both would do the job on soft, decaying flesh. However, in a truly dire situation where you are outnumbered I think you at least need one or two other larger calibers to utilize. The small calibers are fine at taking out a couple zombies here and there, but once swarmed by a mob you need some knockdown power to at least slow them down before a group attacks you.
Why would you need something with more power in close range? It’s ridiculous to think that somehow a .22 is great at distance but a .357 will suddenly be needed at 2m distance. If the .22 works at 100m then it’ll sure as heck work at 1m. Remember zombies don’t stop on anything but a headshot and achieving headshots under 10m range is a lot easier with .22 than with larger calibers. There’s also more ammo in a .22 pistol/rifle which means you’ll shoot more before having to reload. And reloading kills.
There is no caliber with enough knockdown to make a difference at close range because body shots do not shock the zombies at all. They are completely unfazed by anything except a headshot.
I see a lot of “stopping power” being bandied about. First off, define your venue. In TWD you can stop a walker with a good fist to the head. The flesh has deteriorated enough by this time that almost anything will penetrate a walker skull. Compare that to FTWD and you can see that when they’re fresh the skull is harder to penetrate.
So, stopping power??? In TWD the .22LR is almost overkill. The only way to slow down a walker with a larger caliber round better than you could with the 22 would be a shot to the spine, disabling the lower torso. If you can hit the spine you can certainly hit the head.
In the most recent episode I would have had some snipers gradually grind down the number of walkers in the quarry with scoped 22’s. BTW… where ARE the scoped 22’s?
There are lots of pros & cons to using the .22lr round to a zombie down for good and those of you who favor it above all others I wish you successful hunting.
Given the choices available I have chosen to put similar, yet different and, IMO vastly superior weapons into my ZTA (zombie termination arsenal). In particular I have chosen both rifles and pistols in .22 Magnium and 5.7 MM. THE .22 Mag has better accuracy,
stopping power, and range than the .22 lr and the 5.7 mm has all of the above and then some. When equipped with a good quality suppressor and a laser, red dot, or holographic sight you can easily keep your perimeter clear without attracting more to your area making both worthwhile purchases for all your weapons.
I love the .22lry fav and I can’t wait until something like zombies to come
Sorry folks…have to disagree. I ran the base firing range for about a decade and the rimfire spun primer compound just isn’t reliable enough and produce too many failures to fire. Stick with a centerfire…
By a good number of responses about this topic, there will be no shortage of .22LR rounds due to all the boxes of Federal 28 grain and discarded rifles when those who WERE using threw them aside then they realized that a 36 to 40 grain .22LR round could not penetrate a skull at 75 yards and beyond and also realized that .22 rifles DO make noise when fired. With ever increasing numbers of undead and then with a good chance of a jam or a bad round (most .22 rounds are cheap and not reliable) the living are surrounded with little to no options to escape….all because they chose a small, bountiful round instead of using a round that they wouldn’t have to worry about . Your lives depend on choosing a powerful enough round to guarantee solid shots to a zombie skull as well as a round that could be used against the living. Please don’t skimp on the round you choose. 7mm, .223, 7.62×39, 7.62×54, .303 and 30-06 are all capable of 500 yards and some have stopping power out to 900-1000 yards.
When the dead defy the grave, do you really trust that .22 to save your life?
I do. I trust my .22. IE 5.7 mm
I own a PS90 and Think it is probably the MOST effective all purpose weapon a civilian could own.
Firstly think of the 5.7 round as a .22 super magnum with reliable tumbling characteristics in all tests and practical scenarios similar to the 5.56 (with the 5.56 being an ULTRA magnum so it simply has more power and projectile weight).
It is in every way as effective as a 9MM cartridge but has better terminal ballistics at range, with a longer effective range and a flatter trajectory out to that distance making it far more accurate.
– The PS90 system itself is a full length rifle barrel in a bull pup configuration, IE the action sits behind the trigger creating a very very short firearm even though the barrel length is the same as a rifle.
– It is 96% polymer making it a very light weight weapon.
– Carries 50 round top loading box magazines with reliable feed.
– Downward shell ejection, drops shells directly beneath the rifles mid section keeping them out of your llne of sight.
– Fully ambidextrous controls.
The PS90 platform provides the following.
– All the advantages of a large pistol caliber 9MM+
– the best compromise in weight per shot (less weight than 9mm)
– The 100yard accuracy of a MUCH heavier rifle round and which no other pistol cartridge can match
-Recoil similar to .22 LR. Very stable platform.
Im not a believer in actual zombies but I love peoples thoughts of what it would be like in a day z situation
read through this article and I find it interesting. I personally love my 22lr and I think its great for carrying capacity and ease of use and plentiful supply as has been mentioned but stopping power…hmmm not sure I would trust it considering it would require a head shot on a moving zombie who could possibly be in undead rage mode haha.
I would only engage zombies with a firearm if I was cornered and/or out numbered (why attract more attention). I would have to have as much ammunition as I could preloaded in mags (reloading mags in a zombie fight?). And only carry enough extra to reload those mags 2 or 3 times. So I would choose a bigger round that can cause damage to any area of the body. At least destroy a zombies muscle tissue and hamper its movement. a larger caliber round in a semi-auto weapon would be better. possibly a suppressed .45 or larger caliber pistol and a 223 or better semi rifle/carbine.
The .22 is perfect against zombies. Light recoil for better accuracy and less noise. Head shots are a must, since body shots wont stop them, therefore larger calibers won’t matter.
i have a 270 a few shot guns a few pistols and i have all ways told friends if the shit hits the fan ill grab my Henry lever 22lr and my bucket of 22lrs on my way out the door to survive
i can hit a dime at 50 yards with it and can carry 1500 rounds with ease
just fact that at 150 yards i can pop your head and can kill game with ease to eat
with out destroying the meat and the old Henry just works all the time
o what a wonderful rifle it is
and i have a Beretta bobcat 22lr for close up protection to boot
I have many guns that use many large calibers (7.62x54R, 30.06, 7.62×39, .223..etc…) With that said.. I also have a .22 rifle (SIG522) I will challenge anyone who talks that a .22 has no place with the big boys to stand in front of me at 100yrds with my little insignificant .22. one shot I will rip something off you might want later. plus I believe people who dont respect the .22 as a weapon just as capable as a large caliber are the people who disregard safetry with our rimfire friend and eventually end up hurting people. I personally treat my SIG522 the same as any other weapon.
I love having a .22 available as a weapon. But, it’s not my only choice. I agree with all the above posters about weight and availability of ammo. I’ve got two sons (High school and Middle school) and we go out to the farm and “play” Walking dead (TV show). When we go, we set up targets all over and gage what weapon we would use for that target. We have with us a 30.36 M1 Garrand, M1- Carbine, 303 lee Enfield SMLE, K98 (made in 1939!! With all the markings) and 3 .22’s. Two of the .22 are semi and one is bolt action.
Needless to say having 30-06, 8mm mauser, 30 cal, is heavy (and expensive) to shoot. The .22’s we can shoot all day and still have money left over for lunch. But we are talking zombie guns and McD’s is closed….for ever….lol
Anything within 150 yards is straight up made for the .22. light, quick and quiet. The old bolt action .22 can punch through a pumpkin and a cantaloupe at 200 yards. Anything beyond 200 yards and that’s when the big stuff would need to get pulled out. If it’s just a zombie horde passing by let them pass with out giving away your position. If you have a good position and they know where you are use the .22’s when they get within 100 yards. If it’s the angry masses (Non zombie) coming to take what is yours use the big guns and keep them far far away.
All in all what I’m saying is, the .22 is a great / needed addition to any gun cabinet ammo is cheep, easy to find, and anyone can shoot it. Just make sure you have other weapons available and some good friends to help out.
Just my thoughts.
22lr is the most popular rifle with poachers. for taking down deer and not alerting game wardens! this is a fact. If you can leave it be cause its to far away to notice you why would u make all that noise with a larger caliber. the thing everyone seems to of missed if some one mentioned it sorry must of skipped it. is time on target and no im not talking rifles 223 can acquire a target every bit as fast as a 22lr any day. but pistols i have yet to see a hand gun that u can acquire more then 2 targets as fast as a 22lr the rhino is pretty good but still not as fast. the other thing is i like my hearing im sure as shit not going to stop put ear plugs in then shoot and that ringing can cost you your life after you shoot that big sexy gun. theres just to many reasons not to go with the 22lr only real one i can think of is other humans. but thank god your typical starving masses dont get hit with a 22 and go aww shit its just a 22 lets get them. they flat out freak out and piss them selves. so after all that whats my number one zombie weapon well and axe with a blunt side just light enough i can use it with one hand. pure survival and i gotta make a little noise Marlin 60 sorry ruger 10/22 fans. more accurate out of the box and no clip to use my pistol does take a clip and i have more then a few im not that stupid.
And for the record, 1,000 rounds of .223 weighs in around the 28 pound mark. Go stuff a backpack with your other crucial supplies, your rifle of choice, and then add 28 pounds worth of weight (or more if it’s a larger caliber.) Then go take a 6 mile walk and see how that works out for you.
I could climb a building with a 5 gallon bucket of .22 ammo and a box of twinkies, picking them off til boredom set in.
Any larger caliber will get heavy fast. 1,000 rounds of any larger caliber would mean jack squat in a city environment; you’d burn through it fast. But be certain I could carry that much .22 ammo for much less weight – and outrun you in the process. 😉
i like my zombie killing up close and personal. So i think the 22 will do just fine. plus u can stock pile many more rounds in a smaller place. the 40 grain 1200fps will do the job nicely
.22LR is plagued with one major issue, which i have yet to see anyone point out… .22LR platforms are VERY dirty, and the LEAST reliable caliber in general… and adding a suppressor will only worsen such issues… even in the best of platforms.
You’re better off sticking with truly dependable designs and a centerfire caliber. Any of the big 3 pistol caliber (9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP) or one of the big 4 rifle calibers (.223/5.56, .308/7.62×51, .30-06, or 7.62×39) as you will probably have an easier time, and less costly one buying magazines, etc. as well as the ability to reload ammunition. These calibers are also VERY prevalent as well.
It is apparent that all of you know about jack and $hit about firearms… because a .22lr pistol will jam, and are also usually a PITA to take apart for cleaning, and cannot be done quickly either….
cheap .22 ammo is less reliable than cheap surplus com-bloc ammo. This is why you always see rounds that failed to ignite on the ground at the range…. how often do you see a failed center-fire caliber round???
also the concerns about sound… .22 unsuppressed makes a totally higher pitch report… a .45 or 12 gauge has a very low report in comparison…. i can hear .22 reports far further than a .45 or 12 gauge load…. just ask my neighbors who have only ever complained about me shooting .22…..
.22 bullets are LEAD… and SOFT lead at that… their performance will also degrade far faster than any jacketed center fire type round. again, yet another huge weakness in the .22 LR.
sure you may have far more ammo…. but what if you need to use it on bigger, moving targets? a .22 against a pissed off bear charging is only going to get it’s adrenaline pumping (not to mention with you missing due to adrenaline, unless you have training/experience in stress shoots) and will probably jam or run out of ammo… also considering you probably have not properly maintained that .22 since they just about all require you to unscrew something, and all kinds of weird things that just are not existent on a semi-auto center-fire weapon. And if you have a suppressor for a .22…. well good luck keeping it from failure, as I am sure the lot of you know nothing of suppressor maintenance/cleaning, which is MOST important in .22 cans….
in the end… .22 is the WORST decision you could make… and the whole ‘same caliber for rifle/pistol’ argument is moot…. as is the ‘would you want to attract more attention engaging at a further range with a higher caliber’ one as well. If you live in wide open land, well then hell yeah… would want to start engaging as soon as possible. The increased range and accuracy in say a .223 or .308 would more than offset the increased ammo bulk. Besides, being able to actually shoot through brush/glass/barricades may be necessary, and a .22lr is the last thing you want when it comes to that…
.22 may be good as a ‘survival kit’ caliber… but that is really about as far as it goes, other than for hunting small game. the only ammo with good consistent accuracy is actually harder to find than cheap 9mm, and costs more…. and is no more accurate …. thus the logistics portion of the ‘for’ argument is not strong. cheap bulk pack seems to average about 2% failure to fire. sure part of this is because it is so freaking dirty that you start to jam, and have your firing pin get bogged down, but also because the primer compound is not spread evenly.
i see the merits/disadvantages of a .22 and plan to get a ruger 10/22 for a “zombie gun” although i also feel a .357 lever action carbine or mare’s leg pistol “yes what texas had in zombieland” would be a good choice. however, it is noteworthy that if needed, a homemade silencer may be neccessary in some situations and a .22 would be the best choice to mount one on, as it is a low pressure round.
If the .22 LR is the most abundant round as well as one of the least noisy, why not just rig a gun to fire full auto with these rounds and waste zombies while barely attracting any attention?
I’m assuming this will still be less loud than a shotgun or a rifle and you don’t have to worry about the hit not penetrating if you have 2 extra rounds shot in each head. Even if the gun jams, you’d still be safe enough to find an escape route if you silence the gun also since the noise will just start to attract more zombies (or not attract any at all).
I found a youtube video of a perfect gun like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8rnLxIWGro
The recoil is larger since it is full auto but all u need is a good click in each zombie head to obliterate them. It would be even better if it had a burst fire (like semi auto m16) and a laser pointer. All you’d need to do is aim at the neck and let the recoil bounce it up a little to get 2-3 rounds in the head.
Against dangerous humans, you can just unleash a fury of bullet on them and they’ll be dead, injured or at least scared shitless..
It’ll be even more awesome if you could get all types of weapons using .22, like the standard rifle and even a shotgun conversion that shoots .22 LR! -like this: http://adaptagun.com/22shotgun.htm
Heck you can get all kinds of sidearms that use .22 LR like a revolver or even a .22 MAC just cause you can..
I could imagine making a .22 hunting rifle have a .22 sawn off shotgun attachment(4 barrelled!) underneath and then a full auto .22 attached to its right side. Sure it might make the gun unbalanced and sure it maybe impractical but it’s at least cool as hell because they all use .22 LR…
Then if you find working sg shells for your shotgun you can take out the .22 conversion and use it, and place back the conversion anytime.
i think a .22LR is the wrong weapon for this. The article was good and had many great points however, i must disagree with it.
1- .22’s are a small caliber, eventhough they are fast and would stop a normal person, we cannot consider zombies to fit in this category. The face eater in florida was shot once with a much higher caliber and he just kept on chowing down after looking at the cops all bug eyed, he stopped eating when he was shot a second time.
2-You can minimize your problems by simply carrying a shotgun. You can dismember the zombie and then deal with half of it, or shoot it in the head to simply take it off so there are no doubts.
3-Mentioning bullet pricing is a bit irrelevant in my opinion since zombie apocalypse will create disorder and chaos, which means just loot some bullets.
4- Looting will mean you will need a gun like a shotgun to handle crowds trying to take your bullets.
5- Carry multiple shotguns, and bring a buddy to help you reload the empty shotguns while you fire away.
6- Never lock yourself to ONLY one weapon. But keep the shotgun near cause it solves problems quickly.
7- While enjoying life during the zombie apocalypse behind your trusty shotgun, remember, never stop looking for the minigun.
I think my advice can work as long as we remember that if they have a head, they are a threat. So naturally eliminate that entirely for a problem free america.
“You can minimize your problems by simply carrying a shotgun.”
Carry around two boxes of those target loads they sell for clays for a couple hours and watch the “simply” factor go right out the window. A shotgun would be the last choice I’d ever make. I have a surplus ammo can of target #7 shot loads. There’s no way in hell I would want to pack that weight around!
I think the .22 is a great idea for a zombie killer ive had several though out the years they very easy to shoot clean and carry. id love a bigger gun but if moving place to place it would be much easier to carry .22 rounds compared to the larger ones and on the plus sided ive shot many of deer over the years with one and had much better results than even a 30.06 took down either though the eye or ear and never had one run the way the so with larger rifles. So in closing carry a .22 and keep the larger ones at ur base/safe house that way if needed u can hold off the horde/raiders
Its great for sniping, scavenging missions and quiet kills of the walking dead. But face to grisly face I need the knockdown power of a .45 acp or 12 gauge. Int he heat of the moment, with adrenaline kicking in I’m not going to think straight and have time for precise headshots.
I’m a fan of the .22lr, and the .22 WMR/magnum. Good,easy to use and cheap. And you can get firearms that will shoot both, like the .357 mag and .38 special. I just don’t think they should be your primary means of dispatching the undead.
ok i hear alot of people complaining that .22 are just not strong enough i own a .22mag colt 1911 and ive taken down a fair amount of boar with it. .22 have little recoil if nothing the ammo is gratuitously easy to find even in aus. carrying a 5.62 or .223 would be a good back up but the unfortunate side is are you gonna raid a military camp .. if so wouldnt the military be still surviving and fully armed with an more then ample supply of ammo. lets just enter a scenario here shall we
you are a survivor who has a .22 rifle/pistol or nothing just melee weapons. you want a bigger firearm. there is a local military base near you. you go there and there are soldiers still armed. now there are 3 things that will happen on. 1. they take you in and either give you shelter or evac or even maybe give a rifle and ammo. 2. they see you as infected they shoot on site/ are ordered to shoot you either way your f***ed 3. there are no surviving militia there is a stockpile of weapons and rations you decided to camp there. <– the chance of this one is very low and i believe that its quite hard to get automatic weapons in the states unless you decide to raid red jacket or something.
anyway the point being is your going to find it immensely easier to find a .22 then anything else maybe a shotgun if anything the most you could do for a larger cal handgun is raid your local copshop thats about it oh and for jamming heres a hint (firearms jam if you have no idea or just simply dont CLEAN YOUR RIFLES/HANDGUNS)
i have a .22 lr revolver. i like .22 lr because they are not very loud.
While I agree that the .22lr would be a great (if not the best) zombie killing caliber, what worries me is how effective it will be to the countless human marauding bands one will surely encounter in any apocalyptic scenario.
Take a .22 in the neck and tell me it won’t stop you. If you have a good group bugged in at a good location and you all have the same .22 rifles/pistols, chances are, you will also have thousands and thousands of rounds (if you prepped wisely). I’m sure if the marauders have guns, they surely don’t have as many rounds. And while you are raining lead on them from your compound, they will be frantically looking for cover and will most likely be divided. Eventually the firefight would end with them losing ammo and people. They would have to retreat. They have no clue how much ammo you may have, but they won’t be back to find out. Also, if there are marauding bands of people running around and you are by yourself or in a small traveling group, you definitely don’t want to alert any hostile element with a loud bang from a high-powered gun when hunting. A .22 is very silent compared to other firearms. Sure, it will make a “pop” that will travel, but not nearly as far as a “bang” would. Don’t get me wrong, It’s nice to have a good backup firearm with a bang and a punch, but that would be used in emergency situations like say a bear is charging at you and you just HAVE to drop it. The .22 is the most practical firearm to have as your MAIN firearm than any other gun. The pros outweigh the cons immensely.
Look at how small the neck/head is compared to the rest of the body. Then add in the factors of a moving body, of which the head will most certainly be the most active of which when one is constantly looking around, and tell me how practical it is to even make it feasible to hit an active person (not some shambling corpse that can barely move as is). Then take into account how little penetrating power a 22 has, and it won’t even puncture remotely heavy clothing from a moderate range (but if a head shot is all that matters anyways, as with zombies, that’s a mute point). As such, it doesn’t matter how much ammo or how well entrenched you are if I can barely feel your shots. And as for hunting, what type of game are you thinking about taking with a 22? Anything much bigger than a groundhog is gonna be pretty difficult, and its gonna take a lot of squirrels to feed your group…
Well for one thing i don’t know what video game you have been playing because in the real world there’s people killed everyday with a 22. And as far as hunting you can take any thing in north america with a 22 its not size but bullet placement that counts.
i think the real question here is what kind of zombies would you be dealing with here if there fast your gonna wanna carry light gear or on the other hand if there slow you can carry whatever the fuck you want as long as you use your ammo wisely you’ll do just fine thats my thoughts on the subject of these firm arm discussion lol
For all of you experienced gun owners. Have you owned a .22LR rim fire that has never failed to fire, jam, feed, etc.? My answer is a NO. Most .22LR ammo is a LOT more likely to misfire than any other caliber on the market. Hope this helps someone out there.
I have had multiple discussions about this with friends, in my opinion; the .22 would be the best if we are dealing with slow and undead zombies. They do not move quickly, and honestly you would be insane to waste ammo shooting at things past 100 yards with a .22. The possibility that it may not penetrate in my opinion is compensated by the minimal recoil allowing for quicker recovery and successive shots. That being said, I would not carry just a .22, I would do my best to get a heavier caliber weapon such as a Mosin Nagant (7.62x54R, bolt action, 5round magazine, Scope) for hunting or longer range targets. The .22 would be your closer range day to day weapon, and what you carry around.
One added bonus to the .22 that I haven’t seen yet, is that most people can shoot relatively well with a .22 even if they are inexperienced because of the almost nonexistent recoil. So, survivors could be armed to a reasonably high level of proficiency fairly easily.
In the Facebook comments, I keep seeing people asking about the time needed to get an accurate headshot and how we believe we will have the time. In response, I have two ideas. Laser sights while not 100% accurate are close enough to allow snap shooting and would be a nice accessory to any close range firearm. Second, why are you putting/allowing yourself in a situation where you are not in control? A common phrase of my generation is “You only live once” or YOLO, I personally beleive this applies to ZDay quite nicely. Before you do anything, have a plan going into it! “I need medical supplies, so I am going to raid the CVS. If i run into some zombies, I will kill them as quickly and as quietly as i can before they notice me. If i attract more attention then I can deal with, I will leave, Go to Point X, get rid of any followers and return to my safehouse, to try again later.” You only live once, if you feel the advantage being taken away from you, dont risk it, only attack if you have the time to make sure you hit, and survive.
TL:DR- Use a .22 for zombies <50 yards, dont shoot anything past that, and carry a heavier caliber rifle for Game, or picking of zombies from far away. The .22 is great for closer ranges and carrying, you cant go wrong with a Bolt action for hunting.
The other thing to consider, assuming the round does penetrate, is the level of trauma inflicted. How much of a zombie’s brain does it actually need? People have survived GSW to the head – zombies ought to be even more resilient. This headshot = instakill stuff makes little sense to me, at least with pistol calibres (and I include .22LR as a very low power rifle round).
I agree with Keith on this one. I wouldn’t go deer hunting with a .22. It’s just not powerful enough.
And if you are going to have trouble taking down a deer, how are you going to take down a zombie?
Unless, the apocalypse include Zombie-cats….then the .22 would be good against zombie-cats, oh and it would work on Zombie-possums too!! 😉
You can kill a deer with a .22 lr with a head shot. I know from experience. If it will penetrate a deer skull why would it not penetrate a Zombie/Human skull? 1200-1500 fps. .22s are more deadly than you young people think. Perfect weapon no. Good survival weapon yes.
while i agree that .22 is great against a zombie and against a human getting shot is still getting shot im not sure if it would be the only caliber i would want. zombies arent the only threat, raiders, and looters would be a serious threat and .22 still doesnt have as much stopping power as at least a 9mm hollow point.
i’d say 22. and 45. but yeah ur point is heard
There are nice .22 conversion kits for the AR15, as well as the 1911 Colt. This would increase your chances of coming across ammunition, as well as giving you options of how loud you want to be, and how much stopping power you want to use. Versatility is key in the Zombie Apocalypse.
Thank you, I LOVE my AR platform carbine, but having the option to throw a .22 conversion bolt and carrier into my 5.56 makes the rifle that much more useful as a survival/battle rifle. If no one had brought up the ability to drop in a conversion bolt, I was going to. Completely agree Thomas Voigt.
.22 conversion kits for the AR are crap and unreliable for anything but pinking, if you really want to keep your AR platform and use .22 you need to buy an upper chambered for .22 and at that point you may as well buy a 10/22 and carry both because your .22 upper isn’t going to do you any good if you need to switch quickly.
Another thing to remember is that while .22 is in plentiful supply so is 5.56. Most police departments have M4s and that is what the US Military uses you will not have a problem finding 5.56.
I can see the advantages of both and that is why i have an ACR and an Archangel 10/22 and have a way of carrying both. Along with my Beretta 9mm 92fs; again because that is the side arm of the US Military which makes finding ammo, as well as magazines, easy.
Disagree with this article!!!…not NEAR reliable enough penetration, especially at any distance beyond 100yards. this means multiple shots at a small target to bring it down…I prefer one shot to the ocular cavity, so the smallest round I’d use is a .223 (5.56mm).
For example,
.22 Hornet (45 Sp) Muzzle velocity 2690 MV@ 200Yards: 1502
.223 Rem. (55 Sp) Muzzle Velocity: 3240 MV@ 200Yards: 2304
Heavy round, twice the muzzle velocity…what you think you save in rounds you end up burning having to shoot multiple rounds into one target…not smart..and in fact, dangerous.
I’ve SEEN .22 rounds bounce off of skulls at 50 yards….I’ve NEVER seen that happen with a FMJ .223 round. I prefer to make every shot count. The only real disadvantage to the AR platform is they’re louder…but I can (and have) humped 1000 rounds of .223 (5.56mm). bottom line, you’re going to have to get LOTS closer to ZED to make lethal shots with a .22…I prefer reaching out to touch them as far as possible.
Who’s skull have you seen this happen to? Serious question, not being a dick. I’ve seen .22 erradicate squirrels and rabbits at 100 yards. Soft, I know. But at 50yds I can’t see it bouncing off a skull unless you skim the top.
not to be rude, but,the fuck are you gonna be messing with zombies at long range for, not really neccessary unless they are a readily apparent threat
I have been saying for a long,long time that the .22 is the best all purpose round. Also since it is the most common with millions and millions of rounds throughout the country you should be able to restock your supply while scavaging.
You guy’s Kill Me!!!! If you want to bet your life on a .22cal round than go ahead….. But remember when it bounces of the skull of some Zombie don’t come crying to me!! Oh Ya! you won’t be able to because you will have been bitten and I’ll have to shoot you myself with a round that that has enough velocity to leave no doubts about penetration.
im sorry but u clearly know nothing about a .22’s potential. there have been reports of full grown bears being killed with a .22 so i think it would be able to puncture a rotting persons skull
And the round you “think” you need will bring every zombie to you within 5 miles. .22’s are quiet,accurate,and WILL kill anything that you are aiming at.
The .22LR is the optimal choice, larger caliber weapons make more of a bang so they give off your location and the ammunition would be harder to find because everyone would be scavenging for them and looking over the .22LR because of its smaller size. Plus, if you don’t think it could penetrate a skull you’re wrong. It was and still is the assassins choice of gun, a .22LR pistol is easier to conceal and has enough force to penetrate the skull but not to exit so instead it ricochets off the inside of the skull causing more damage to the brain. As for distance, my brother got his first deer with .22LR with a head shot no less at almost 350 yards. He got it just above its eye and there was no exit wound. Don’t let your ego get in the way of making a logical choice in a survival scenario, survival isn’t about who has the bigger gun its about how prepared you are to make sacrifices so that you’re still alive the next day.
um i got news for you, while you mmay have to get a litter closer, it will penetrate the first layer of skull. but i wongd go out the back and acttully bouces around in the skull, leaving the zombies brain skaken, not stirred.
um i got news for you,not to burst your bubble man but thats an old wives tale.the .22 while it may penetrate the skull it wastes most its energy breaking through the first side.to state it bounces around the skull scrambling the brains simply defies the laws of physics.please take no offense ,i just dont want you to go around misinformed. i honestly think that the vast majority of people on this website have very little (if any) firearms experiance. and what they think they have is whats learned from video games,movies, internet ect…
all this being said, i do feel the .22 is a sufficient and practical round for “zombie killing”
I agree completely. way to much call of duty I’ve destroyed coconuts at 200 yards with a 10/22 I’m sure it would do the same to a zombie skull
i agree with danny 22 aint gonna get it. no way.
Personally I would want the .22mag…. For all the same reasons as you listed but it has just a little more bang for the buck. My ideal would be a .22mag with a .410 bore like the old US air force survival rifle. You can have a gunsmith work the 410 to chamber a .45cal. While the .22 will work for zombies the .45 or the .410 shotgun is good for game.
Great selection; also, many .22 rifles will shoot L/S/LR, providing greater versatility.
Another piece to add; they also make HP rounds, and HP sub-sonic rounds; this gives you a greater damage potential to unarmored foes as well as greatly reduces sound to that of a BB gun.
Fully agree with the .22; even many survivalist / prepper circles recommend this rifle as being the one to have. And since we all know if you can survive a zombie apocalypse you can survive anything, what works for one scenario / situation should work for them all.
Agreed.
Ill make my comment short and sweet you’ve nailed the best type of firearm out there and a lot of 22. Rifles are internally silenced