The first thing to consider during a zombie apocalypse is "Where am I, and where should I go?". If you are at home, The first thing to do is call around the neighborhood and see who else is alive*. If more of your neighbors are alive and there are not many zombies outside, agree on a house to go to. The house should be in the center of all the survivors houses and, for bonus points, be two or more stories. If there are many zombies outside, and you live in an urban area where houses are close together, then either build a plywood bridge to another house or jump roofs. If you have small children and a strong arm, throw them. If it is an infant, put use a baby carrier and jump. This may seem like child abuse, but it's better than having to kill them after the zombies get them. Before you leave, be sure to grab supplies, non-perishable food items, computers, phones, chargers, etc. The most important survival piece to take is weapons and armor. Yes, computer nerd, you get to put on that $4,000 suit of armour that you bought on Ebay. Just the helmet though, and maybe the breastplate, depending on what kind of zombies you're up against. If you have a life and kept your 4 g's, then a thick leather coat and a sports helmet will do, preferably a lacrosse or hockey helmet, as these have face masks. Zombies cannot easily bite through these materials. If you live near the coastline, try to bring everyone who is with you to a boat storage facility and hijack a boat. If you have to tow the boat, be sure to have one or two people in the actual boat with shotguns or other close range weapons to make sure no zombies jump in while you are driving. Pray that fish are not zombified and that zombies cannot walk underwater. Get in the water and drive with all your supplies to an island somewhere and hold out. Depending on how many zombies exist, you may have to stay there for several years. If you are not near a coastline, get some warm clothes and head to the naturally coldest area in your location, ex- mountains, tundra, whatever. Zombies should not survive in cold, as it freezes some of their vital** functions, like their brain (if any), heart, (again, if one), and slows them down majorly. Remember, it is easy to survive as long as you have enough supplies and friends to survive with. Watch out for living raiders or bandits, as they will steal your supplies and/or kill you. Establish a shelter. Tents, plywood forts, whatever else you can find. Campers are particularly good for these situations. Avoid flying, as zombies will most likely be in any flat area that you can land on. Do whatever you need to survive. As for weapons you should bring, aim for whatever you have. If your neighbor is the biggest redneck ever, there should be plenty of shotguns, hunting rifles, and ammo. Take what you can get. Cutting or edged weapons are also good, as they can easily cleave off a head or some legs to at least cripple the zombies. Avoid longswords or hooked blades, as these can get caught in a zombies body and render themselves useless until you can pull them out. Do not attempt to hide out in a small building or store. The houses can easily be overrun and 80% of the food in stores will spoil within a few days if they are frozen or need to be kept in another condition of the sort. If you have time, raid liquor stores, as alcohol or tobacco will be worth a lot to people if a trade network or merchants ever reach your hideout. Along with liquor stores, try to get inside Army/Navy stores for armor, MRE's (Meal Ready to Eat's), and other useful tools. Homeless shelters are also good targets, as long as there are no homeless zombies inside, because of the amount of canned food they have. Also, beware of people dressed like the military, these people could be bandits. Ask to see a military I.D unless there are many of them or they are obviously helping people. Like if there are a bunch of tanks blowing the heads off of zombies, don't waste time to ask someone, "Excuse me sir or ma'am, are you a member of the military or a bandit?" Good luck. And P.S- Zombie killing trips are not a good idea. It's called a swarm stupid. And I am definitely not a zombie trying to get people to follow this foolish plan so I can eat them. 0% chance of that. Nope.
*I use this term generically to describe anyone who has not become a zombie
**However you want to interpret this
Weapons
Melee Combat Weapons:These weapons are all more effective at a close range. One of the biggest advantages of melee weapons is, besides a few exceptions, most don’t require any type of limited ammunition or energy source. The biggest downfall is that their short range when fighting hordes of zombies the last place you want to be is standing right next to them.
Hand to hand:Using your fists should only come as a last resort in all situations. One of the keys to success in all combat situations is to have an unfair advantage. Even if you are a trained boxer and have developed many great skills from training, there is still a much greater risk of failure without the aid of a weapon. It also takes a lot of energy to make kick and fist strikes effective. When fighting more than one zombie it is not good idea to become fatigue.
Blunt Weapons:A Blunt weapon is designed to crush or smash what ever it hits. These include sticks, bats, hammers, clubs, the back side of a fire extinguisher, ect… These weapons can be heavy and slow and without proper training they require a lot of energy to use. A blunt weapon can be effective at close range against armor, other humans or zombies that with normal humanlike weaknesses. Unfortunately most zombies don’t wear armor or can be killed so easily. Many require brain damage to be stopped and even though more effective than hand to hand it might not be the best choice against standard zombies.
Flexible Weapons:Flexible weapons are used to wrap up and control an opponent. These include ropes, chains, cables, hoses, ect... These weapons can great at controlling and surprising an enemy they require a lot of training to master. Flexible weapons are good a being concealed, good at disarming, choking and controlling. There is not much need to conceal a weapon from a zombie and not many zombies need to be disarmed. Many standard zombies don’t even breathe and it is also not very likely a zombie needs to be controlled unless being captured.
Edged Weapons:Edged Weapons are used for cutting, chopping, and stabbing their target. These include knives, swords, axes, sharp broken piece of glass, ect… These weapons are great at slicing off limbs and piercing flesh, proper training can lead effectiveness and energy efficiency. The sword is one of the best weapons of all time and has a wide range of styles. A knife is one of the most important survival multi tools as well. This is probably one of the most effective close range weapons in most situations against zombies.
Complex Melee Weapons:Complex melee weapons are melee weapons with moving parts usually requiring some kind of power source. These include power drills, weedwacker, the ever popular chainsaw, ect… These weapons have a good mechanical advantage in one particular direction. The biggest drawback is that they usually rely on a finite energy source and are not good for a prolonged period of time. Most are not great in zombie combat others like the chainsaw can very effective in limited situations.
Combination Melee Weapons:Combination melee weapons are weapons with properties of one or more of the classifications stated above. These are typically exotic and were usually designed for other non-combat purposes. For example the kusarigama is a Japanese tool used by farmers has a chain or rope connecting a small sickle or kama to a weighted ring or stone. These weapons require lots of training to be effective weapons and can be used in a combination of ways as stated above.
Ranged Weapons:These weapons are all more effective at a long range. One of the biggest advantages of Range weapons is that they are effective at a distance. The farther away from a zombie you are the safer you are. The biggest disadvantage is that ranged weapons have a limited ammunition supply.
Throwing Weapons:Throwing Weapons are they most primitive ranged weapons. It consists of using your arm to throw an object these include stones, knives, shuriken, anything you can pick up. Even though some trained professionals can make some use to them they are not generally very effective against zombies.
Slings:These primitive ranged weapons are much like normal throwing weapons. The sling throws a small object with a little more force than the arm is able to generate. The downfall is that it takes a little more training to have any kind of accuracy.
Cord Weapons:Cord weapons use a type of cord or string to project an object. These include slingshots, bows and crossbows, hand bow, giant human sling, ect… there is a wide range in quality of cord type weapons and some can be very effective other not so much. A well constructed compound bow can be very successful where as a slingshot does not posses enough zombie stopping power. Larger versions like a water balloon launcher can send explosives into the crowds of moaning zombies.
Other Weapons
As stated before anything can be used as a weapon, there are a few more common weapons that do not fall into the above categories.
Explosives:These weapons can cause extreme fire and pressure damage often causing everything around it point of detonation to disintegrate or project with amazing force. Explosives range from Molotov cocktails which simply ignites the area which it spreads to massive bombs which take out city blocks. These weapons are hard to use and can be dangerous if precautions are not taken. They can be very effective against zombies but inexperience used can cause problems. Some zombies are not affected by fire and this should be considered before using explosives.
Chemicals:Different chemicals have a wide range of effects on organic tissue these depend on the specific chemical. These include poisons toxins and acids. Proper knowledge of different types of chemicals can aid in zombie combat but seems a little complicated for common use.
*I use this term generically to describe anyone who has not become a zombie
**However you want to interpret this
Weapons
Melee Combat Weapons:These weapons are all more effective at a close range. One of the biggest advantages of melee weapons is, besides a few exceptions, most don’t require any type of limited ammunition or energy source. The biggest downfall is that their short range when fighting hordes of zombies the last place you want to be is standing right next to them.
Hand to hand:Using your fists should only come as a last resort in all situations. One of the keys to success in all combat situations is to have an unfair advantage. Even if you are a trained boxer and have developed many great skills from training, there is still a much greater risk of failure without the aid of a weapon. It also takes a lot of energy to make kick and fist strikes effective. When fighting more than one zombie it is not good idea to become fatigue.
Blunt Weapons:A Blunt weapon is designed to crush or smash what ever it hits. These include sticks, bats, hammers, clubs, the back side of a fire extinguisher, ect… These weapons can be heavy and slow and without proper training they require a lot of energy to use. A blunt weapon can be effective at close range against armor, other humans or zombies that with normal humanlike weaknesses. Unfortunately most zombies don’t wear armor or can be killed so easily. Many require brain damage to be stopped and even though more effective than hand to hand it might not be the best choice against standard zombies.
Flexible Weapons:Flexible weapons are used to wrap up and control an opponent. These include ropes, chains, cables, hoses, ect... These weapons can great at controlling and surprising an enemy they require a lot of training to master. Flexible weapons are good a being concealed, good at disarming, choking and controlling. There is not much need to conceal a weapon from a zombie and not many zombies need to be disarmed. Many standard zombies don’t even breathe and it is also not very likely a zombie needs to be controlled unless being captured.
Edged Weapons:Edged Weapons are used for cutting, chopping, and stabbing their target. These include knives, swords, axes, sharp broken piece of glass, ect… These weapons are great at slicing off limbs and piercing flesh, proper training can lead effectiveness and energy efficiency. The sword is one of the best weapons of all time and has a wide range of styles. A knife is one of the most important survival multi tools as well. This is probably one of the most effective close range weapons in most situations against zombies.
Complex Melee Weapons:Complex melee weapons are melee weapons with moving parts usually requiring some kind of power source. These include power drills, weedwacker, the ever popular chainsaw, ect… These weapons have a good mechanical advantage in one particular direction. The biggest drawback is that they usually rely on a finite energy source and are not good for a prolonged period of time. Most are not great in zombie combat others like the chainsaw can very effective in limited situations.
Combination Melee Weapons:Combination melee weapons are weapons with properties of one or more of the classifications stated above. These are typically exotic and were usually designed for other non-combat purposes. For example the kusarigama is a Japanese tool used by farmers has a chain or rope connecting a small sickle or kama to a weighted ring or stone. These weapons require lots of training to be effective weapons and can be used in a combination of ways as stated above.
Ranged Weapons:These weapons are all more effective at a long range. One of the biggest advantages of Range weapons is that they are effective at a distance. The farther away from a zombie you are the safer you are. The biggest disadvantage is that ranged weapons have a limited ammunition supply.
Throwing Weapons:Throwing Weapons are they most primitive ranged weapons. It consists of using your arm to throw an object these include stones, knives, shuriken, anything you can pick up. Even though some trained professionals can make some use to them they are not generally very effective against zombies.
Slings:These primitive ranged weapons are much like normal throwing weapons. The sling throws a small object with a little more force than the arm is able to generate. The downfall is that it takes a little more training to have any kind of accuracy.
Cord Weapons:Cord weapons use a type of cord or string to project an object. These include slingshots, bows and crossbows, hand bow, giant human sling, ect… there is a wide range in quality of cord type weapons and some can be very effective other not so much. A well constructed compound bow can be very successful where as a slingshot does not posses enough zombie stopping power. Larger versions like a water balloon launcher can send explosives into the crowds of moaning zombies.
Other Weapons
As stated before anything can be used as a weapon, there are a few more common weapons that do not fall into the above categories.
Explosives:These weapons can cause extreme fire and pressure damage often causing everything around it point of detonation to disintegrate or project with amazing force. Explosives range from Molotov cocktails which simply ignites the area which it spreads to massive bombs which take out city blocks. These weapons are hard to use and can be dangerous if precautions are not taken. They can be very effective against zombies but inexperience used can cause problems. Some zombies are not affected by fire and this should be considered before using explosives.
Chemicals:Different chemicals have a wide range of effects on organic tissue these depend on the specific chemical. These include poisons toxins and acids. Proper knowledge of different types of chemicals can aid in zombie combat but seems a little complicated for common use.