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After a quite in depth discussion earlier on AIM with Patrick.  I decided it would be wise to actually write down some of my plans for the zombie apocalypse (or any sudden onset of Anarchy for that matter).

First off, chances are I would be home.  I'm always home anymore and even working 40 hours a week, I'm home at least 120 hours out of the week.  It seems wise for the plan to assume I'm going to be starting from home.

So first step, grab what useful valuables I have at home. For example: laptop, non-perishable food, maybe my desktop if I have time (could be useful much later on), some cloths that fully cover the body (long pants, long sleaves), cell phone and chargers (AC and car), two-way radios, hunting knives, camping gear (tents, lanterns), etc.  (No I don't own a gun, that's another discussion entirely. See extremesims.com if you want to talk about it.)

Dump it all in my car (which is pulled up to the front door by the way) with my roommate and whatever friends show up by then.



That's my car.  Yes it will all fit.  I know because I've taken much more than that camping and it fit no problem.  Afterwards I hop on I-95 or backstreets, I'll have to make a judgment call, and head to the Philadelphia Armory.  About a 20 minutes trip from my place.



Looks like a castle doesn't it?  I don't plan on staying there.  Whereas they have plenty of guns and ammo and there will most likely be paramilitary there, there's no food and the number of people will probably be high.  Plan is to depend on the panic to decrease security.  If we can't get in, there are several gun shops within two blocks.  Trick is to get there quick.



On the way to the armory are warhouses that have many trucks like above (or larger).  Going to dump all of the stuff from the car into the truck (try to find an empty one with at least some gas), maybe grab two trucks.  If friends are following, we'll take the truck and my car (it's faster and newer, better gas mileage than anything my friends have).  If not I'll have to leave the car.  Thought of it makes me sad.  Hopefully we'll have no more than three or four vehicles.




Ok so anyway, onto the armory (or gun shops if neccessary).  Plan is to grab guns and ammo.  Ideally we want M16's.  Light, easy to carry, accurate, among alot of other things.  And they just look cool :D  We'll also want sidearms, anything .45 or even 9mm if we have to will do.  Really we can't be picky can we?



Ideally we'll also be able to grab some kind of medium/long range weapon. This will be usefull once we hole up.  Any hunting rifle will do also.  We'll also want a few shotguns for later, they have their uses.

I'll want to hit a few electronics stores on the way out, grab some radios and other useful items like generators.  But I will want to keep moving north.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Philadelphia&1s=PA&2c=White+Haven&2s=PA

Next we're on our way north.  Why north?  There's nothing there!  Actually I know the area really well and there's plenty of places we can stop to stock up on food and gas on the way.  Lots of little towns.  We either take I-76 up or one of the many back roads I know.  Small towns, raid the food stops, keep moving.  Goal is to get to highway 940.  My friend has a place up there, very nice, lots of room, easy to defend.

So now I'm in the middle of nowhere and set for sitting for a few weeks. We've got generators if the electricity doesn't stay on.  Food to last, and two small towns fairly nearby that we can make day trips to for supplies. (Note that "nearby" up there is at least 20-30 miles)

During the stay is when the radios will become useful.  I will try to get ahold of other survivors, namely Patrick who will be holed up in WV.  From that point on it's just calling it as I see it.  I will probably try to make the trip south to WV if everything looks good there, or maybe he will want to get out and move north.



Anyone else got any ideas?  I'm a little too nice so I'll probably end up gathering quite a large group.  Especially since I'll probably be inviting survivors over the radio to join us.  If you think this is silly, then laugh cause it is.  I'm sure more people than you realize have thought this out at least as much as I have.

Opps, forgot the booze.  Goes without saying, it's neccessary.

You forgot the horses. How are you going to get around with no gas?

Quotethere's plenty of places we can stop to stock up on food and gas on the way

Quotetwo small towns fairly nearby that we can make day trips to for supplies

wont have to worry about horses until much later, even then there should be enough gas laying around

horses have got to eat, so it's either get more food or get more gas. gas will be easier to find.

Quote from: Kotodama on Sat, 2009-07-18 : 22:09
horses have got to eat, so it's either get more food or get more gas. gas will be easier to find.

Wait for it.....

I agree with Chuck. With so many people infected, gas will be easy to come by as long as we are somewhat near population centers. The plus? Molotov cocktails.

Well Chuck thats a great plan for when the Zombie Apocalypse comes but lets say u do everything u say (and hope to hell these zombies are the Night of the Living Dead version and not the Dawn of the Dead version cuz if they are the later then u gonna get snagged by fast running zombies b4 u even make it to ur car) and u make it out to ur summer resort and start to bring in survivors. Well all it takes is one infected person to get them all infected and all ur planning and setting up would be for nothing. Well heres my plan.

Once word comes through from either radio or television i would more than likely stay home with my family and begin to board up and bunker down. I would take stock of all our perishables and non-perishables and only leave my safe bunker when the time came to stock up on food. Gas is not a problem since most ppl gonna be running out leaving and more than likely becoming zombie chow so theres plenty of cars out there to use btu more than likely i would travel by foot fast and swift tryin to not draw attention to myself. As for armaments besides having several baseball bats (and a few hidden surprises in hand to hand weaponry) i also have my prized Samurai Sword that ive named "Shikaka" which is sharpened and rdy to be used on the unsuspecting zombie (or burgular), anything quiet is a must since killing one zomb quietly is better than killing a horde of zombs loudly but if it does come down to range weapons then i could raid the nice nearby military bases for Assault rifles and pistols with silencers attached of cousre adn maybe for range i would go with a silenced M21 sniper rifle or hell a crossbow would be fine too. And all in all i would wait it out till the invasion ends or we all die. Besides i also have 2 major things going for me. For One i live on an Island so its not too likely the infection could spread this far adn Two if it did then there are docked Navel warships adn carriers that i could borrow for my small grp of family adn friends. Stay out on the ocean and find a nice place to visit like lets say antartica for starters ;D

Oh boy I can't wait for my Mike to find this thread...

He'll ramble on for hours about the zombie apocalypse. I believe once, when we first started dating, he took the opposite side stance, saying he might let himself get bit, because "who knows, being a zombie might be like having orgasms and eating chocolate bars all day."

In terms of armory..... you take what you can find. Those of us with some guns already, though, have some favorites for every situation.

Handguns

For zombies, I would have to go with maximum tissue damage rounds. 9mm while nice, is not really ideal. .40 and .45 ACP JHPs are more ideal, IMO, for automatics. High caliber revolvers, while having tremendous damage potential have some drawbacks in situations involving lots of targets... Cap will disagree here. ;) Although.... that Taurus Judge.... ok. I'd take one of those in a heartbeat as a backup handgun for zombies. Alternate loading with .410 and 3" mags, right Cap? For me, it would still be all about the .45 JHPs in a 5" barrel configuration (for decent range and still very wieldy). Model 1911s with high capacity mags. But then, Cap thinks I am an automatic snob. I doubt you would need penetration. Zombies aren't going to go for cover at short range.

Shotguns

Riot gun types. You want short range, high dispersal. Folding stock a necessity. You aren't hunting pheasant, you are stopping zombies. So, avoid long barrels and stocks. Luckily, a hack saw and some duck tape are very easy to find.

Assault Rifles

Anything on the AR-15/M-16 chassis will be easy to find parts for (from any US armory). Although, I would tend to the 5.56 caliber end for best ROF, reliability, ease of finding ammo (same as the .223 Remington), and decent range. The idea would be more lead on target as opposed to single shot damage... which leads me to...

Rifles

Ideally, .50 BMG! Anything less is a compromise for zombies, IMO. If going lighter, then maybe something like the Xtreme Machining .338 Xtreme Tactical for extremely long range. Downside would be the availability of the ammo, though. For the easy to find ammo versions, though, I would stick to two kinds of rifles. First would be a Winchester 30-30 (I have a real soft spot for lever actions and they are a excellent tradeoff for this type of situation) and second would be a bolt action .30-06 or 7mm Remington Mag (Savage makes an awesome one). Both very good calibers and pretty popular so easy to find ammo. The idea of both is due to how you hunt with each. A 30-30 has limited range, but is great for brush (nice penetration) while any bolt action works well for longer range. At range, you want some penetration to shoot through anything that a running target may (in the case of zombies accidentally) get in the way.

And of the above, I am 3/4 in terms of ordinance.... hmmm.... Cap, I think I may be close to thinking about what I need as my next gun from writing this. ;)

just me and my mossburg

Quote from: One Ear on Sun, 2009-07-19 : 13:58
High caliber revolvers, while having tremendous damage potential have some drawbacks in situations involving lots of targets... Cap will disagree here. ;) Although.... that Taurus Judge.... ok. I'd take one of those in a heartbeat as a backup handgun for zombies. Alternate loading with .410 and 3" mags, right Cap?

Nope, I have to admit you're right and I'm wrong.  For lots of targets, you're fucked when that revolver runs out.  It's only good for stopping the big targets - or for stopping the live humans who show up to steal your food and fuck your wife.  

Quote from: One Ear on Sun, 2009-07-19 : 13:58
You aren't hunting pheasant, you are stopping zombies. So, avoid long barrels and stocks. Luckily, a hack saw and some duck tape are very easy to find.

Amen brother, amen.  Even if you miss the head-shot, a shotgun will at least cause enough damage to slow them down.

Quote from: One Ear on Sun, 2009-07-19 : 13:58
First would be a Winchester 30-30 (I have a real soft spot for lever actions and they are a excellent tradeoff for this type of situation)

Yep, can't beat the rate of fire a lever action gives you, for a non semi-auto.  Plus the .30-.30 is usually a heavier bullet. So it'll punch right through the skull.

Quote from: One Ear on Sun, 2009-07-19 : 13:58
and second would be a bolt action .30-06 or 7mm Remington Mag... At range, you want some penetration to shoot through anything that a running target may (in the case of zombies accidentally) get in the way

Yep, long range ordinance.   I keep a bunch of .30-06 with 200 grain bullets (that means a lot more lead in the bullet.  Standard .30-06 usually runs between 110-150 grain.  Mostly in bullets used to kill deer.  200 grain won't go as far, but it has more "hit pounds" and greater penetration.)

Chuck and I discussed shotguns. I think their use depends on vector. If the pathogen is airborne and/or can be transmitted by contact with blood particulates a la 28 Days Later, are whippets the best choice?

OTOH, if it's like L4D, and the survivors are immune, bring on the entry shotguns.

Just remember, Todd and Rod - my first stop is one of the two friends down here with federal licenses and an arsenal, maybe a quick stop by Manshoon's place, next stop is Morgantown, last stop is somewhere we can bunker down. ;)

Agreed on the bunker down. I would think either Caps parents or the farm I hunt on. You can get more isolated easily if you need to, and both would be easy to defend.

uhh pretty sure i would get a katana or claymore and go to town :O

Quote from: Vitandus on Sun, 2009-07-19 : 15:47
Just remember, Todd and Rod - my first stop is one of the two friends down here with federal licenses and an arsenal, maybe a quick stop by Manshoon's place, next stop is Morgantown, last stop is somewhere we can bunker down. ;)

Quote from: One Ear on Sun, 2009-07-19 : 16:23
Agreed on the bunker down. I would think either Caps parents or the farm I hunt on. You can get more isolated easily if you need to, and both would be easy to defend.

Funny you guys should mention that. ;) All of my trusted friends are welcome at my place.  I've got 3 bedrooms, after they fill up, anyone else showing up will have to sleep on the couches or sleep on the floor. (When the house fills up, we'll start taking over some of my closest neighbor's houses and fortify them as well.)  I'll need help hunting for food and tending the garden for vegetables.  Mankind survived for centuries on food that they grew and hunted.  
I have "city" water, fed from a local reservoir.  There are electrical pump stations that force the water, but I'm told that there will be residual water pressure created by gravity. So as long as the integrity of the lines remains intact, we'll never run out.  In the chance that it does shut off, we can boil water from the old cistern that's near my house for our water supply.
For light at night,  I know how to make candles from rendered animal fat, and we can use either dried straw or very thin willow twigs for wicks. I also have a number of solar powered lights around the yard that turn on at night, as well as the human powered flashlights, (and a human powered emergency short-wave radio). All doors and windows on the ground floor will be bricked and boarded up, and all upper windows will be blacked out so any wandering un-friendlies won't see lights in the house at night and come to investigate.
For heat in the winter, there are plenty of trees in WV.  I have a fireplace that works pretty well, and with more people in the house generating heat, less wood needs to be burnt.
We'll have to search (hopefully) abandoned houses and stores for medical supplies and we'll need multi-vitamins to supplement any nutrients we're missing. My wife has a little EMT training, and I once had an advanced first aid certification, but that's not enough for every emergency situation, so we'll need to hedge our pooled medical knowledge.   Also, some of us will have to sleep in shifts so we can take turns on watch for zombies or assholes who belong in that 75% of humanity that just sucks ass...  Which is one of the reasons I chose my house 's location.  No real cover from any direction of approach.  No humans or zombies will sneak up on us without being seen;  any non-friendly human, will get shot long before they see where whomever is on watch is hiding on my roof.  If they think about sneaking up on us at night, I've got 5 very paranoid dogs, and they're not tied up outside, so they can't be shot or poisoned.  
A good dog will watch your back, help you hunt, and put themselves between you and harm's way, all for a meal and a warm dry place to sleep.  
So, one major caveat for anybody else who shows up. If you don't like dogs, don't think of them as equals, and aren't willing to share living space with them, you're not welcome.

Quote from: Capuloclavo on Sun, 2009-07-19 : 16:35
A good dog will watch your back, help you hunt, and put themselves between you and harm's way, all for a meal and a warm dry place to sleep.  
So, one major caveat for anybody else who shows up. If you don't like dogs, don't think of them as equals, and aren't willing to share living space with them, you're not welcome.

As a personal note.  I've known Rod more than long enough to know he will shoot the human to save the dog.  And honestly given how most people who are not scared shitless or have gone just plain insane will probably react less than admirable to the sudden change in the world,  I wouldn't blame him in the least.

Shelters and bunkers will not be like Survivor.  There's no getting "voted off the island".  Whoever is running the show for that particular group is more likely to shoot you and use you as bait than to kindly ask you to leave.  Assholes will be in large supply.