These Survival Weapons Will Keep Zombies at Bay

by Jeanie

In the post Apocalyptic scenario when rule of law breaks down then householders need to protect their families – but aren’t we almost there already with home invasions and zombies hell-bent not just on taking your stuff but causing harm?

And it’s your right to do everything in your power to protect your family? Well, unfortunately, protecting your family comes with all sorts of rules – make one wrong move and there’s a big fat court case waiting which doesn’t seem fair since it was the zombies who went on the attack.

FBI crime statistics for 2015 released in late September 2016 put the violent crimes figure at 1,197,704. That is a lot of crime and one can expect the 2016 figures to be even higher- it takes them around nine months to collect and process all the data.

Weapons

The weapons you use will depend on the situation. If you are outside in a bug out situation and have a reasonable early warning system – like people standing watch – you can get into position to take out at least some of the zombies before they even know that you know they are on the attack. If you can see them coming across the lawn/through the garden and you have a clear view then the bow and arrow may be a way to engender fear and perhaps stop the attack.

First off you want weapons that can be fired from a long range to deter a zombie mob – you certainly don’t want to be up against them at close range As soon as you fire a gun the zombies know where to fire back – but a silent arrow coming out of seemingly nowhere that finds its mark gives you an advantage.

Longbow versus Crossbow

The entry level and basic longbows aren’t too pricey but as you move to the high end of the range used by professional hunters they get very expensive. The pros are that they have a decent fire rate if you are experienced but you have to nock the arrow – that means adjusting it into the bowstring and pull the string each time.

Long Bows require quite a bit of power and suit the more burly types with plenty of strength in their arms. They are also deadly and silent – just what you need for to surprise a group of zombies on the attack and throw them into disarray. But if you are going to be dodging around trees and buildings fast they can prove unwieldy.

The crossbow is like a longbow placed on its side, set onto a stock and is fired from the shoulder. It is both powerful and accurate even if one isn’t an expert. The advantage lies in being able to nock an arrow and carry it around ready to fire in an emergency – but that’s only once – after this you have to nock the next arrow.

It is also easier to fire so women and men who don’t have the requisite strength (around 80 lbs draw weight and upwards) in their arms to use a long bow, but have the accuracy, can handle the crossbow very efficiently. With the long bow you have to maintain that draw weight until you have loosed the arrow – with the crossbow once you have the arrow in position you don’t have to maintain that pressure – you just fire when you need to.

The cross bow has a slower rate of fire than the longbow and also it is not as silent – you can hear the shudder from the bowstring if fairly close to the target so this may alert zombies. Arrows from both types are reusable but in a zombie attack you are unlikely to have time to go around retrieving arrows.

Before considering these as defense weapons check your state laws – some states have placed bans on certain bows. You know the situation – zombies out to kill you family invade your property, you save your family yet you get stuck in jail anyway because you were in possession of an illegal weapon.

Guns

They are fairly light weight and easy to carry around and almost anyone can use one. Every person who knows guns well will have a personal preference so remember anything said here is just an opinion. The main thing is to know your weapon. Buying a gun and keeping it in an gun safe for an emergency  then taking out  the unfamiliar weapon is a waste of time – chances are you will be disarmed by the zombies and have your own gun used against you. Statistics in the US indicate that people are more likely to have their guns stolen than to actually use them in self-defense! The good thing about guns is that people don’t usually argue with someone holding a gun – so there may be no need to actually fire it.

The pro-gun and anti-gun lobbies are both vociferous in quoting the statistics that ‘prove’ their point of view but let’s just record here that no one wants to feel the guilt of causing the accidental or unnecessary death of another human being.

Dr Garen J Wintermute is the Director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis Medical Center. He is an emergency medicine physician with a great deal of experience in gunshot wounds. In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine titled Guns, Fear, the Constitution, and the Public’s Health Wintermute says that there are risks if you keep guns at home, mentioning figures of an increase in the risk of homicide from 40 to 170% and the risk of suicide from 90 to 460%.  Youngsters who commit suicide with a gun usually do so with a firearm kept at home.

To keeps kids safe guns are legally required to be locked away in gun safes – meaning in the chance of an attack you are unlikely to get to the weapon in time. To be effective the gun needs to be carried on your body at all times– like a police officer. How many homeowners are ready for that?

And as for women who carry guns in their handbags – what chance to they have if the handbag is ripped off them in the street? A gun needs to be in a shoulder holster or ankle holster or tucked into the waistband of pants where a person can reach it immediately if necessary.

Which Gun do I Choose?

What you are looking for in case of a zombie attack is stopping power before the maniacs have a chance to injure or kill your family.  There’s a reason law enforcement agencies worldwide choose the Glock 17 9×19 pistol.  The GLOCK “Safe Action”® System has 3 independent, automatic safeties to ensure it does not go off by accident and zombies aren’t going to be hanging around to wait for the click when all 17 rounds are used up.

Popular too is the Sig Sauer P229 a more compact version of the SIG P226 – again one favored by law enforcement and the military worldwide.

Making the lists of the most popular handguns in the US are also the Beretta PX4, Taurus, Kimber, Ruger P89 and the Smith and Wesson Model 29, .44 Magnun Revolver. Many homeowners favor a shotgun but it is hardly a personal weapon that is carried at all times – however if you can get to it in case of a zombie attack it can be very persuasive when loaded with #8 buckshot but it is not a long range weapon. For that you need a rifle.

Although they are probably illegal in almost every single state in the US the AK47 is am amazing assault rifle – it normally takes 30 rounds, but you can get 40 and even 75. Easy to reload, they work even if they get wet or are mishandled and with their rapid fire rate are perfect for stopping zombies in their tracks – unless the person using it doesn’t use the standard spray pattern of firing.

Pepper Spray

Don’t waste your time with inferior sprays. You need the police strength one capable of disabling a person for around 20 minutes giving your family a chance to escape, or restrain the zombie. SABRE produces police grade pepper spray that is used by law enforcements agencies worldwide.

Check the range advertised on the canister before buying. Also when using pepper spray it must always be sprayed downwind otherwise you incapacitate yourself. If kids are given pepper spray they need to be made aware of this.

Attacks happen so fast that even if you do have masks for the pepper spray there probably won’t be time to put them on, but especially for kids, masks could be useful.

Flashlights

A serious flashlight can be used to blind an attacker but if the zombie is armed it will usually shoot slightly to the left of where the flashlight is assuming the person is right handed, so hold the flashlight in your left hand and as far away from your body as possible. The TL 1000 Raybeck Outdoor  has 1000 lumens –blindingly bright and also gives the user a pretty good idea as to which zombies are creeping across your front lawn.

Stun Guns

They can be useful as a back up if kept charged and someone comes into range that is not carrying a gun.  The TASER is the best brand to incapacitate a person giving you enough time to escape or tie them up for the authorities to deal with in a normal situation or for you to make alternative arrangements in a total breakdown of law and order situation. However take a look at this video to see why you should NOT rely on one as your only weapon of defense:

Yellow Jacket Case

The yellow jacket case for the iPhone – sorry not other phones at this stage – provides a back up battery for the phone and with a flip of the switch converts to a stun gun. This is perfect for teens – you probably have gone through the drama when they are separated from their phones for a couple of minutes – so you know with this is will always be with the youngster for defense. There is a video attached here but please ignore the comment section where it says the company went “belly-up”. A different group in fact bought out this company.

says this, “Yes we are still in business and we will have iPhone units for all iPhone Models except Plus in January 2017 during our launch at CES and SHOT show.” This is definitely one weapon to add to the arsenal.

Tactical Tomahawks

Refer to our article on tomahawks and how to choose them. The tomahawk makes a self-defense weapon most zombies won’t argue with – unless they have a gun in which case you should be deadly accurate with your tomahawk throwing skills before they see you. Like the Vikings, you should go into battle with two tomahawks – and be good at using them with both hands.

Machete

The machete with its far longer handle can make a useful weapon to get yourself out of danger. Use it as a staff to deflect a knife attack and wait for your opening.

Airguns

Although these don’t actually have the stopping power of a rifle or handgun they can keep the zombies at bay while you reinforce defenses. In certain gun free zones you can carry an air gun, so this video shows some ideas of how to pick one:

Staffs / Clubs

Don’t underestimate the power of a club in self-defense – it gives you a longer reach to put someone out of action. The thing is you don’t particularly want to close with a zombie wielding a knife.

In bug out situations finding suitable sticks to use for defense is usually pretty easy From an early age both boys and girls can be trained to defend themselves in stick fighting – around the home in an emergency a hockey stick, baseball bat, stand up paddleboard oar, or a lamp stand could help them defend themselves. Kids are much more agile than most adults – train them to use this agility to either escape or slow up a zombie. Here’s another video on the Bo staff  – what kids see as agility and fun spinning of the stick could one day save their lives by being able to disable a knife wielding zombie:

Watch the Zulu and Filipino stick fighting styles demonstrated here:

In Africa people carve themselves a knobkerries – it is basically a branch of a tree with the part where it grows from the trunk left attached and carved into a circular knob. This can easily be done in a bug out situation if you don’t have access to other weapons.  Usually one stick is used in the defensive position as shown in this video  but here people are showing off their skills not aiming to kill each other, so two sticks are used instead of the second one being a knobkerrie or a spear:

Spears

You can either make your own by attaching a knife or dagger to a strong stick or metal shaft or you can order a Spartan spear from this website. The spear is 83 inches long giving a person lots of reach but using such a long weapon if the zombies are inside the house could be problematic.  This is where a short stabbing spear is better as used by the Zulus where the length of the traditional spear was shortened for more maneuverability in closer in-fighting.

Slingshots

Highly effective to take out zombies at a distance –and the slingshot has been around since long before the days of David and Goliath. A well-placed shot can take out a much larger enemy. Some people use steel balls and lead balls instead of the usual stones. This guy has made some adaptions to his slingshot that zombies would find pretty off-putting; it combines knives, tear gas and a slingshot!

The Western Dankung slingshot is one to go for – it is flat and fits in a back pocket easily and with a few lead balls in the pockets is always ready to use in a tight self defense situation. The product is made in China from titanium – be sure to order the “Western” model that will be more suited to the size of hand rather than the more complicated Eastern models for smaller hands.

Knives

If you are prepared to use a knife for defense you need to know how to use it and be careful not to be disarmed otherwise it can be used against you. Here are some tips on choosing a knife:

When buying one, take into account the particular laws for your area or state  regarding the  type of knife and blade size.

Bottles

These are other survival weapons you can use in an emergency – if caught in the kitchen by an a intruder smash a wine or spirits bottle and keep it in front of you to deflect someone trying to pin you down – remember to reverse your grip on the bottle for better use as a weapon.

Lamb to the Slaughter written by Roald Dahl is a short story in which a pregnant woman, whose husband who has mentioned that he is going to leave her for someone else, murders him with a frozen leg of lamb. So just about anything hard and heavy could be used to disable a zombie from vases to the frozen Sunday roast.