Sunday, March 13, 2005

Will You Survive a Zombie Attack?

Official Survivor
Congratulations! You scored 75!


Whether through ferocity or quickness, you made it out. You made the right choice most of the time, but you probably screwed up somewhere. Nobody's perfect, at least you're alive.



My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:
You scored higher than 71% on survivalpoints
Link: The Zombie Scenario Survivor Test written by ci8db4uok on Ok Cupid

UPDATE: I'd like to note a few problems with the quiz.

First, the bit about anybody being able to shoot a handgun is bunk. Handguns are the most difficult firearms to shoot. The easiest would be a shotgun, followed by a rifle (at reasonable ranges), followed by a handgun.

Secondly, the armor question was awfully misleading. I chose light because generally zombies are slow and easily outrun. Izzy went heavy because he wanted bite proof. Ideally what I would want head/neck/shoulder, hand-to-elbow, and foot-to-knee bite protection with very little armor on my torso. That makes me bite proof but still keeps things fairly light so I can run. This wasn't an option. If you are badly outnumbered against very stupid foes, running is good because you can get them to interfere with each other's movement. That way you can string them out and take the zombies one on one.

Thirdly, the shoot-everything-and-take-what-they-got school of survival is nice, but I've seen that movie. You do not want to stop at the abandoned police checkpoint for more than a minute. It is abandoned for a reason. Guaranteed there will be a zombie in one of the squadcar trunks that will burst out and bite one of your guys.

For weapons, an AR-15 is a good choice. It's very accurate and fast and the 5.56 round will penetrate a skull which is all that matters. Don't discount 22lr by the way. Range may be limited, but it will penetrate a skull and you can store and carry vast amounts of it. If you have to deal with thousands of zombies, bulk packs of 22lr should be easy to find.

Hand-to-hand you want something that can sever a neck or shatter a skull. A combat axe or sword is good. A baseball bat is not. If you want something light for emergencies I suggest a kukri, which is small but still has ridiculous amounts of cutting power.

Yes I own the Zombie Survival Guide, but take its analysis with a grain of salt. For instance they recommend the AK-47. Yes it's reliable, but it's notoriously inaccurate. Certainly not accurate enough for the necessary head shots at any meaningful range. A stock you can club someone with doesn't matter unless you can crush a skull with it, which I wouldn't bet on. The M1 carbine is good and light, but also lacks the necessary accuracy after 50 yards.

I found this on A Small Victory. She suggests that the zombie survival situation is hopeless. I disagree. One thing zombies don't do is heal. So their bodies will break down from exposure, knicks, cuts, and then decompose to the point that they can't move anymore. A few months to a year and then no more zombie problem.

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