People want there to be a perfect weapon. This is, however, not the case. It is frequently the case that what works for one person will not work for another. Similarly, there is more to choosing a weapon than just what does the most damage. Finding the right weapon for the right situation can be as simple as answering the question: what weapon is the most appropriate for the situation and what weapon does the operator know how to use? Of course, sometimes it is more complicated than even that. This article will examine a number of ways for people to choose the right weapon, no matter what they think may be the case.

Frequently, simple postulates will cause arguments, but some of the most common debates come from one individual attempting to make a claim that there is a solution or a device that will always work for every person in every situation. Naturally, this causes other people to suggest that this person is wrong and that, in fact, there is another device that is perfect for everyone and everything.

Of course, they are all mistaken.

This isn't to imply that there is an answer that everyone has somehow missed and there is another device that works where the others fail. For every situation and for every individual, there are as many devices that can be used to find the right solution. In this case we are speaking of weapons.

When searching for the right weapon, one must consider a number of things:

1. Ease of Carry
2. Sturdiness & Repairability
3. Area of Attack
4. Damage Type
5. Skill & Strength Requirements
6. Availability of Amunition
7. Speed of Rebound

For now, let us consider just these 7 characteristics, but let us examine these one at a time:

Ease of Carry

Consider this situation: you are surrounded by zombies, you see an escape possible, but there are about five zombies between you and this escape. You pull out your trusty [insert weapon of choice] and begin to fight your way through the hoard. When you finally get through them, you toss the [weapon] into its [carrying case] – now imagine that this [weapon] is a 20-lb sledge, and imagine what it would be like to try and run away with this 20-lb sledge bouncing on your back. Similarly, consider a shotgun with about 50 shells, a makeshift polearm of some sort, or even just a chunk of steel pipe. One must think about not only the weight of the weapon, but also the size of the weapon – all these things together refer to the ease of carry of a weapon.

Sturdiness & Repairability

A weapon must also be able to survive being bashed or poked against or through human bone (a rather sturdy substance) many times. It must also stand up to the test of time in a harsh environment, in other words, it will get wet, it will have to travel long distances, it will get dropped and thrown and through it all it will have to mainain its ability to do its job. There will be times that it will get broken or damaged, this is inevitable, but in these cases, this weapon must be able to be repaired. Most weapons should provide this opportunity, but if the weapon is not sturdy or is appropriately easy to repair (in other words, it is either easy to fix or sturdy or both) then it is not a weapon you should be considering.

Area of Attack

There are times when you may be fifty feet or more away from a zombie and thinking “darn, I wish I had something to hit it with without getting closer.” Conversely, there may be times that you will be surrounded by zombies and thinking “DARN, I WISH I HAD SOMETHING THAT WORKED BETTER WHEN THEY’RE THIS CLOSE!!” This is what I mean by area of attack – the distance, or area, at which the weapon would be most effective. You will want to choose a weapon that allows for maximum use of a multitude of area – particularly, you will want a weapon that can be used easily to attack zombies at a distance (like a polearm or spear) but also can be used when you have your back to the wall (if you could be so lucky) and need a weapon that can deal with the the zombies at close proximity. To create the best type of weapon, you may have to use two different weapons, but the idea still remains – how can you combine weapons for the best combination of ranges possible.

Damage Potential & Type

I’ll do my best to keep this from sounding like Dungeons and Dragons (although a shotgun +2 would hypothetically be very nice to have), but damage is an important thing to think about. The sort of damage that an arrow can do is much different than the damage that a 20-lb. sledge hammer can do. You must choose a weapon that does the sort of damage that you are looking for, here are the standard types of weapons. Projectiles will do little damage individually, but can reach their target at much greater speeds not to mention the fact that they can be used at a good distance, thus removing yourself from immediate danger. A blunt weapon will crush things if enough force is applied, though the force required for a blunt weapon is generally greater to overcome the large area that it does damage over. Piercing objects, like spears and arrows, can much more easily pierce through armor and bone than the crushing weapons but will do damage over a much smaller area. Cutting weapons, like knives and swords, are a good combination of piercing and crushing weapons as far as the ratio of force required for the damage done, but the damage is not a destructive one so much as a severing one. With cutting weapons, one must be more skilled to do good damage and the weapon must be designed correctly. If one is familiar with either the katana or the flint weapons, their effectiveness comes from the same trick – serrated edges – and the damage done comes from continuous motion. The trick is to choose the correct damage type for the weakness of the target.

Skill & Strength Requirements

Again, trying to skip any “Dungeons & Dragons” references, but this is yet another important thing to think about. As mentioned in the last section, blades can do great damage if used correctly, but can simply be dnagerous if the wielder doesn’t know how to use one. Similarly, while a crushing weapon could do the most amount of damage if wielded correctly, the chances of wielding one of these weapons correctly is farely rare and becomes exponentially more difficult the weaker the wielder of the weapon is. Conversely, a sling (a strip of leather held at both ends with a rock in the middle and swung over the head and released to send the rock flying) requires very little strength but a high amount of dexterity, making it more appropriate for those of a slight frame. While a sling does nowhere near the amount of damage that a twenty-pound-seldge would do, someone who cannot efficiently wield a sledge would put themselves in more danger if they tried to fight with it. Be aware of your own strength and be aware of what you can handle safely and confidently on your own.

Availability of Amunition

This does not apply, for the most part, to melee weapons, but the next thing to be thinking about is availability of ammunition. Everyone’s going to automatically think: “A shotgun is the ideal zombie weapon.” In the short term the shotgun is a very good weapon at close range, but as soon as it runs out of ammo, the shotgun is going to be reduced to a rather unwieldly club. Firearms are great weapons, but finding a cache of rifle or shotgun shells large enough to sustain long-term weapon usage (daily use over the course of many years) is going to be rare. Thus, firearms are good for isolated use, as long as the ammunition lasts. Archery has its advantages in this regard – materials for arrows/bolts are readily available and can be constructed (given some practice time) with some efficiency. For this reason, it is advisable to have materials around to reshell bullets (take the old casings, add cap, powder and bullet), though there may be an argument here for bringing back the black powder gun.

Speed of Rebound

As in the previous cases, let us think about the rebound of the following weapons: shotgun, bow-and-arrows, and the 20-lb sledge. The speed of rebound refers to the speed with which the user can get ready to use it again. This refers both to the time of reload of a ranged weapon, but also it refers to the time it takes to recover from the swing of a melee weapon. Thus, in the case of a shotgun, the speed of rebound would be the average of the time it takes both to cock the shotgun as well as to reload the shotgun after firing all of the available bullets. Similarly, with the bow-and-arrow, the speed of rebound refers to the speed it takes to retrieve another arrow, knock it, and draw back the string to fire. The speed of rebound for the 20-lb sledge would be the time it takes to swing the sledge, lift the sledge, center yourself and be ready to swing again. Unscientifically, I would rate these all about the same in regards to the speed of rebound because the speed advantage of the shotgun initially loses its advantage when one has fired all the shots, the bow-and-arrows are relatively slow but consistant, and the 20-lb sledge allows one to swing rather fast but it takes a long time to recover from the swing.

The important thing to recognize about choosing a weapon is this: there is no perfect weapon. This list is as complete as most people will need, however, for simplicities sake, this all comes down to two simple things: how well can the person use the weapon, and how appropriate is this weapon for the given situation. Find the compromise between these two things and you will be successful with whatever you choose. So next time you hear the distant scratchings and moanings of our undead enemies, think before you decide to stock up simply on the explosives. Every weapon has its place, and every person has his/her weapon – choose them wisely. Remember, the aim is to most effectively remove the zombies heads while keeping your own.