You're probably reading this because you're:

• Wicked Bored
  
• Interested about guns
  
• Interested in surviving the world of L4D IRL (Coming soon!)

Look no further than this guide, and hopefully it'll serve you well if (when) the time comes to use it.

No, it's not the end of the guide- the title's there to explain the worst has happened : The world has literally ended. Zombies run rampant across the breadth of your city, state, country, or even continent. There's no telling how many people are even still alive, much less if you're infected as some sort of sleeper-zombie. There you stand in your home, realizing the new world is taking shape in front of you.... So what do you do?


Well.. Truth be told, you probably should've prepared for this months prior, but now you're down the creek of feces without a paddle to your name. With nothing but the clothes on your back and what you can carry in your house, you have no choice but to brave the outdoors, lest you stay in your house and either:

• Run out of food / water
  
• Turn your house into a coffin for when the infected break down a wall, door, or both and you're eventually cornered
  
• Both

So now what?

Originally posted by Master_Chief:

"I need a weapon."

Doesn't really matter what you can find seeing as it'll most definitely be better than nothing, but the thing you're going to want to keep in the back of your head is "How can I always be bettering my situation?" Sure a pipe's good for blunt trauma, but it won't do much against a charger. What about an axe? A good idea for sure, but chances are you're not going to have the stamina to continuously swipe at hundreds - if not thousands, of zombies pounding down your door. You'll need something that's both lightweight and quick for attacking. Hatches, tomahawks, tanto knives, modified baseball bats (like the iconic Lucille), and the traditional spiked 2x4 are all viable options. The best part about a piece of wood is that you can reinforce the boards with a backing like:

• Fiberglass tape and layers of wood glue
  
• Rawhide bone
  
• Sinew
  
• PVC cement (Can't confirm this one, but it might work)

Reinforced backing would make for greater durability, harder hitting, and since it's wood you can still unleash your inner Macgyver by fashioning a more comfortable grip with nothing more than a whittling knife, sanding block or even a sander, assuming you still have electricity to do it.


Alright, cool - now that you have a "melee weapon," next comes the task of finding a ranged weapon for you. No doubt the infected are going to be the least of your concerns now that psychotic bands of evil people are taking form as you're looking for gear, now fully unhindered by mankind's laws to protect you from them. Chances are high that they're going to come in strong, with things like:

• Smith and Wesson Sport II AR15 ( 5.56 / .223 Remington)
  
• Remington 870 (12 Gauge)
  
• Sig M400 (5.56 NATO)
  
• Sig Copperhead (9 x 19)
  
• Scar- H (.308 Winchester)
  
• Arsenal AK47 (7.62 x 39)

The list could go on indefinitely, and while there's no guarantee that the criminals will know how to modify firearms for full-auto capabilities, you should expect them to be criminal masterminds, lest you underestimate them and put yourself further down the creek of feces.

Need to learn how to make a long bow so you're not FUBAR? Check out this video.

Preferably you'll want to already have a gun on hand so you don't have to worry. So which one do you pick?

As a firearms instructor I'd like to think I know my way around a gun and what would be good to have on hand should the world literally end. I've been told numerous times "Just get x bro, because <reason>.

When doing caliber research, note the following :

• You're going to be shooting this gun a lot. Get a firearm that's comfortable to hold, easy to shoot for long periods of time, and can be reliable. "Reliable" seems to be a subjective term nowadays. Consider "reliable" as a firearm that doesn't jam once within 100 rounds. Obviously a new firearm will need a break-in period of about 200 rounds, but if it's still causing malfunctions after that grace period, you may need to seek repairs or trading it in.
  
• Pick a caliber that has minimal recoil and good penetration power. 9mm (9 x 19, 9mm parabellum, whatever you wanna call it) is great for both of these things, but this ammo type is hard to get right now due to the "shortage" going on. 5.7 is a great caliber as well, if you're willing to dish out anywhere between $700-$1000 on the gun in the beginning. The penetration power is seemingly too good, as it goes straight through your target in most cases... Which doesn't cause fatal damage to your target.
  
• Try to pick the majority of your ammo stash to be hollow points. While they're more expensive than their FMJ "range" counter parts, they're extremely effective against soft-bodied targets and will often stay inside your intended target, thus reducing putting others in danger around your target... And also causing more internal damage to who you're trying to kill. Which, y'know... is a good thing when you want someone dead.

Some of the logic of the people I've talked to may be valid regarding guns and stuff, but the solid conclusions that I have came to are:

• Get a full-sized 9mm. The bigger the pistol, the easier it will be to manage the recoil - and the higher capacity doesn't hurt either. Recommended brands are Smith and Wesson (American made since 1856), Glock (Manageable recoil, easy disassembly for cleaning, and "reliable") and Sig Sauer (Official sidearm of the U.S Army AND Marine Corps). Keep in mind you're going to want to get an Outside The Waistband Holster (O.W.B) for this pistol. Safariland will make a wonderful one for you, and some of them can be up to level 3 retention.
  
• Pick an AK47. It's a lot more involved for disassembly, but there have been far less accounts of the gun failing to fire, feed or chamber on the field after being exposed to months of sand, dirt and other crap. Piston-driven typically means a smoother experience shooting as well. Some people may suggest an AR15 for your go-to rifle, but you can't buy 1000 rounds of 5.56 for 160 bucks like you can with an AK.... Well, probably not right now seeing as everyone and their mother is buying ammo at the moment, but you get what I'm trying to say.
  
• Invest in a large trekking backpack, to keep all your things with you (and dry, depending on which one you buy). Ideally, you'd want something like an Alicepack, but those are often bulky since they can hold so much stuff. If you're packing light, you might not want an Alice.
  
• Get a plate carrier. What does that mean?

Sometimes I begin to wonder if I should leave the house in this current climate without my plate carrier. If this is the first time you're hearing what that word is, here's a brief explanation...

"Plate carrier" is the term for a vest that surrounds your torso, typically front and back (but can also include side pouches). They house certain armor plates and trauma pads, assuming you want them. These armor plates are typically made from AR500 steel, but can be different composites as well. They are rated anywhere from Level III to IV, and each level has their own limits of protection. For example...

• Level IIIA armor (should you ever find hard plates in IIIA, but I doubt they exist) can protect the wearer from nearly every pistol caliber, from .22LR all the way up to 44 magnum. Any rifle cartridges, however, would go straight through.
  
• Level III armor can protect the user from 7.62 x 39 ammunition and 308 M80 rounds. This is what most 30 caliber firearms are chambered in (save for the 300 blackout, 30/30, and 300 win mag), so if someone were to attack you with an AK, you would still be okay (assuming you bought the trauma pads and coating)
  
• Level III+ and III+ lightweight are meant to stop 5.56 NATO rounds (both 52 and 65 grain), which is going to be the most common caliber you'll find firearms chambered in. These are extremely effective rounds for penetrating targets at long distances.
  
• Level IV armor is meant to stop 30-06 black tip ammunition. Are you ever going to need that kind of protection? Probably not, seeing as nobody's going to be mugging you with a hunting rifle.... Then again, anything's possible I guess.

Earlier in the list I mentioned different types of coating you'd want in your plates, as well as trauma pads. These are extremely important, as in life and death situations should you opt out of the trauma pads.

The coating you'd want to get is a "build up coat," as AR500 armor calls it. While I'm unsure if every manufacturor will give the option for a build up, it's meant to stop fragmenting bullets so you don't get hit by the shrapnel afterwards. It's bad enough that you just got shot, no need to add insult to injury by having a shred of copper bullet lodging itself into your jugular.

There's also the option to have either flat or curved plates. After speaking with a few customers that have bought both, they've confidentially said the curved plates are worth the extra money, as human bodies tend to not be 2D.


As for the trauma pads, you're going to want to get one for both the front and back of your plate carrier. While they offer no ballistic protection, they do a great job of absorbing all the velocity coming off the bullet. It'd be better to have a pad ruined than get a rib broken from not having a trauma pad.

So let's say you've met a group of people and they turn out to be the Saviors. If you watch the Walking Dead, you know where I'm going with this. People that are driven by conquering others, blood lust only matching their backwards, distorted world view. You're either gonna do really good in a group like that, or really bad - oftentimes there is little middle ground. If you don't have a trade that's valuable to the community, you're off to the assembly lines to do menial work for the rest of your life - or worse, to be used as cannon fodder for the higher-ups of the group. Y'know, so they don't gotta risk their lives.

Like I says, though, you're gonna need a trade on hand to make yourself useful. Trades like :

• Electricians
  
• Doctors
  
• Plumbers
  
• Water Treatment Employees
  
• Roofers / Framers
  
• Survivalists
  
• Firearm Instructors
  
• Armorers
  
• Blacksmiths

Are gonna be some of the most important on the list. Each person on that list knows something specific about the trade that normal people wouldn't, thus giving them a leg up. Make sure you're Mr.Useful, otherwise you're gonna be Mr.WalkerBait .

However, "trades" that aren't useful are:

• "Influencers"
  
• Politicians
  
• Restaurant employees (waiters, chef, all that jazz)
  
• Delivery employees (UNLESS you're Glenn)
  
• YouTubers
  
  
  You get the idea.

Truth be told, you're PROBABLY NOT gonna survive a zombie apocalypse. Call me a natural pessimist, but let's face it, there's no telling:

• How rapidly the infection changes
  
• How fast the infected are
  
• How determined to live other factions are... And how determined they are to make sure you don't
  
• Your current equipment and what kit you're running
  
• Your level of firearms experience (Which promptly goes right out the window anyway when your back is against the wall and you're about to puke because you thought you heard someone breaking into your house, but that's a long story)
  
• Your ability to play well with others
  
• Your survival skills
  
  
  ALL of these things play an EXTREMELY important role in determining if you're gonna be manure at the end of the day. I hate to spoil the ending for you, but spoiler alert: You will be. It's just a matter of WHEN, not IF.
  
  Anyway, play some Payday if you wanna see what IRL guns look like and how they'd typically function. Incredible there's no lawsuit from any gun makers...