# Can a .22LR bullet breach a Zombie skull? lets find out... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 24, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506 "2009-05-24T23:46:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/21 "2009-05-26T02:37:00Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > I want .22 rounds that will take out a velociraptor. Just in case. If he lives long enough to keep shooting, he has 5,000 rounds. 5,000 rounds of .22 Long Rifle will kill anything, if just by bleeding to death. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/22 "2009-05-26T04:08:32Z")
Yeeahh, but there is a real caliber called .577 Tyrannosaur, why not one for velociraptors? šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/23 "2009-05-26T05:14:11Z")
Why do you assume a human head is stronger than a coconut? A human skull takes half as much pressure to crush as a coconut does. Iā€™m betting its easier to _penetrate_ a skull as well. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/24 "2009-05-26T11:17:11Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > Iā€™d imagine that 5.56 round would do some major damage to the Reanimated-American crowd šŸ™‚ > > I do have more powerful choices in my Ambulatory Cadaver Disposal Arsenal\*\*, but the ammunition is heavier and takes up more space, assuming a .22 works on Zombies, it allows the shooter to store/carry\* a lot more rounds with them, two 550 round bulkpacks gives you 1100 rounds in the space that 50 12-gauge shotshells would occupy You should get yourself one of [these](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBbjt3OZydg&feature=related) to mow those undead suckers down. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/25 "2009-05-26T13:28:05Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > Yeeahh, but there is a real caliber called .577 Tyrannosaur, why not one for velociraptors? šŸ˜‰ The .577 Tyrannosaur isnā€™t even the biggest rifle available, thereā€™s also the [.700 Nitro Express](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VVOH7Ep_8w&feature=related), in the linked video, most of the shooters are firing the Tyrannosaur, the last shooter (Chuck Norris?) fires the .700 NE notice most of the shooters are in a neutral shooting stance, just balancing the gun against their shoulder, the last shooter is leaning forward into the gun, pulling it hard against his shoulder to eliminate as much movement as possible, and anticipating and controlling the recoil ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/26 "2009-05-26T15:13:43Z")
.22 is an excellent caliber for the apocalypse. Itā€™s powerful enough to kill; gun stores are stocked with .22 semi-autos; the ammo is light, incredibly compact, and cheap; and everyone can become proficient with one in an hour or two. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/27 "2009-05-26T18:02:04Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > You should get yourself one of [these](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBbjt3OZydg&feature=related) to mow those undead suckers down. Nah, my hands are too big for that. Does someone make a mini gun in .22 ?? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/28 "2009-05-26T19:10:36Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > .22 is an excellent caliber for the apocalypse. Itā€™s powerful enough to kill; gun stores are stocked with .22 semi-autos; the ammo is light, incredibly compact, and cheap; and everyone can become proficient with one in an hour or two. I grant you these are good reasons, but whatever happened to the traditional chainsaws and flame throwers? One must have _some_ standards. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/29 "2009-05-26T20:03:21Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I grant you these are good reasons, but whatever happened to the traditional chainsaws and flame throwers? One must have _some_ standards. Aside from the sentimental stuf: Chainsaws - gotta get within grabbin & biting range to use; Very messy; Hard to control; limited fuel supply. Flamethrower - after you flame up the shuffling zombie, youā€™ve got a shuffling zombie _ **thatā€™s on fire** _:eek:. 'Nuff said. Plus, see above regarding fuel. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/30 "2009-05-26T20:11:56Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > The .577 Tyrannosaur isnā€™t even the biggest rifle available No, but itā€™s one of the coolest names. What fun is a zombie apocalypse if ya canā€™t have cool sounding gear? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/31 "2009-05-26T20:13:42Z")
> [@labtrash](#): > > Chainsaws - gotta get within grabbin & biting range to use; Very messy; Hard to control; limited fuel supply. > > Flamethrower - after you flame up the shuffling zombie, youā€™ve got a shuffling zombie _ **thatā€™s on fire** _:eek:. 'Nuff said. Plus, see above regarding fuel. Sigh. As Chaucer is, shall Dryden be. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/32 "2009-05-26T22:01:20Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I grant you these are good reasons, but whatever happened to the traditional chainsaws and flame throwers? One must have _some_ standards. Duh, thatā€™s what _accesory rails_ are for, geesh, I thought people knew these things, attach flamethrowers/chainsaws/grenade launchers/etc _to_ your main battle rifleā€¦:rolleyes:šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/33 "2009-05-26T23:45:37Z")
In **World War Z** after the surviving humans regrouped and organized to begin systematically fighting back, the standard zombie-kill round was an incendiary .22. Maximized ammo, although even then using ā€œLoboā€, a zombie-killing hand tool was preferred when possible. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/34 "2009-05-27T00:28:54Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > Duh, thatā€™s what _accesory rails_ are for, geesh, I thought people knew these things, attach flamethrowers/chainsaws/grenade launchers/etc _to_ your main battle rifleā€¦:rolleyes:šŸ˜ƒ Hush. Youā€™re in trouble enough with AT&F as it is. Whatā€™re you paying for .45 ACP? šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/35 "2009-05-28T03:42:05Z")
For commercial ammo, $29.95 per 100 round brick at Wally World, but I havenā€™t purchased commercial .45 ammo since I got into reloading it my per-round cost for reloaded .45 is around .13Ā¢/round at my highest powder charge per-round for Winchester White Box .45 is around .30Ā¢/round My .45 target reloads have less recoil than factory loaded 9mm, and are more accurate than factory .45, I load them light for best paper-punchinā€™ performance, I could hand my Kimber to a novice shooter, loaded with my target loads, and they could shoot the big 230 grain bullets in my .45 with no trouble at all Iā€™ve turned many a shooter on to both reloading _and_ the .45 by letting them try 8 rounds of the ā€œMacTech Loadā€ Iā€™m in the process of working up a good, hot personal-defense load for a batch of 100 185 grain Speer Gold Dot hollow points, as my target loads arenā€™t really ideal for personal protection (not that I need to carry around here) reloading is _FUN_, it combines the fun of the old ā€œchemistry labsā€ of childhood with the fun of _explosives_, whatā€™s not to like? Step 1: deprime and resize the case, and clean the primer pocket Step 2: seat a new primer in the case Step 3: expand the case slightly and drop in the powder charge Step 4: weigh the powder charge to insure correct charge was thrown (4.5 grains of Winchester 231 in my target loads) Step 5: weigh the charge a second time, any discrepancies between the two, return the powder to the hopper and re-throw another charge in the case Step 6: place the bullet on top of the case, and seat and crimp the bullet I donā€™t _have_ to weigh the charge twice, but Iā€™m new to reloading and I want to make very sure my reloads are completely safe, so I err on the side of caution, so far I havenā€™t had a single reloading mishaā€¦\ā€¦ Just kidding, so far, no mishaps, and I want to keep it that way ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/36 "2009-05-28T09:19:44Z")
I thought I read this exact write up before. Looks like [I have!](http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=46332) I thought I had somehow ended up in a parallel universe or there was some glitch in the Matrix or something. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/37 "2009-05-28T12:32:51Z")
If you have one of [these](http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb256/GaryM_photo/Firearms/NFA/P22_Aviator02s.jpg), you can shoot a bunch before the rest even notice! šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/38 "2009-05-28T21:10:09Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > I thought I read this exact write up before. Looks like [I have!](http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=46332) I thought I had somehow ended up in a parallel universe or there was some glitch in the Matrix or something. So, you make dead things deader too, eh? šŸ˜‰ Itā€™s okay, we talked about this on the internetā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/39 "2009-05-28T21:23:07Z")
Psh, wasnā€™t the ā€œenters but doesnā€™t exitā€ nature of a .22 round specifically mentioned as a bonus in _The Zombie Survival Guide_? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506/40 "2009-05-29T04:32:14Z")
Havenā€™t read it, but yeah, ā€œenters and bounces aroundā€ is an advantage if one assumes a zombie retains some brain power. IRL, the brain starts breaking down into a buttery sludge almost immediately, and canā€™t be relied on for even the most basic processing. Disregarding the claims of writers of fiction, like Max Brooks, we really must stop concentrating on the brain and consider whichever organ can continue semi-intelligent activity after the brain has turned to pudding. As the liver has long been thought of as the center of consciousness, I suggest we concentrate on it. And as it is so large, and a human can function quite well with one cut in half, a .22 ainā€™t gonna cut it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-22lr-bullet-breach-a-zombie-skull-lets-find-out/497506.md?page=3)