Especially if they’re Romero zombies (i.e., anyone who dies becomes one), you definitely want to stay away from areas of high population. But even without that factor, lots of people equals lots of panic, gridlock, lots of resources required, and lots of sanitation problems.
I too have the Zombie Survival Guide, and IIRC, they recommend a warehouse at a port as a good hole-up place - few people around, pick one with a store of canned food and you’re good on that score, there should be multiple exits, but no super-vulnerable areas like the glass fronts of stores, and if all else fails, you can hit the high seas.
Personally, I think if the zombies rot roughly at the rate of a regular corpse, you want to be in a warm climate, to help that along. If they have a reduced rate of decay, I think Minnesota or somewhere would be good - half the year you can go outside in safety, since they’ll be frozen.
For some reason this has bothered me a few times when I’ve thought back to this thread. Who in their right mind would use a .22LR against people trying to eat their flesh? If I want to shoot a squirrel, I’ll use a .22LR but not for shooting zombies. .223 would probably be my bullet of choice due to the power vs weight benefits.
I’d actually like a shotgun for close-order combat: destroying the head would be easier, if you selected the correct ammunition. If 12GA is too heavy, 20GA is a nice alternative.
Also, add laser sites and combat lighting to your weapons: you want to rapidly acquire the target.
I have and have read the guide: depressing book. If nothing else, it shows how close we are to total collapse, and how sucky life would be without our infrastructure.
I have the above-mentioned zombie survival guide, and it’s good. The author is noted zombie defense expert Max Brooks, son of Mel Brooks and the late Anne Bancroft.
It’s ridiculous that I don’t have The Zombie Survival Guide. For that matter, why didn’t I write it? Damnit.
I started a game on Urbandead; had to quit and leave my character (Monty Thibadeau) asleep in the middle of the street. Probably dead when I log back on.
Speaking of the movie in the OP – the 2004 Dawn of the Dead was on cable last night. Even though I’m a big Romero fan, I have to admit that movie is growing on me. Taking it for itself, without reference to the other movies, it’s really not bad. The first ten minutes are a great picture of how quickly society could crumble, and the opening credit sequence, with Johnny Cash’s “The Man Comes Around”, is genuinely creepy. There’s some good acting, and Ving Rhames is one of those actors you just love to watch. Plus, the DVD has some nice extras, such as the “video diary” of Andy, the guy with the gun shop (rented from Netflix). I’ll probably end up adding it to my library.
It’s funny; I have no fear of werewolves, vampires or any of that stuff, but zombies seem, somehow, almost possible. I’m sure I’m not the only one who, in a public place, is likely to check the available resources in case of a zombie situation. (I feel pretty safe at Home Depot; lots of hammers, axes, and lengths of pipe, not to mention the chainsaws and power tools.)
Don’t know about that line of advice though. If I am going to load up on generators and fuel, it sure won’t be gasoline generators. They simply are not made for long term power generation. If I can get the generators and fuel, it’s diesel all the way. Mainly, 1800 rpm diesels designed to run for months to years and easier to fix, such as a China Diesel. The fuel will also last you longer.
About the collapse of society, I figure it depends on the type of Zombies. If it’s the slow moving ones, I don’t see society collapsing. Our nation is well stocked with red necks and gangs members. Imagine all the gun stores, Walmarts, sporting goods stores, etc that have large supplies of guns and ammo. How the hell would slow moving zombies overrun us? Now for the fast moving type in the *Dawn of the Dead[/d] remake, that is a different story. We could still probably hold our own but with much heavier losses. Since the zombies don’t have logic, we would be able to take the high ground and rain fire down on them.
Yeah, but on the other hand, we’ve got stocks of hippies and wimpy yuppies…I’d be worried about them cancelling out the gun-toters. (I fear a lot of Northern California is going to be the People’s Republic of Zombieland. Or the USSRrrrgh, to put it a different way.)
Yep – any outsider militia or military forces going on a zombie hunt in northern CA is going to be hard-pressed to distinguish between the recently zombified and the long-term stoned. The soldiers might have to devise passwords based on Phish lyrics or something to distinguish between friend and foe.
OTOH, a pothead-turned-zombie would probably be even more slow-moving and stupid than a regular zombie, although it might have, unfortunately for humanity, a serious case of the munchies.