Zombie apocalypse: Which weapon? Ax or gun (Mythbuster edition)

[JEDI]

who the heck doesnt have an assault rifle during a zombie apocalypse?
but i understand the testing method

 

[soulcougher73]

Id want a melee weapon that is strong and light to not tire out as easily. I would imagine ammo would be hard to come by after awhile in a zombie apocalypse. Sword or knife?

 

[lxskllr]

Using only stuff I own, I'd want my machete, long axe, short axe, and a knife. I'd also build a shield, but I don't currently own one.

 

[Captante]

BFG10K would be barely sufficient looking at that crowd!

 

[BurnItDwn]

i imagine it might be difficult to pry the axe head out of a skull sometimes, similar to how an axe head can get "stuck" in a log.

As far as ammo goes, most of the hardcore shooting type folks have reloading benches and enough supplies to reload at least 10K rounds. But, indeed, that wouldnt last forever!

For close range, id think maybe an ice pick or a claw hammer would work better than an axe, or, even just a smaller/lighter axe, hatchet or tomahawk.

For shorter range outside of arms reach, a handgun. I'd prefer a 38 revolver since they are simple and easy to maintain, but, most folks would likely prefer a 9mm since they can hold more rounds, and are faster to reload if you have extra magazines ready to go (though a revolver with speedloaders can be pretty quick, and they do make 7 and 8 shot revolevrs.)

medium range, im thinking pump action shotgun would be nice to have, you can bash em with it when you run out of ammo.

long range, im thinking a 22 rifle would have enough penetation to get through a skull, and be light and inexpensive enough to stockpile and carry a bunch with you.

 

[MrSquished]

I'd be worried about having enough ammo being able to carry enough ammo so I would take the ax, with a gun with one magazine. So if everything is hopeless I can kill my loved ones if they request it and then off myself

 

[gorobei]

assuming we are talking about a real world zombie(rabid brain fever but still functionally human and not magical walking corpse with missing/decayed bits):

if noise is a concern then guns (even a suppressed .22) seems risky and not long term sustainable. a slingshot and ball bearings would last longer and be easier to scrounge.

axe seems too close for comfort with not much margin for error.

one of those trash pickup sticks with the needle spike on the end would let you poke a bunch of bleed out holes in the chest or vital organs. if an intact head is necessary for the zombie to function you can just poke them in the forehead like a pithing needle.

if you really need to up the strike rate you can make an improvised kudayari (hyoga slide spear) to deal with a crowd of zombies from a safe distance.

realisticaly a supersoaker squirt gun and gas/kerosine would be safer. just soak them and use one of those overpowered green lasers.

 

[BarkingGhostar]