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White76Knight's Weapons
| White76Knight's Survival Gear | White76Knight's Weapons (You Are Here) |
White76Knight's Notes:
The information contained on this page, as pertaining to Survival Gear, will be coded by section. Unmarked text will be items that I actually own, and where applicable, items marked by red asterisks will represent items that I would like to own (this is not just a fantasy wish list, every item so marked is an item that I actually plan to acquire as priorities and resources permit). Should there be categories in which there are no items that I currently own, I will add the Wish List items only, but these will be marked as noted above.
While the following sections were originally posted under my Profile and Survival Plan pages, I figured the information would be more at home on this page, so I have relocated them. There is almost nothing in the following descriptions that I have yet acquired, but these descriptions are representative of what I'd hope my loadout will look like once it has been fully assembled.
For Survival Gear other than weapons and other combat related equipment, please see my Survival Gear page.
Battling the Undead (Real World):
Weapons I Actually Own or Have Access To: I admit that I don't currently own a single firearm. In a pinch, I do own two Kukris, as described hereafter, and a wakizashi that I could use to defend myself, and I also own three European hand-and-a-half swords in addition to these. The latter were only intended to be training swords, and thus were made without any sharpened edges, but being made of a good steel bar stock (one of them was made from leaf spring for strength and flexibility), they'd all make fine blunt weapons, rather like steel bokken. See below for why blunt weapons are probably a better choice in any event. These particular swords, however, are all rather poorly balanced, thus they would be quite tiring to use for any long period of time. These would still be better than nothing, though, if push comes to shove and shove comes to bite. My father owns a Lee Enfield .303 bolt action rifle, a .30-30 lever action rifle and a Ruger .22LR pistol. He also usually has a couple other hunting rifles around that belong to out-of-province buddies (who often store them at his house for use during the hunting season). He usually has around 20 rounds on hand for the Enfield, and 40 rounds each for the .30-30 and the Ruger, but I have no idea how much ammo is available for any of his buddies rifles. If I was able to get to them before things get too awful, I'd bring those weapons as well (and my parents while I was at it, LOL). All these weapons are likely too far away for me to access, though, now that we've moved into our new place which is around 500 miles (including an 8hr ferry ride) away from my home town, where my family still lives. Whether or not I'll still be able to reach my family or these weapons will depend on how much advance warning we get before the SHTF.
Battling the Undead (Wish List):
What are my weapons of choice? These are my dream weapons, I freely confess that I don't own any of these, but given the opportunity (and pending Canadian legal status of all the individual items that follow) these are the weapons that I am currently trying to acquire. Long Range: I had originally wanted the FN SCAR-H or HK417 (.308) with the 20" Long Barrel upper receivers, or any semi-automatic only (better ammo conservation) civilian version of either rifle (the SCAR 17S and the HK MR762). As both of these are military grade weapons (and relatively new ones at that), I highly doubt that I would be able to get my hands on either.
Instead, I have set my sights on the AR10 platform (also in .308) which is much more readily available (but somewhat expensive). I will start with an AR10 Carbine style lower assembly. I have chosen the Carbine assembly over the Rifle assembly as it includes a collapsible stock, useful in shortening the weapon for ease of getting in and out of a vehicle and also for adjusting the length of pull to accommodate any extra thickness of heavy clothing, body armor or tactical vests. AR platforms are available from several different manufacturers, such as Patriot Ordnance Factory, makers of the R308-20-MRR-308 rifle, seen below. The R308 is a good choice, as it has a gas piston operating system, rather than the Direct Gas Impingement operation system, seen in most other AR type platforms. While these DGI systems seem to be less expensive, the Gas Piston systems are preferable, in my opinion, as they are both easier to maintain and more reliable when used in less than ideal conditions. As they also run cooler than the DGI systems, they tend to inflict less wear on the working mechanisms, thereby leading to a longer service life before the individual components need to be repaired or replaced. As spare parts may well be precious and hard to obtain after the SHTF, anything that extends service life is probably a Good Thing.
Ideally, I'd like a custom barrel in the upper receiver, 24" or greater, with a removable muzzle brake so I will be able to safely fire the sub-caliber sabot rounds as described in the paragraph below. Though the POF rifle pictured here only has a 20" barrel, it does have a removable brake, which should also allow the use of the telescoping silencers that fit over the barrel. This would also be good to have but, as all silencers are illegal here in Canada, it will likely have to be something that I jury rig together after The Fall.
This LB receiver should be equipped with a long range scope (plus a BORS Unit from Barrett since I'm dreaming), all in addition to the Flip-Up Iron Sights, and it should use the standard 20 round mags. Aside from a supply of .308 FMJ rounds (and probably also a supply of JHP for hunting purposes), I could also try to lay in a supply of sub-caliber .224 sabot rounds, seen on this website, originally intended for hunting small game at long range. This website says that it is unsafe to fire such rounds from any rifle that is equipped with a Muzzle Brake, which is why I mentioned above that a removable muzzle brake would be necessary. Aside from the small game hunting applications, I'm unsure whether or not the sub-caliber sabot round seen on the above linked site would be capable of penetrating a Zombie's skull, but I fail to see any reason why it wouldn't.
Upon comparing velocities of standard 5.56mm rounds, which will penetrate a skull just fine, to the velocities that can be expected from the .224 bullet when fired from a .308 sabot, at least one other poster on this forum agrees with my assessment.
(Addendum: I've also been looking at bullets manufactured by GS Custom Solids out of South Africa. The company only sells bullets, not the full cartridges, so they'd have to be hand loaded but that's not insurmountable. GSCS makes monolithic bullets out of solid copper, designed to bring down the biggest and baddest game animals, such as charging rhinos and bull elephants and critters of that sort.
Since copper is lighter than lead, any bullets of equal length and therefore equal ballistic coefficient will weigh far less than their traditional lead counterparts. Because of this, and also due to some features of the bullet shape itself, their bullets get much, MUCH higher velocities with the same chamber pressures. This will make for longer ranges, flatter trajectories and decreased flight times, which in turn leads to decreased wind drift.
Now I was originally thinking of using their standard bullet, which is a high velocity hollow point, in .308 for long range hunting, but they also make flat nose dangerous game bullets and spitzer point tactical and match grade bullets. You can see the spitzer ones here.
If one were to load these GSCS Spitzer bullets into the previously discussed .30 cal sabots, one would likely achieve full .308 velocity (in fact, probably significantly higher than normal .308 velocity in this case) out of a solid copper .223 spitzer. Given that the solid copper bullets experience little or no mushrooming, expansion or other deformation on impact, I've been inclined to think that the solid copper .223 spitzer traveling at such velocities could make for decent anti-armor rounds, just in case a few raiders who were wearing 'bulletproof vests' came calling.) Mid Range: One of the principle reasons why I chose the AR-10 Platform over many of the other perfectly good rifles out there is because it has a modular capability. One can readily swap out different grips, fore ends, shoulder stocks and so on, customizing the weapon both to suit the individual user and to suit the role for which it is to be used. Just about any long barreled rifle chambered in the .308 round can be used for shooting at longer distances, but the very same configuration that makes it suitable for that role would likewise make it unsuitable for close quarters combat in the urban environment. Rather than carrying the extra weight and bulk of a second weapon for this purpose, the use of this AR-10 should allow you to simply remove the long barreled upper receiver and replace it with a short barreled upper receiver that is more suited to the task at hand.
As nothing changes but the barrel and the upper receiver assembly, both configurations will use the same .308 round and the same magazines, making it unnecessary to carry yet another supply of mags and ammo as would likely also be required if I were to simply carry a second weapon entirely.
The POF rifle discussed above is available with a 12" barrel in the P308 PDW upper assembly. This version, seen in the first photo below right, shall be equipped with dual function Tritium short range / mid range Optic Sights (with built in back up iron sights) and a tac light/laser combo. While Beta C-Mags are not compatible with the POF rifles, I have discovered a 50 round alternative from Allied Armament that is. Now high capacity mags like these are entirely illegal in Canada, but if I was ever able to get my hands on them I'd get one or two of these as well, in case I happen to get besieged by any large horde of walking dead, while still using my 20 round mags for day to day use. I would think that the drum would be too cumbersome to carry around much of the time, given the hoped for infrequent necessity of its use, so I could probably just leave it behind in a more secure position anyway, like in my Fortified BOL, where it shall sit politely on a shelf until needed.
The PDW receiver would be equipped with some type of mag fed under-barrel shotgun, such as an M-26 MASS, or a sawed-off jury rigged equivalent thereof. The inclusion of a 12ga shotgun provides for some additional capabilities (such as hunting small game with bird shot, breaching doors using special slugs, increased short-range lethality with buckshot, and less-lethal capability using teargas shells, rubber slugs or pellets and so on. A variety of 12ga loads for these and other purposes may be found here). Using the under-barrel model will do all of these, but without increasing the overall number of weapons that might otherwise have to be individually carried. Plus, if a fellow hit the right odds (like winning the lottery on the same day he gets hit by lightning odds) he could even stumble onto some Frag-12 (PDF) shells, and thereby his shotgun can serve as a light Anti-Armor weapon. I know, it would never really happen, but a fellow is still allowed to dream, ain't he?
Some cut down variant of the highly lauded Saiga-12, would likely make a decent jury rigged equivalent, with the right mods. (Addendum: As it turns out, Red Jacket Firearms in Baton Rouge, LA already makes an underbarrel version of the Saiga-12, shown here). As the Saiga is, however, unavailable (illegal) in Canada, then a common pump action or semi-auto shotgun can be substituted, with the resulting weapon being similar to a Master Key System, based on the Remington Model 870.
Simply get a removable stock or pistol grip version and replace the sights, as needed, with a picatinny rail so it can be properly mounted. Have its barrel shortened to 8" and retreaded and I'd have my own 12ga shotgun goodness right at my fingertips. I'd keep a standard set of rail mounted iron sights someplace on my person so I can dismount it, put on the sights, reattach the stock and use it as a short barrel stand-alone weapon.
(Addendum: It recently came to my attention that there are also some Chinese variants of the well known Rem 870. One such copy is called the Dominion Arms Grizzly, which is exported by Norinco, and there is even a magazine fed variant available for their export market. Shown here is a version of the Master Key system that I did up in Photoshop using the Grizzly. As it was based on an American made design, I understand that most of the spare parts and accessories marketed for other Rem 870 shotguns are interchangeable with those of the Chinese variant, so the future availability of replacement components shouldn't be a big deal). In any event, the under-barrel shotgun, of whatever model, should also be equipped with any commercially available adjustable hunting choke to make up for the reduced barrel length when firing buckshot shells. UPDATE: I had long believed that the minimum legal barrel length for Rifles and Shotguns in Canada was 18", but as fortune should have it, I was wrong. See Here for further details. Anyway...
Short Range: As an alternative to a pistol; any pistol shaped submachine gun having a 20-30 round magazine (ie - the Walther MPL/MPK, FAMAE S.A.F., Interdynamic KG-9 or Franchi LF-57, etc). Many people stress the importance of a sidearm chambered in a round that has "stopping power". If the films and literature are to be believed, stopping power may prove unnecessary, as any bullet that generates enough energy to penetrate the skull will be sufficient to end the immediate threat. This means that a sidearm chambered in 9mm, or even a .38 Spec or other small rounds, could do the job just as well as a deadlier .45 ACP round.
Furthermore, again according to literature and movies, Zombies tend to attack in hordes, and the commotion of fighting even a few will often attract the unwanted attention of others. To my mind, therefore, ammunition capacity(*) may prove to be a far more important factor than stopping power.
* Note: 10 rounds is the maximum legal magazine capacity for handguns here in Canada, but if our current political leaders attempts to abolish Bill C-68 (which is the legislation regarding magazine capacities and barrel length and so forth), as they hopefully will, then full capacity magazines, or at least higher capacity than we can get now magazines, may become available eventually. Here's hoping! In any case, we can still legally acquire high capacity magazines up here that have been altered to restrict their capacities to the legal limits, but then we would only need to remove the alteration After the SHTF to allow full capacity use.
I had originally thought that either one of the above SMG type weapons should serve my intentions just fine, but it was pointed out to me that the MPL (which was originally my first choice) weighs over six pounds UNLOADED, with most of the others all weighing around the same, rather much for a sidearm. The KG-9 is the exception, weighing in at less than 3 lbs empty, but it is prohibited in Canada. The Russian PP-90M1 SMG, descendant of the PP-19 Bizon, also of Soviet origin, weighs less than 4 lbs which is still a little heavy for a sidearm, but better anyway. A bit of further digging has led me to another alternative, however, so please read on.
I've been doing a little bit of research into the .22WMR round, and
have find myself leaning more and more towards the conclusion that, while a .22LR may be somewhat anemic or underpowered for this purpose, a .22WMR (also known as the .22 Magnum) just might have enough guts to do the job. Out of a ONE AND ONE EIGHTH INCH BARREL, the round is capable of penetrating ten to twelve inches of ballistics gel. Now, I wouldn't use this round in my primary weapon, but in a sidearm used at typical pistol distances it looks, to my eye, like more than enough to get the job done. 
If I decide to stick with the .22WMR rounds, my sidearm of choice may be the RMR-30, as seen to the right. I had originally had my eye on the PLR-22 from the same manufacturer, but as that weapon is currently manufactured only in the .22LR, I would have to take it in to a gunsmith to have it re-chambered for the .22WMR at added cost. This PMR-30, though, comes in .22WMR straight out of the box, and aesthetically, it would appear to be Kel Tec's answer to the H&K MP7. Their current trial model has a 16" barrel, but once they have gone into full production other lengths will likely be available. I would go for one that uses a 6"-10" barrel (like the Photoshopped version pictured here), and at this length, it would be able to achieve even better performance with the .22 WMR rounds than the short barreled pistol that was mentioned above. The PMR-30 pistol, upon which the RMR-30 was based weighs in at less than a pound unloaded, and given Kel Tec's proclivity toward weapons made almost entirely from lightweight polymers, I expect that the RMR-30 will likewise keep the ounces down to a minimum. As the .22WMR rounds are much smaller and lighter than 9mm rounds, they should also save even more weight, both with the fully loaded 30 round magazine (6 oz) in place, and by allowing me to carry a much larger supply of extra ammunition for the same weight. Update: It turns out that, with a 16" barrel, the RMR-30 will weigh about 4-1/4 lbs, fully loaded! Slightly less if I can get one that has a shorter barrel.
Using an RMR-30 as a sidearm has an additional advantage, in that it has an available railed fore-end, allowing for an easier task in incorporating Tritium night sights and a tac light/laser combo like this, with which I prefer my sidearm to be equipped. And as it was originally intended to be a carbine, it has a collapsible buttstock unlike most pistols, which will increase accuracy if firing at small game or other targets that are a bit further away. Whereas most of my original SMG style choices are select fire or full auto only, any civilian legal version will be semiautomatic only, which is better for this purpose anyway, as it will both improve accuracy and conserve ammunition. This sidearm will be loaded with HP rounds. If I can get my hands on a silencer to put on the weapon (again, silencers are illegal in Canada) then even better. A short barrel RMR-30 may be worn in a standard military type Drop-Leg Holster, as many holster designs, like the one linked here, are open on the bottom end, allowing the long frame to pass through from the inside.
Now given that either of these firearms (solely because of their shape) are probably ENTIRELY illegal in Canada, I will more likely have to settle for a sidearm of a more conventional design. Should this prove to be the case, I'll settle for a high capacity .22WMR pistol like the Kel-Tec PMR-30 (though I personally find it to be intolerably ugly). If a 9mm round is chosen, I will try to acquire a Glock 17 or 34.
As noted earlier on this page, ammunition capacity is limited here in Canada, with five rounds being the maximum for rifles and ten being the maximum for handguns. We can still legally acquire high capacity magazines up here, though they first have to be altered to restrict their capacities to the legal limits, so the only choice for those who desire high capacity firepower is to acquire magazines that have been thus altered in the hope of being able to remove any such alteration After the SHTF to allow full capacity use. Here too, though, the RMR-30 is an advantageous choice. As was brought to my attention by a fellow Canadian here on the ZSDW, all rimfire rounds such as the .22LR or the .22WMR are exempt from the rifle part of this regulation. Ten rounds is still the maximum capacity for rimfire handguns, but the rimfire rifles are not legally bound by the same limitations. Therefore the Kel-Tec PMR-30 might have to be reduced to ten rounds, but the RMR-30, being a carbine, can have its full thirty round capacity mags unaltered.
Short Range (Back Up): Some compact or subcompact pistol like a Glock 19 or 26, or a Taurus Model 905, or even a derringer. This Back Up pistol will be chambered in the same round as my sidearm, for ammo commonality with that weapon to reduce logistical concerns. My back up pistol will not need any special optics or anything, Tritium sights at most, as it is only intended to be my emergency "Get the Hell Off Me" pistol for use if some reeking Zed has crept up on me without me noticing, and is already standing right in my shorts. At that range, optics are not an issue. With this purpose in mind, in spite of the lesser capacity, I'm leaning toward either the Taurus or Derringer because they won't jam or mis-feed the way that a semi automatic can, something that I definitely DO NOT WANT in a backup pistol that is only used when a Zed is already within chewing distance.
This is another area where a .22WMR round can add a measure of advantage. A Taurus 905 weighs about 22 oz unloaded. A derringer is somewhat lighter at 14 oz, but only has a two shot capacity. The NAA Revolver called the Mini Master in .22WMR, shown here to the left, weighs just 10.7 OUNCES, with five round capacity. NAA also builds some even smaller and lighter revolvers, but this Mini Master is available with a 4-1/4 inch barrel, which is just over the minimum barrel length that's legal in Canada (though after The Fall, I'd waste no time in cutting that barrel back to around 2 inches). Again, should our current political leaders go after the Bill C-68 legislation, and shorter barreled handguns are thereafter made legal in Canada, then a Black Widow revolver as seen in this link will become my back-up pistol of choice. The NAA Revolvers have another advantage as well, in that they have interchangeable cylinders available, chambered in a more common .22LR round. This both makes the handgun useful for hunting small game and should also keep it fed in case .22WMR rounds become unavailable. I have also read reviews to the effect that neither of these NAA Mini Revolver models are particularly accurate, but as this gun is only meant for use when shooting at immediate physical contact distances anyway, accuracy shouldn't matter overmuch.
If whatever back up pistol I end up with is small enough, it can be carried in one of the spring loaded Quick Draw Rigs strapped onto my forearm like the ones used by Antonio Banderas in the movie Desperado and by Robert De Niro in the movie Taxi Driver (I have no idea where to get one of these things, as they would be entirely illegal in Canada, and quite likely everywhere else for that matter, but for After the Fall, it could easily be made from scratch... I did a trial run with a replica pistol, and it seemed to work just fine.)
Explosive/Incendiary Ordnance: While real military grenades and explosives would be as rare as fresh Unicorn Sh!t After the Fall, small scale improvised explosives may still be possible. Simple fragmentation grenades and flashbangs are well within the realm of possibility, provided one has access to the proper materials and knowledge of the proper way of assembling them (Again, it's probably best not to share any of the actual details here, but suffice it to say that the Anarchist's Cookbook or other similarly useless crap notwithstanding, there ARE actually various commonly available substances that can be made to go *boom* under the right circumstances). Max Brooks writes in his book, The Zombie Survival Guide, "What could be better than hurling a hand grenade at a mass of approaching zombies? Actually, almost anything. An anti-personnel explosive kills mainly by shrapnel, metal shards tearing through vital organs. As this won't affect zombies, and the chances of shrapnel penetrating the skull is slim, grenades, bombs and other explosive tools are inefficient weapons."
This, in my opinion, is nonsense. As I posted in This Thread, "I have seen this argument before, and to be honest, the logic of it eludes me. Why on earth would a fragmentation grenade NOT kill a zombie? I mean that shrapnel flies out pretty much in all directions, right? So as long as some of that shrapnel struck the zombie in the head, which at least some of it almost certainly would, it should be job done, son."
A few of the replies to my post were as follows, "I'm pretty damn sure that grenade shrapnel can and has found a way inside of brain pans... And, zombies would not know to run, so you'll have a lot less issues with over/under throwing a moving target (unless they're ragers)."
And, "Explosive overpressure causes just as much damage to the brain as it does to everything else. Zombies within the kill radius will either die or be rendered completely useless."
There was also, "I believe the shock-wave would actually cause damage. It will cause major damage to the persons bones rendering the zombie easily able to be killed simply by using something like say a spear, plus if they are close enough their brains will be turned to mush simply by the blast radius alone."
Perhaps Max Brooks believes that grenade shrapnel can not generate enough force to penetrate a skull. I admittedly don't know much about grenades, other that what I've seen in the movies, but I'd find it hard to believe that shrapnel from a REAL grenade, even the improvised ones, could be incapable of scrambling a zombies egg. I figure that even when the shrapnel fails to kill a zombie outright, the damage done to flesh and bone would still incapacitate them for long enough that one could either escape or finish it off. Such improvised explosives, although built on a significantly larger scale, will also be used in defense of my BOL, described in greater detail in Fortifying The Castle.
Hand to Hand: I don't like the idea of getting that close to a Zed, but for those occasions when you're out of ammo, or just don't have time to reload, some utility tool that can double as a weapon, or vice versa, will be my choice. I prefer any blunt instrument over a cutting weapon like a machete or the (ugh) Katana, for fear that cutting weapons may get stuck in flesh or bone at the worst possible time, leaving me defenseless just when I needed it most. Besides, I don't have the right training to use a Katana as an unbeatable uber-implement-of-doom like some people think it is anyway.
The most readily available blunt weapon should be a crowbar, but that could also get a little heavy. Better would be a medieval style war hammer (could also be used like an ordinary hammer in a pinch for building, breaking windows or whatever, some models have a spike or claw at the rear that could also be used for prying if required) or a Riflemans Tomahawk from Cold Steel which has a hammerhead on the back (can do all the above plus chop too). Once all has
been
said and done, I figure my best bet may be a Riggers Framing Axe as shown to the left . It has many of the same features seen in a Tomahawk, but it's a few ounces lighter and a few inches shorter (the reduced reach as a weapon will be offset somewhat by the fact that it will be a little less unwieldy if used as a camp tool, and as I wasn't planning to fighting any Zeds hand to hand at all, if I can by any means avoid it, a Riggers Axe is more likely to be used as a camp tool anyway.) The tool has an additional advantage over the tomahawks as well, in that several models come with a full steel handle. I find myself a bit torn here, though: the wooden handles might be easier to replace if it breaks, but steel handles would be much less likely to break to begin with. Pictured above is a Riggers Framing Axe made by Estwing. As mentioned on my Survival Gear page, should I happen to find myself living or working anyplace that doesn't permit daily carrying of weaponry, I would also like to get my hands on the Blackthorn Shillelagh from Cold Steel.
I also own a couple of kukri knives (one of these was hand forged) so I guess I might also bring one of them along as my back up melee weapon, or just for day to day use as a camp knife. Shown here is a generic kukri (the knife in this photo is just a cheap a$$ P.O.S., but I'm using the picture because I've got no pics of the knife I actually own.)
Although hollow handled knives are usually worthless, being cobbled together affairs that are likely to come apart just when you need them most, there are a few exceptions to be considered: Although One-Piece Hollow Handle knives, once available from both Schrade and Chris Reeve Knives, are no longer produced, and neither of them made kukris to begin with, my ideal camp knife would be a custom kukri made with this design. The hollow handled knives, as described in the Reeve link, have the blade and handle milled together from one solid billet of quality steel, thus omitting the weak point traditionally found in hollow handled knives where the two are joined. If such a knife also included a gut hook and saw teeth milled into its back edge, as shown above, along with a hole near the tip as is seen on an M9 bayonet, to be used with a wire cutter sheath, it would kick wholesale a$$.
The M40 Wilderness Survival Website shows a way to upgrade both the sheath and the Kukri itself (starting with any generic Indian-made Ghurka Kukri) to improve on this already perfectly serviceable field knife. M40 has also added a belt-pouch sized survival kit that straps onto the sheath, which is described here. Although this kit would also contain duplicates of many of the items that I should already be carrying elsewhere in my Bug Out Gear, I happen to be a big fan of redundancy; the whole "Don't Put All Your Eggs In One Basket" idea has always made sense to me.
Other Weapons: In case the Z-Poc lasts long enough before civilization can rebuild that all the ammo is gone (some posters on this forum think that this is highly unlikely, if not outright impossible) I could try to acquire a crossbow as a backup weapon, like this one or, better yet, the PSE TAC 10 such as this one pictured below, which is designed to fit on the lower receiver of an AR10 rifle (such as a POF R308) in place of a standard upper receiver assembly.
While I'm sure it's excellent for hunting, I'd be wary of using any compound crossbow in a survival situation, however, as I would fear that this complex system of cams would only end up being another thing that would fail just when it is needed most. Given this, and given also that the PSE website explicitly states that, "only PSE TAC 10 arrows should be used in a TAC 10 crossbow. The use of any other arrow could cause serious injury and will also void the warranty of your PSE TAC 10 crossbow" I think the more common recurve crossbow may be better. The implied danger might just be a marketing scheme to compel their customers to only buy PSE arrows, but we should err on the side of caution (perhaps one of the PSE Tac 10's can be cannibalized for its working mechanism, and the compound bow prod thereafter replaced with a different one from any simpler recurve crossbow). If this crossbow was for some reason unavailable, then perhaps a hunting bow could also do the job.
In any case, trying to get my hands on one of these before the SHTF is probably a better idea, but for now everything else that I've mentioned will assume a higher financial priority (Y'know, all of those silly things like vehicles, weapons and food stockpiles that we love to spend so much of our time talking about).
Actually, the crossbow might be good to have around even if one does have access to regular firearms, because you can silently hunt even the largest of game, at least here in North America where we do not have elephants and rhinos and the like, without drawing attention to yourself with the noise of a rifle shot. Even rifles equipped with suppressors are not all that quiet (unless you used subsonic ammunition, at which point you have likely wasted most of the range advantage of using a rifle in the first place). Besides, any crossbow powerful enough to take down large game is also probably powerful enough to pierce Zombie skulls, so quietly putting down a lone Zed (or lone raider) from a distance might be possible as well.
Back Ups for Scrounging: A pair of Blackhawk Convertibles by Ruger (pretty much last on my firearms-to-buy priority list) have recently caught my attention as great "just in case" guns. As described above, my eventual load-out will hopefully include a .308win rifle, a 12ga shotgun, a .22wmr sidearm/carbine, and a mini-revolver that can be converted take either .22wmr or .22lr rounds. These weapons were chosen precisely so that, in the event that my entire supply of ammunition were exhausted and I had to scavenge to get more, the .308, 12ga and .22 (all of them being VERY common rounds) should hopefully be easy to find. Should this not be the case, however, it might also be a good idea to have a Plan B in mind. While there's not much I can do about backup rifles and shotguns, Convertible Blackhawks instantly give the ability to use 9mm, .357mag/.38spec, .45LC and .45ACP rounds, with 9mm or .45ACP in particular being just about the most common handgun cartridges out there. That's five different rounds out of two guns, aside from what I will be carrying in my own load out, so even if I don't carry any ammo for them, the inclusion of these two pistols, packed neatly in the bottom of my Bug Out Bag, make it far more likely that I will actually get some use out of any mismatched handgun rounds that I find, which might be the only rounds available After the SHTF. You need to reload that thing? Got a plan for that? Should I ever acquire these weapons that I want (or any other firearms for that matter) I will stockpile as much ammo as I am able to get my hands on (insofar as legal status and financial ability permit) and I would also acquire and learn to use any and all equipment and supplies needed to reload that ammunition (again insofar as legal status and finances allow) as many times as it is safe to do so. Though given that the .22mag used in my sidearm and back up pistol is a rimfire round, which cannot be reloaded, a large stockpile of that particular round could be the order of the day. As both the .22LR and the .22mag are relatively cheap, and take up relatively little space (even when gathered in fairly large quantities), such a stockpile wouldn't be too difficult a task to accomplish. Besides, both rounds (especially the .22LR) should have excellent trade value After the SHTF as well.
This of course assumes that I am Bugging In. If I am on the move, I'll just bring along as much of my ammo stockpile as I can, given the limitations of my mode of travel.
Crossbows are invaluable when no other ammunition is available precisely because most of the supplies used for its operation can be manufactured or improvised by the survivor with no need of a modern commercial factory. The bow or crossbow can be reloaded with readily available components, as long as you take care to learn the proper skills in advance. Traditional arrows could be made of wood, with the arrowheads crafted from chipped stone (the old school method) or any sharpened piece of scrap metal (a prison shiv method). The fletchings can also be improvised out of feathers, plastic, leather or a number of other common materials. The wooden arrows might not be strong enough to withstand being fired out of more powerful modern bows or crossbows; for such a weapon, the arrows can be made with the same skills, but with fiberglass rods or aluminum tubing instead of wooden shafts. Both the above materials should be available to be scavenged out of most any hardware store as they would have limited appeal to the 'Panic' buyers (even the collapsible poles from nylon dome tents could work in a pinch, particularly for crossbow bolts which are often shorter than arrows). The makeshift arrows or bolts will most likely not perform as well as the commercially made ones, but that would still be a mile better than poking at the zombies with a stick. o o o o o o o o o o o o look :o)
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