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Anokalarper |
Mall Survival
Oct 6 2011, 10:29 PM EDT
There are a lot of pro's and cons to Mall's.Some pro's are: Food Possible survivors There is more things to fight with from stores (Golf clubs, Bats etc) How they are built usually all escalator or elevator so if you get the escalators blocked your set Cons: All the Glass; at malls All the windows are used for advertising' if your on the other side your being well "advertised" Large amounts of people=Lots of zombies Huge size, So many entry points and exits way to confusing. If Zombies fill up bottom level, How you gunna get ? There are more but I think i just skimmed a lot of the Pro's and Con's. Haters are gunna hate so: hate away love ya! 10 out of 12 found this valuable. Do you? |
Sharpie41 |
1. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 6 2011, 11:04 PM EDT
My favorite mall has a gun store in it..............but it also has a lot of entrances, so less than ideal, if I was caught in the mall I would barricade myself in Bass Pro, then reinforce barricades...but that still wouldn't hold for long, so GTFO quickly
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tvercetti1 |
2. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 6 2011, 11:21 PM EDT
Malls should probably be used as a last resort. However, if one were FORCED to resort to a mall or shopping center, you best come prepared. Let me state for the record that I hope no one is forced to resort to such a facility but when it comes to life and death, sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures.Firstly. If the malls were never evacuated (not getting into the reasons why they were NOT right here) then you have to be able to deal with this. Find alternate shelter if at all possible. If not, find a corner/area of the mall that offers reasonable fortifications inside, such as a store with shelves, furniture and the like (for barricading) but also make sure to have at least TWO ways to escape. Preferrably 3 or MORE escape routes. Suggestions are: windows, doors (obvious but make sure that you can get out and they can't get in easily) vents or ducts, roof access (risky since some roofs are not capable of supporting your weight.) Those who are unfamiliar with building construction or who have not passed SWAT training or do not know how to do this should look for the following if you are FORCED to use a roof escape: Support beams. You should ALWAYS make the assumption that the steel supports are the ONLY objects capable of supporting your weight. Airduct/ventilation access or maintenance access points. Make sure to bring something that can be used for removing or bypassing a lock mechanism as one will likely be present to prevent unauthorized access. Overhead track line. Used in some locations for moving heavy objects. Not likely to find one in a mall but you never know. I did find one such system left over from construction that they never removed (no idea why but it's there). Hooks. You may be able to grab onto hooks so learn how to throw a rope or use a rapelling hook if you can. 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
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tvercetti1 |
3. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 6 2011, 11:38 PM EDT
As a last resort.Pipes. These may be hot enough to brand you, may be extremely cold and cause loss of fingers, arms, etc. They may not be strong enough to support you. There may be a wire that is grounded by the pipe (meaning the pipe is electrically charged) which may result in death by electrocution or serious injury. Wires. I definitely would NOT grab onto these. BAD IDEA. That said, as long as you have ways to get out of the store, you should be okay for the most part as long as you have food, drink, weapons, ways to start fire and first aid. If it turns out like it did in "Dawn Of The Dead" (2004 remake) where the mall is almost completely empty (except for a few stragglers and survivors) then you should secure the place and use doors and furniture to reinforce the weakspots. Even a mall can be fortified into a respectable holdout if its done well. Care of course has to be used when choosing objects but almost anything can be used. Even the things that CANNOT be used for barricading can be used to aid in a "wake up alarm" system. Examples are things like plates and pottery. The eaiser they break, the more noise they make, the better. If unbreakable, use an aluminum garbage can or a garbage can that is large so as to make tons of noise and wake you/fellow survivors incase of a breach. Of course it goes without saying that you arm yourself and keep weapons handy. Dont make the mistake Jake Weber did in the movie of grabbing a croquet mallet like he did on the movie. Lucky for him he broke it and succeeded in using what was left of it as a stabbing weapon. Dont do this, especially if you started out with a crowbar (remember? he set it down just before he picked up the croquet mallet in the sports shop). Speaking of crowbars, make sure you have one. Preferrably a 3 footer but a 2 footer or even a smaller one is still better than nothing at all. Be careful when locking up. 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
renet76 |
4. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 7 2011, 12:09 AM EDT
When i think of malls for survival i cant help think the followingThink how busy it is the day before Xmas Think the same sized crowed panicking to buy items due to a looming disaster I don't know what would be worse those panicking people climbing over each other to get the last tin of beans or the mindless undead To be truthful the malls that are nearest me i would not have a chance to enter as you could almost guaranty it would all ready be taken over by a street gang or a bikie gang Even in these quite times i am sure their are more gang members there some times then shoppers. The closest mall to me about 30 minutes away permanently has police stationed there patrolling the store and car park due to the ongoing problems with violence car thefts and thievery from the stores they just load up shopping carts with food and what ever and walkout or the other one is they wait till you put your grocery in the car then walk up and at knife/gun point demand your keys and drive away I guess if you could safely make it in through the suburbs into the inner city you might find a mall to take over but you have to cross what would pretty much be no mans land with lots of choke points along the way 4 out of 4 found this valuable. Do you? |
CDSm101-800s |
5. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 7 2011, 9:31 AM EDT
Pretty dicey picking a mall. A lot of other ppls will get the same idea, if not during the intial outbreak, then certainly after when they need supplies.An ideal one would have a grocery store at one end, and a gunstore at the other. However, both are going to attract the scared sheeple and the inevitable following shambling hordes. Might as well send up flares or start a beacon fire.. Most ppls do not realize that a grocery store has a ton of stuff for sale that is frozen. That is all good until the power goes out. Then you sitting on top of a huge pile of rotting meat, vegeatbles and milk, etc. The stench is going to be enormous, and the flys huge too. Good way to get sick as well.. Also, if they are locked up during the outbreak, your going to have to find a way in that does not permamently destroy the door or window your getting in by. Your gonna have to secure it behind you. Any large mall is going to be hard to sweep for any stray zombies if your alone. Either way, better scope the place out, and plan your actions through to it's logical conclusion before you simply head to the mall once the zombies start munching on ppls. I imagine with enough ppls and prior planning you may be able to pull it off.. 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
oldannyboy37 |
6. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 7 2011, 12:32 PM EDT
Meh, Malls are for Hollywood Survivalist and videogames (Dead Rising FTW). Here are my Pros and Cons. Pros. You don't have to pay $60 for that over priced A&F T shirt that all the girls are going crazy for. Until the food spoils from the power going out there might be an abundance of junk food to stock up on (Pro for your taste buds, con for your heart). Cons. It's in the middle of an urban environment, which is the center of panic in most any disaster. It's nearly impossible to completely fortify, and you'd need materials not found in the mall to secure it completely. There's a lack of practical supplies, some of the sporting goods stuff might be usable but there's a reason I don't go to the mall to buy my SHTF stuff.....and it isn't because of prices. There's many more cons, but I'll be here all day if I list them all. 6 out of 6 found this valuable. Do you? |
Oakspar77777 |
7. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 7 2011, 4:46 PM EDT
Most malls these days are just clothes and suck stores. You might still have a Sears store - or at a really cool mall a Bass Pro Shop. Of course, there is one case where this might make sense. If, during the panic, the massive gun section at the mall sporting goods store is overrun and becomes a bloodbath, and the Zed work the crowd, there might still be a good number of firearms underneath a hearty crowd of shambling flesh. Given time, an elevated position, and sufficient ammo, one could potentially increase the number of firearms within a group by a good number. 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
Ulysees73 |
8. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 7 2011, 5:13 PM EDT
It is likely that a zed apocalypse wouldn't start in your town. This means that you should have at least a little time to think of where to go. A mall is on the bottom of my places to go for the following reasons:1. Malls are almost always in highly populated areas where zed numbers will be huge. 2. Just because you are in a mall and tell people you are in charge, doesn't mean that they will listen. 3. Malls, or the one by me anyways, only have clothing stores, a video game store, and a food court, which has very little long term value imo. If, however, you were caught inside of a mall when the shtf, the many entrances and exits will allow you to get out and get to your bol. 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
badderthanbond |
9. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 7 2011, 6:16 PM EDT
The only time I *might* stick around a mall would be if I was there when the outbreak happened. The number of entrances and exits is irrelevant for getting out; the parking lot would look like a sold-out concert venue. One would be better off hiding inside than sitting still in a parking lot defenseless for hours.
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CDSm101-800s |
10. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 7 2011, 6:45 PM EDT
"The only time I *might* stick around a mall would be if I was there when the outbreak happened. The number of entrances and exits is irrelevant for getting out; the parking lot would look like a sold-out concert venue. One would be better off hiding inside than sitting still in a parking lot defenseless for hours."Agreed. 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
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tvercetti1 |
11. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 7 2011, 7:47 PM EDT
"The only time I *might* stick around a mall would be if I was there when the outbreak happened. The number of entrances and exits is irrelevant for getting out; the parking lot would look like a sold-out concert venue. One would be better off hiding inside than sitting still in a parking lot defenseless for hours."^^^ Exactly Right ^^^ If I happened to be there at the time all hell broke loose (unlikely that wouldn't be at least SOME warning and some effort to tell the general public to stay at home when things get significantly ugly (by which I mean just before a full-blown outbreak but right before one happens) and people start to get seriously worried) but yes it would look somewhat like a sold-out concert or something along those lines. Simply put, better to stay inside. I am lucky though since although my mall might not have a gun store inside of it with automatic weapons piled to the ceiling, I do know I would have plenty of resources to use if I was forced to holdout inside the mall. I know there are furniture stores which I can break some furniture (if I want to make materials with which to board up or reinforce weakspots) and then use that. I know the food courts offer a TEMPORARY resource which is a ****SHORT TERM ONLY**** resource. Foods that are in cans are available though and there is also a grocery store right across from the mall (within easy running distance too lucky me) and also a library nearby the mall for some more furniture (I wont need any though, the mall has more than enough) but mainly for books and resources of that sort if I need them. Loads of canned goods and dry-storage (meaning no freezing or refrigeration needed) type of items that can be used to satisfy the stomach. @ Ulysees73 I totally agree that the odds of Z-Day starting right outside your front door are slim but.... just to humor the idea... THAT WOULD SUCK!!!! 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Ulysees73 |
12. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 7 2011, 7:56 PM EDT
At first i didn't think about the parking lot situation, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to run or jog out of the situation. While i certainly wouldn't want to just sit in my car waiting for the cluster f*** that is the traffic jam, I don't think i would just be able to sit inside of a small room somewhere in the mall while i hear death and destruction just on the other side of the door.
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KoRnZombie |
13. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 7 2011, 8:53 PM EDT
I personally don't like the idea of hanging around in a mall when z-day comes, but I DO have a group of people that live within minutes of the mall in my town prepared to show up there. This isn't MY group, it's a friend of mine's, and I don't know how well they would do there. This mall has plenty of sports stores and stores that sell things like knives and everything, and I think the security there has a gun safe (doesn't make me feel safe when I'm there), but other than that and food, there's nothing too good there. I'm new here and I was wondering if z-day happened soon I should go with this group to the mall, or just stay at home with my parents and sister.
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tvercetti1 |
14. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 7 2011, 9:15 PM EDT
"I personally don't like the idea of hanging around in a mall when z-day comes, but I DO have a group of people that live within minutes of the mall in my town prepared to show up there. This isn't MY group, it's a friend of mine's, and I don't know how well they would do there. This mall has plenty of sports stores and stores that sell things like knives and everything, and I think the security there has a gun safe (doesn't make me feel safe when I'm there), but other than that and food, there's nothing too good there. I'm new here and I was wondering if z-day happened soon I should go with this group to the mall, or just stay at home with my parents and sister. "Well it depends on how things go down. If you get forced to leave your house (regardless of what reason) then going to the mall and trying to find your friends would likely be your best bet unless they have given you alternate instructions or asked you to meet them some place else. Always good to have a bunch of different places selected. I would say at least 3 or 4 locations where everyone could meet up in a specific order. So for example if ERV Alpha was compromised or inaccessible for whatever reason, everyone would know automatically that they should then proceed to ERV-Bravo. If Bravo is a bad choice, Charlie. From there you work your way down the list of locations or make arrangements over radios or something to meet up with the rest of your section. Do you find this valuable? |
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badderthanbond |
15. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 7 2011, 9:22 PM EDT
Korn, stay with your family; the mall will get you killed in a panic. And Ulysses, it may be tough to stay put, and I am by no means saying that the mall is suitable long-term, but you would likely get killed trying to jog home too soon. You'd be better hiding until it quieted down, THEN making a run for it...
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KoRnZombie |
16. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 8 2011, 10:36 AM EDT
I would, but knowing my family they'd be some of the first zombies because they don't think about things like that. The mall also has a sporting goods store next to it that has a hidden room where they keep the guns. Because the room's hidden, they never lock up the guns (I know, I've been there several times when the employees weren't paying attention) or the ammo. They have probably about 25,000 - 50,000 rounds for each weapon they have there. There's about 15 Remington bolt-action rifles, 5-10 semi automatic rifles, and a few 12-guage shotguns. Not trying to argue, just saying that my family's not well prepared. All we have is about a week's worth of MREs, a month or two of water, a Glock and about 10 rounds for it. I hate the idea of going to the mall during The Panic, but I think we would spend some time somewhere else before we headed there anyway. I don't know, it's just a thought, but I don't like either idea much. Unfortunately, being a teenager has left me unable to have any real surviavl plans because I don't have money for supplies or enough time away from the house to actually set up a plan with my survivalist friends. The ONLY plan I have is what to do if Z-Day starts in my neighborhood and my family's infected, I have a few different plans for each room of the house if that should happen.
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badderthanbond |
17. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 8 2011, 10:44 AM EDT
I don't know how big your town is. but you have to also think about how many other people are going to be going after those guns. And they probably already have guns to take them with. So laying low might be your best bet.
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Ulysees73 |
18. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 8 2011, 11:08 AM EDT
Bond, your very persuasive. I've realized that if you try to leave. whether on foot or by vehicle, in the middle of the panic, things will probably end badly. you should instead, as you've said, lay low until things calm down.You could occupy yourself by running your plan of action through you're head and thinking of contingencies in case something goes wrong. That's not to say that ideally you shouldn't have had this thought of already,but it gives you something to do. 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
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badderthanbond |
19. RE: Mall Survival
Oct 8 2011, 11:31 AM EDT
Great idea! Mentally running through things before you do them is an excellent idea, and a good way to spend time that might otherwise be wasted. Nice point, Ulysses!
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