Tactical Tuesday:Shotgun

If you want something to go bye bye a shotgun pointed at it provides enough of persuasion for the living and enough of a kick for the living dead.

So allow me to introduce

Model Remington 870 Express

REMINGTON 870

Now I've reviewed the automatic shotgun (recently used in delicious capacity in the film The Expendables) so I figured that selecting my favorite pump-action shotgun would satisfy my OCD if not the OCD of my readers. Or whatever.

Anyway ON TO THE GUN!

The Remington 870 and all its variants is one of the best-selling shotguns in the world. Used by innumerable foreign (the Police in Luxembourg use this weapon...seriously) law enforcement, government and private agencies the weapon has also found a niche in the home defense  and hunting market. 

Now why do I like this weapon, as I am such an authority on weapons what with my boobs and menstruation-ness?

I will tell you.



Notice the pistol grips on the top two models and one with a collapsible stock

1) OPTIONS

2) EFFICIENCY

3) RELIABILITY

1) Options

It is almost ridiculous how many different options there are for this weapon. Ridiculously AWESOME! You can tailor the color: black, shiny, matte, camo-ed out for forested, desert or urban environments. Stock materials include: synthetic, wood, nickel-plated to name a few. You can even get a stock that has a pistol-grip for easier handling. You can get it with switchable barrel lengths, stocks that hold extra shot, barrels that are longer or shorter, rifled (for deer slugs...I love deer slugs) or not rifled--you can even get different kinds of barrel endings called chokes that controls the spread of the shot as it leaves the weapon. You can get a model with a rail on top so you can slap on gadgets like sights, telescopic lenses, lights, infrared scopes.  Tee hee.

Extremely modified Rem 870.....so much modification....*drools*

2) Efficiency
I like the pump action on a shotgun because the act of reloading seems more fluid than reloading a lever-action shotgun and is certainly more efficient that the manual reloading of a break-action shotgun.  Watching someone speed reload a pump action (that is holding the shells in their hands and sliding a shell into the weapon after they are out of shells...video) is so fluid and pretty that it makes me worship the armed forces. On top of that loading the weapon (which you can do from the bottom of the weapon or in through the ejection port on the side) is efficient and can be suited to the situation. That on top of the fact that every store from Wal-Mart to Dollar General carries some kind of shot gun shells. And to be honest with you, you can make your own shotgun shells...which I would definitely not condone to anyone. Because that's dangerous. *ahem* anyway.

  

 3) Reliability

Notice the flashlight mount

Time and again I prattle on about how the reliability of a weapon is paramount to selecting a weapon. And here I go again. The Remington 870 has some of the best ratings for any weapon--not just shotguns--in the order of reliability that I have ever seen. I think it boils down to the design of the weapon, which involves less moving parts than lever-action or semi-automatic shotguns. I've read accounts of this weapon being dropped in the mud and still firing.  Very low rates of jamming and even lower rates of misfires--and as far as I've read most of these would have been prevented with proper gun maintenance.

 The Remington catalog reads like a who's who of action movies and Cops reruns. Anyone who would ever need to use a shotgun could definitely find an 870 that could be pimped out to their liking. In a zombie context, options mean you can best find a weapon that suits the environment in which you'll be fighting for survival. You can get as complicated or as simple of weapon as you need to kill the legions of undead whether they be walking ghouls hungering for flesh or the simple sparkly vampire slut chasing after your significant other.

Why else do I like this weapon?  

 

IT'S CHEAP! You can buy a basic model for under 400$, which means that furthering your zombie fortifications won't be all held up in the purchase of your weapon.



Arnold says buy this weapon....or else....



Tactical Tuesday: Rifle-iscious

I am a chicken. Let me rephrase that, so as to not confuse you. I am not afraid of snakes. I am not afraid of thunderstorms or car accidents. I don't like the dark, but that's mostly because of my clumsy nature and a tendency to find errant footstools with my shins. I will clean up most bodily fluids (except poop. I don't like poop). But I do however have a healthy respect for my body and have a reasonable desire to keep in the same condition it is currently. I will not bungee jump. I will not sky dive. I will not mountain climb. I will not base jump. I will not climb up a really high tree. I will not be a race car driver. I will not ride on a dirt bike. Why?

BECAUSE I DON'T WANNA DIE!!!!

Don't. Mess. With. Me.

Okay. That being said, I really like being the sniper in Resident Evil 5. All I need is a sniper rifle, a high position where undead people can't get me and WHAMO I am a weapon of mass destruction.

The reason I mention my chicken-ness is that I am not really one to let a zombie get really close to me before I kill it. I plan on killing it really far away.

So today instead of telling you which is the best sniper rifle---which I could never do as the only big scary gun that I've ever held in my hands in my dad's 12 gauge shot gun (btw, don' break into my house, you'll get to meet that big scary gun *grin*)---I have compiled a list of what you would look for in selecting a regular (and feasibly more obtainable) bolt-action rifle for yourself. You can superglue a big fat scope on top and make yourself feel scary if so you chose. I know I will. So why not a sniper rifle and why did I go into a huge rant about all that?

Who knows? It's late and I'm tired.

I digress.

That's a rifle. In case you were wondering.

First of all: What is a rifle? A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder that has a barrel with spiral grooves running down the inside. These grooves caused the projectile to spin when fired (like a properly hurled football--yes I made a sport metaphor and yes it will probably never happen again) thus making the projectile much more accurate.

There are several different types of rifles. I personally prefer bolt-actions for one reason. It's what I call the "DON'T PANIC" Factor. Ever panic in a video game (or real life who knows) and hold down that trigger and wow.....all my bullets are gone.....lame.

Well a bolt action rifle is an instant remedy to this problem because it requires the shooter to physically make an action to load a new round to be fired, thus conserving ammunition. Make them count boys, make them count.

Anyway.

As far as selecting a rifle for yourself there are a few factors to consider. They are as follows (and in no particular order):

1. Accuracy
2. Aesthetics
3. Caliber
4. Reliability
5. Functionality

I like to hit this.

1. Accuracy. When fighting legions of the undead it is exceedingly important that the rifle you are using shoots in the general direction that you point it (that may or may not be the guns fault, but I digress). A poorly designed or constructed weapon that fires inaccurately does the shooter very good when hungry ghouls are limping towards you.
2. Aesthetics. I call this category Aesthetics but it should ergonomics. Does the weapon feel good in your hands? Can you handle it comfortably?  You don't want to be 4'10'' holding a rifle that's almost as long as you are tall. Or use a weapon that is so heavy you can't keep it up and pointed for long periods of time. You also don't want a gun that is neon orange when you're hiding in Maine during Christmas. Just saying.
3. Caliber. This is very important. The size of the bullet often times is the difference between life and death. If you fire a round at a ghoul and the thing either goes right through soft tissue without doing so much as making the thing take a step back you may need to consider changing your weapon choice. Conversely, you can't pick a rare round not easily found in a local gun shop or Wal-Mart or whatever. You also can't pick the biggest bullet you can find because they tend to be very noisy and noise=attention. Attention is bad.
4. Reliability. This goes hand in hand with Accuracy. If you have weapon that jams all the time or because it jams all the time you have to clean it constantly, or misfires....those could be when you die. Don't get a cheaply made craptastic rifle.
5. Functionality. Can you take the gun apart quickly, quietly and efficiently? Does it require tools or can you just take it apart with buttons or slides on the weapon? Is there a section in the stock to hold ammunition? How many bullets does it hold when loaded? All factors that should affect your choice of weapon.

Now I won't go into the differences between things like bolt-actions and all those goodies, since most likely you'll have to grab what you can get (unless you're a boy scout in which case I'll be at your house). All I will say is that I am totally going to go after:

Winchester Model 70

The Ultimate Shadow....on the wall....

I really, really like this weapon. Isn't it pretty?

OK allow me to explain myself.
The weapon is wonderfully accurate. You point at something you want to shoot and the bullet goes there. And the weapon comes in dozens of styles, colors, sizes and *fan fare* you can chose from at least half a dozen different chambering options. Now the particular model I have learned to love (mainly because it's the grandchild of the rifle my granddaddy shot varmints with) is the Model 70 Ultimate Shadow. Its all smexy and black and compositey. Tee hee. You can chose from several different rounds though I prefer the .338 Winchester Magnum. They make things go splat (they are meant for big game. zombies are big game. shut up).

Good luck my friends. And don't shoot me on accident. or yourselves.

Tactical Tuesday #10: AA-12.

Hello and welcome to Tactical Tuesday
I am Katetheflake, your host for this blog posting.

Readers, AA-12. AA-12, these are my readers.
The topic is zombie killing: discuss.

The AA-12:its so pretty.....

I became enamored with this beautiful piece of engineering upon my recent viewing of the film The Expendables (2010).

The weapon is a selective fire shot-gun firing 300 rounds a minute--that means you can chose between pulling a trigger over and over again without pumping to make something dead and merely holding down your finger down until whatever you are aiming at stops moving due to its jellification.

The weapon fires 3 types of 12 gauge rounds: slug, buckshot and frag-12 rounds. *insane cackle*

FRAG-12 High Explosive Round---how I love thee....

12 gauge buckshot and 12 gauge slug

On top of that the buckshot rounds fired come in different types including 00 buck shot and #4 bird shot. Slugs include rubber rounds ("less-than-lethal"--not "non-lethal"---"less-than-lethal"...tee hee) and 12 gauge lead slugs (o.m.g. those are like flying minuture lead fists---they leave HUGE HOLES). They can also fire flares, High Explosive (HE), High Explosive Armor Piercing (HEAP) and these High Explosive Air-Burst (HEAB) doohickeys that can fired mid-air with muliple explosions *excited giggle*

AA-12s mounted on a HAMMER

Okay. So this weapon is so utterly ridiculous that the image of me using it against hordes of the undead is completely implasable.

I mean come on. They mount these guns on the HAMMER unmanned defense system---like SKYNET or something!

BUT ITS SO PRETTY!

AND LOOK AT THE SPLATTER PATTERNS!

This is what happens when one fires a 12 gauge shotgun slug into balistic gel. Ain't it cool?

The gun is obviously extremely useful in the advent of a zombie apocalypse, especially if one were to obtain the incendiary rounds (brains+tiny bombs=awesome brain fireworks). Also the broad breech (muzzle thing) and that much of the weapon is made of stainless steel would make the weapon one that would rarely jam and need little cleaning (the manual says once every 10000 firings).

All-in-all fairly unrealistic but nonetheless awesome weapon to have in your arsenal. YUP!



The first commenter who lives by me gets a hug and some cookies.
Let the battle begin!

Tactical Tuesday: Pistols

It's Tactical Tuesday!
Today's subject is pistols, most specifically the Glock series.

Glock 19

Why Glock? Well here's my reasoning: because it's not a piece of crap. Because they're affordable but not cheaply made; easy to hold, shoot and keep clean. The ammunition is easy to find, as are the cleaning kits and spare parts since pretty much every gun shop in America has some in stock due to their prevalence in the home defense market. Plus, they're scary looking--which doesn't really matter to a zombie, but they do scare the equally dangerous living ghoul (that guy trying to steal your cache of bottled water for example).

Now there has been some dispute concerning which caliber, the 9mm or .45 ACP and thus which model of Glock (the 19 or the 21 respectively) would be best. But first let me explain my thought process.

I prefer carrying things in my pockets because when my hands hang down and I happen to have pockets or a coat with pockets, it's easier for me to extract whatever it is I need to extract: in this instance a firearm.

This is easier with a gun that fits the description gun manufacturer uses as "compact" without going as far as "subcompact" which is even smaller.

Glock 21

That leads me to the choice between Glock 19 or Glock 21 (left) both of which are compact versions of the Glock 17 and Glock 20 respectively. The Glock 19 chambers the 9mm round and the Glock 21 the .45 ACP. Both calibers have their pros and cons.

The 9mm is definitely suitable for someone with little to no gun experience because you can fire them all day without really getting tired from the recoil. It also provides a smaller muzzle fire because of its lower powder charge (smaller bullet, smaller amount of power) and thus would be quieter (lessening the chances of ghouls hearing you). These bullets also hurt a great deal when shot into a living target because of their prodigious ability to penetrate.

Conversely, the .45 ACP being a larger munition is largely capable of making an undead cranium go bye bye, it also has immense stopping power where living targets are concerned. These cartridges also tend to be quite loud (ghouls have mysteriously good hearing) and the recoil from them may require a decent amount of practice before accuracy can be expected.

.45 ACP is on the left, 9mm on the right

So which to chose?

Well if you bent my arm behind my back I would probably chose the Glock 19 if only because I'm lazy and a cheap-o and don't want to spend 30 cents on each .45 bullet when I can spend .22 cents on each 9 mm bullet. That and realistically the 9mm is easier to find and more plentiful and is more easily procured (some states restrict how many bullets of .45 you can purchase at a time) and is a more practical gun. However, practicality aside I would prefer the stopping power of the .45 in my hand if in a pinch, if only because apparently it causes a pretty astounding ballistics pattern upon impact. (wink)

Happy Surviving!

Tactical Tuesday: Assault Rifle

It's Tactical Tuesday!

Today's topic is......Assault Rifle!

Okay. Let's be honest with ourselves....I am female (that me!)

My Y chromosomal deficit automatically means I don't know as much as one should about ballistic weapons. But never fear my future as a librarian relies on my ability to research. So I have spent a number of hours doing the necessary workload to select the best assault rifle I could for slaughtering legions of the undead.

Now I know what you're thinking....(because its the same thing I think whenever I hear gun-people talking) "all rifles are 'assault' rifles. What else do you use a rifle for? What makes a rifle an 'assault rifle'?"

An Assault Rifle must have four characteristics
1. A buttstock (that thing that goes into your shoulder)
2. Selective fire (semi-auto, automatic etc)

3. Cartridge stronger than pistol/handgun and smaller than a battle rifle

4. Magazine that detaches

Cross referencing these characteristics with my own Zombie Apocalypse requirements I have decided to spotlight the.......

FN SCAR-L MK-16 or MK-16S (the latter is the civilian-legal version, I love you America)

Why I chose it:

1) Cartridge This weapon uses the 5.56X45mm NATO round, a standard cartridge for NATO countries meaning there are a lot of guns that use them and a lot of these cartridges laying around, a very important characteristic to remember when contemplating a zombie apocalypse. It's important to remember that once the world comes crashing down around our ears they will probably stop making bullets after a while, so it'll be important to not have a weapon that's picky. Also, the 5.56X45mm round has a tendency to fragment upon impact, extremely useful when shooting an undead creature in the skull in order to explode its evil infected gray matter. (This also is useful in stopping very live and uninfected hostiles trying to steal from and/or murder you. The bullets has considerable stopping power in piercing soft tissues, piercing 15mm into flesh. Think Mad Max meets SOCOM.) These cartridges are also easy to buy on the Internet or locally (I live in the South, I checked my local gun shop and of course they sell these cartridges*rolls eyes*).

2.Accuracy and Reliability This weapon is exceptionally accurate. Every review I've read (thank you again America for your awesomely loose gun restrictions) depicts this weapon as accurate to a fault. The weapon also has a low rate of failure: feeding, firing, extracting and ejecting reviews all are positive and have very few complaints.

3.Construction
The weapon is very modifiable and can be made to suit each user's individual needs.The weapon has a Picatinny Rail (pic above right)for an optical sight and other rails suitable for all kinds of goodies like lasers, lights, bipods etc---all extremely useful when living under the law of the gun in a post-apocalyptic atmosphere (imagine shooting zombies from 500 meters with a nice scope teehee--I always liked being a Sniper in Resident Evil 5). The buttstock is adjustable (I have short arms) and also folds for easy transport (or fighting your way through an undead mob in a confined space). The buttons and controls on the weapon are all conveniently placed and easily located (makes it easy to pick up and use, if you need to hand the weapon off to a less experienced user).  The weapon uses the same STANAG magazine that the M16 uses (among the roughly 30 other weapons that use this magazine style); this means it will be easier to accumulate ammunition as the weapon is not picky. No body likes a picky weapon.
4.Constructed in United States While I have no problem with buying foreign products when the world hasn't ended, what weapon I use while fighting through throngs of flesh-eating ghouls generally has something to do with where I get it. The SCAR is manufactured in Columbia, South Carolina which is very close to my home town. In the event of the dead rising it would be fairly reasonable to get to the plant and procure one of these weapons, if I so chose.
5. Light Weight The weapon is made from durable aluminum and polymer and weighs around 7 pounds (roughly the weight of one of those boxes of printer paper). This means that when you're schlepping it around your arms won't get tired from holding your weapon up for long periods and you can easy carry more ammunition with you as the added weight won't be taken up by your weapon. A gun without bullets is pretty useless against legions of the undead, at least en masse.

6.User friendly The civilian weapon is of ambidextrous design (lovely for all those left-handed zombie survivors out there) right down to the magazine release. It also has a very effective muzzle brake system (left) that cuts down on the recoil (which would knock my booty right on the ground). The low-recoil rate also cuts down on the shoulder fatigue generally associate with constant firing (imagine a brick being shoved into your shoulder over and over again. Ouch). Again, the design is made to be as convenient and idiot-proof as possible. All the buttons and bars are in places where almost anyone could figure out how to shoot it.

If and when the Apocalypse comes I would highly suggest this weapon become a part of your personal arsenal. If you want to run out and buy one now they run around 3000$ (they come with one 20 round magazine and a user's manual).
YAY!