Club, Maces, Etc. and Zombies

[zombiebadger]

Living in the UK, I have no access to guns, and have no firearm experience.

I was thinking that a baseball bat or other battering instrument would make a decent weapon, as it never runs out of ammo, is light, and easy to obtain in the pre-zombie world.

You could break a zombie's jaw with a bat and render it nearly harmless, or smash it's kneecaps, rotting flesh would make the job even easier.

My only worry is that the bat may splinter and break, what do you all think?

[Subgenius]

Both wooden and aluminium baseball bats have advantages and disadvantages. That is the main reason that I have a set of eight aluminium baseball bats. Baseball catcher's shin guards can also help guard against shin-biting zombies. Essentially, aluminium baseball bats do not break (compared to wooden). They do break, but, as you read below, you can see that aluminium baseball bats are much stronger and more resistent.

Physics and Acoustics of Baseball and Softball Bats
http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/bats.html

Why Aluminum Bats Can Perform Better than Wood Bats
http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/b.../alumwood.html

Aluminum bats can be swung faster
Aluminum bats have the "trampoline effect"
Aluminum bats have wider sweet spots
Aluminum bats don't break

"Wood bats, especially the thin handled ash bats used by a majority of today's players, have a tendency to break upon impact with a ball near the middle of the bat. In almost every professional game one or more players breaks a bat on an inside pitch. One memorable example happened during 2000 World Series between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets. Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens delivered an inside pitch to Mets catcher Mike Piazza. Piazza's bat broke and the barrel portion bounced out towards Clemens on the mound. Clemens picked up the broken bat and threw it towards Piazza as he ran towards first. There was already some bad feelings between the two players because Clemens had hit Piazza with an inside pitch the previous year, and the broken bat incident only increased the animosity between the two players. The point I want to make, however, is that Piazza's bat broke. While there are exceptions (Hall of Famer Joe Sewell supposedly used only one bat during his entire 14 year career) professional players typically go through several dozen bats each during a typical baseball season.[11] Similarly, college teams which used wood bats often broke more than two dozen during a season. Because of shortages of quality wood, and the higher cost of good quality bats, most college teams completely switched over to aluminum bats during the 1980's. Most college teams can get by with 12 aluminum bats per season, as opposed to more than 5 dozen wood bats per season.[12]

Aluminum is much stronger than ash wood, and the handle of an aluminum bat is a thin cylindrical tube with reasonably thick walls (thicker than the barrel portion). As such, the bat handle is very strong and will not break. The barrel, where the walls are thinner, may dent - or even crack if the walls are too thin, the but bat will not break. New alloys and treatment processes (cryogenic treatment) even improve the strength of the aluminum further. It is not, however, impossible for aluminum bats to break - but usually when they do it is not the handle but the barrel that breaks. While watching ESPN Sports Center one night towards the end of May 2003, I saw a clip from a college game in which a metal bat shattered leaving the batter holding the handle and half the barrel while the other half of the barrel flew out and landed next to the shortstop. Apparently a player in the 2003 Women's College Softball World Series also broke an aluminum bat. So, it can happen.

Many people have argured that the fact that aluminum bats don't break has a noticeable impact on the game of baseball. Because college players use aluminum bats, they can hit inside pitches for base hits. As a result, fewer and fewer younger professional pitchers throw inside pitches than used to be the norm in years past. They learn while playing in highschool and college that inside pitches get hit for runs. Likewise hitters often find it to be considerably difficult to make the change from aluminum to wood, especially when dealing with inside pitches."

[Victor Clark]

Wow, that's a lot of nice baseball bat info! It makes me feel a lot more happier that I have an aluminum softball bat in the backseat of my car (along with 2 hatchets in the trunk ).

[DarthJoe8]

I think a crowbar would be better than a bat for a number of reasons. It's just as easy to swing, maybe easier on the account that its shorter than a bat. You can use it to spear a zombie in the head when you don't have room for a swing. In close quarters this could be a real advantage. Another thing about a crowbar besides using it as a weapon is that you can use it as a tool. Jimmying open a door or window. You just can't do that with a bat.

[Countbad]

I have this iron rod that is the perfect zombie dispatching instrument. Its used for breaking up hard soil and concrete. Its 4 feet long with one end coming to a point and the other a wedge. Its a little on the heavy side but is still completely manageable as a weapon. One full swing from this puppy will surely shatter a skull, or you could use one of the ends to deliver the coup-de-grace.

[MobileDeceased]

I think you people are forgetting that one key issue, it wont matter what weapon you use as long as you kill it again. whether it is a brick on the ground or an old iron pipe. Now what you guys have to think about is armor, leather is the best because of durability and mobility.

[DarthJoe8]

Originally Posted by MobileDeceased

I think you people are forgetting that one key issue, it wont matter what weapon you use as long as you kill it again. whether it is a brick on the ground or an old iron pipe. Now what you guys have to think about is armor, leather is the best because of durability and mobility.

The riot gear armor that they wear in the Walking Dead comic is the way to go. Leather is a good choice, it should protect against bites and is light weight enough to not affect movement to much.

Watch that neck area and hands. So many movies show the humans punching zombies in the mouth area. Not good, one little nick and your a goner, at least wear gloves. Also watch the blood splatter ala 28 days later.

I've always wondered why in DotD 04 that they didn't try to armor up in the sporting goods store.

[blaje]

If I was going to use a blunt weapon, a baseball bat would be my first choice, but even if you don't have acess to firearms there are still other options.
My first choice of weapon beyond firearms would be a a gerber (40/40 carbon steel) bush trimmer (not just a clever pun!)
my friend owns one and we have tested it on honey suckle, bushes, and trees. its more effective than an ax and less cumbersome.


the link below has more info.
I highly recomend one for offing zombie heads and limbs
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/pr...ge.asp?mi=3839

[Boozbie]

Definetly wear a leather biker jacket! a idea that i had is to also get some heavy metal gauntlets. Not the type with huge spikes but with small studs or covered in one piece of bendable sheet metal. no zombie is biting through that your most likely to get bit on your hands and forearms and ankles so id also get a pair of snake chaps to cover your boots and shins and a pair of slash resistant kevlar gloves.

I don't know about a baseball bat personally (Is baseball popular england i never even knew you all played it) against people its not bad but it never was designed for combat with the undead and it will take a few strikes to finish a zombie for sure.

The crowbar is good but it its still just basically a iron bar. Honestly it is not that easy to pry stuff open with a crowbar. To get a door open with a crowbar your going to need to bend the frame and that takes some force. Which leads me to what i would use....

A Splitting maul! Get the the lightest splitting maul you can find especially one with a plastic handle. One good shot would completely cave in a skull and it also doubles as a sledgehammer. which is great for opening doors. Swat teams and the like use them all the time for breeching doors.

[BarnabusBlackoak]

a crowbar would not make a good weapon for one reason, its weight. Go find a crowbar, pick it up. Now imagine your'e surrounded and start swinging. You will be exhausted after only a dozen or so swings. A bat, not nearly as heavy, will not tire you out as fast.

[DarthJoe8]

Originally Posted by BarnabusBlackoak

a crowbar would not make a good weapon for one reason, its weight. Go find a crowbar, pick it up. Now imagine your'e surrounded and start swinging. You will be exhausted after only a dozen or so swings. A bat, not nearly as heavy, will not tire you out as fast.

Your not supposed to get into a long drag out fight with a horde of zombies. Its to buy you time so you can get away. Your correct about the weight a CB would probably be heavier that a bat depending on the size CB you have. Me i have a few different sizes from 1' in length up to 3'. The 3' one is heavy. But the 2' one is just right.

Truth be told any hand weapon you use will get tiring when your swinging it for any length of time. Especially when your in a panic.

My recommendation of a CB was the added benefit of it being a tool. Your free to use what you want but when you need to break into someplace to get provisions or to escape that horde you were just fighting good luck with your bat.

Now if you have a friend with you one can have a crowbar and the other can use the bat. Team work.

[BelowTheMorgue]

My only problem with bats is if you miss by chance you have to recover which takes only seconds but those seconds could truely matter. And as far as subgenious goes your on the right track but i've seen alluminum bats bend and break just with kids playing with them constant use with full force would break them quick.

I would say any kind of hunting knife or something like that surely in the UK you can get knives? T-Blades would be ideal cause the blade comes out as your middle finger and you just have to punch in a direction.

[Evil Pug]

Bad idea. To stop a zombie you need to destroy the brain. Baseball bats can crack the skull but you need to get to the brain. A crowbar is a much better weapon in this regard. The drawback on any bludgeon weapon is that you need a good amount of strength and endurance to be a effective weapon.

[Faran Brigo]

Bats? I think if you have to use a close quarters melee weapon, the best one would have to be a tomahawk. Hammer, axe and it only takes one hand. I'd imagine bats break or bend relatively fast when used against human skulls.

[Subgenius]

I think that it should be obvious that the question of wooden or aluminium baseball bats really revolved around the idea of what might become readily available. Baseball bats in the US are everywhere. I doubt that sledgehammers, tomahawks, and other items like that would be easier to locate. But, grab a bat (or his friend the axe-handle or the fireman's axe in most business and apartment buildings) and bash some zombie skulls in, and you may just survive.