Standardization

[OVERKILL]

 This is a question I've always wondered and discussed with a couple of friends but never came to a definitive answer. Suppose the outbreak happened and all(as of now) eleven NoZombies members all met up to form a group. Do you think it would be best for us all to use the same caliber (i.e. 9x19mm) or for all of us to carry a different caliber? I'll wait for a few answers before I weigh in with my opinion.

[moneymike2009]

sound like a good idea to have the same cal.  problem is that 11 people wood run the ammo low then we would all have to find the same ammo. this might work for solders on the battle Field when the ammo is sapplied.but the z-day will be more like a scavenger hunt. example ( I walk into an old farm house and find sum .223cal and sum 9mm rounds. i need the .223 but carry 357 magnum so i don't need the 9mm but overkill does) find all use all!!

[Admin]

I think you guys raise good points on both sides of the question... I think that in a real world situation, it might come down to availability and the specific application.

If, for instance, there was a group of half a dozen of us holed up at a cave outside of town, planning to stay there as long as possible, the scenario would be different than if that same group was needing to move from place to place to avoid the Zombies.

If we were all in one place, I think we'd probably end up hoarding all the ammo that we could (hopefully as a group, and not individuals) as well as all the relevant firearms (if we've got 10,000 shotgun shells, and no shotguns, they don't do us much good 'till we get a scattergun, ya know?)

If we were all traveling from place to place, I think it would be very likely that we might see the ammo available at any given locale as one of the reasons to go there... maybe we would gather all of the ammo we find in town, and leave essentially an ammo dump of all the shells we didn't have use for so that the next scavenging party to come through might be able to get what they needed without having to go through as much hassle as we had.

Maybe I'm trusting in the goodness of humans a little too much, but I'd like to think there would be pockets of survivors working together to try and restore life to normal as much as possible.

[moneymike2009]

here is a little kicker leaving the ammo you don't need sound good for the other guy but with all the ammo we don't need dismantle and reuse. second a lot of us less ammo can be useful (home made hand granads,booby traps,etc.)

[Thumper]

the other problem to this question is that we all live in different placed and on Z-day we will proably not talk to each other again for a long time if ever again. Besides I think flexability is key. I have weapons that shoot, .22, .38, .357, .380, 9mm, 12 guage and 7.62X39. I want to add a .308 and a 7.62X54 to that. I like weapons that shoot multible caliber when availible. like one of my shot guns is actually chambered for a 3 inch magnum so i can shoot standard 2 3/4 shells to 3 inch and magnum in either size.

[OVERKILL]

 I think I should have worded my question a little better. I didn't mean to imply we would actually travel croos country to all meet up, just saying what if? The question would really apply to your particular survival group. Do you think that under certain cicumstances it might be better one way than the other.

[Thumper]

that makes more sense, but i still think deversity is the spice of life!! you never know what rounds you may find.

[OVERKILL]

 Alright, here's a specific scenario, so just kinda go along. The zombocalypse hits and I meet up with you (Thumper, Tony, Tobias, Moneymike or whoever wants to answer). Let's say I only have a 357 and a 30-30, you also have a 357 and a 30-30 in addition to a 9mm and a 308. We've been holed up a couple of months and are running out of food and need to go on a raid. The question is, do we both carry the 357/30-30 combo, or do I take that and you take the 9mm/308. If we both carry the same we can share the ammo we have, but if we have different guns that doubles our chances of finding ammo we can use while in the field. This situation only applies to this short field run, and we can still have more guns at our base or whatever. We would also take any ammo we could find for other uses even if we did not have a gun chambered in that caliber.

[moneymike2009]

that would work if 2 of us where to go looking for supply we would be carrying less out but bring more in because we would only be carrying the ammo for 2 gun instead of 4

[Thumper]

all depends on whats what! if i have a 15 round autoloading 9mm I'll carry that over a .357 you need speed and numbers in this case not power and accuraccy. I admit the reliablility goes to the wheel gun,, but thats so minimul with moderen guns and I have been trained over and over on clearing jams quickly hat i don't worry about it. If the .308 is something like a fal or a cetme, I'm taking it over the 30-30 which is probably going to be lever action. you carry is much ammo as you can and the best weapons you have for the job.

[oldnick]

I'd suggest each person have a variety of calibers. For example, each person have a 9mm, .45 acp, and a .357. If each person only has their own caliber, and say, we run out of everything except 9mm, only one person will be left defending. On the other hand, if everyone has the same caliber, such as 9mm, and we find a stockpile of .45, its useless as ammo (not counting other potential uses for the components)

When choosing your personal weapon cache, keep in mind the availability of ammunition. When you run out, how easy is it going to be to loot or barter for?

[¥ Killer Juggalo ¥]

I agree with old nick... I believe we should have a variety of weapons... ammo is pretty widely sold... so it would be pretty easy to find ammo... and personally i was raised on using shotguns.

[†CrimsonKing†]

I beleive variety is the key here. You could have like a medic, support gunner, scout, sniper, you know, stuff like that

[TheAngelKing47]

I would say common military, law enforcement and hunting calibers.

For rifles I would stick to things like 5.56/.223, .308, 7.62x39 and .30-06

Handguns I would stick to .40 S&W because at least in the Midwest around OK and KS every PD uses it. Then outside of that common calibers like 9mm, .45, .38, and .357

Then of course 12 gauge.

Of course standardizing is important because even if two people don't carry the exact same pistol, so they cannot share magazines or parts later down the road if one guy finds a new pistol right as another guy's breaks, etc... they can at least split a box of bullets they find. It would suck for two guys if one was carrying around a nice 9mm handgun and 300 rounds for it, all of which he was unable to use at the same time, while his buddy had an empty pistol chambered in a less common cartridge such as .357 SIG, 10mm or something dumb like .50 AE

[Wraith]

I agree with TheAngelKing.  I think the key would be having a variety of weapons that fired various common ammo.

Why take a rifle that shoots 400 win mag, when I take a 30-30?  Sure the 400 is a beast, but I'm going to run out in a hurry and not be able to resupply.  I'd take the 30-30. I know enough sporting good stores will carry it because it's a common caliber used for hunting.

IF possible I would probably try to get my hands on a Medusa Model 47 Handgun.  This thing fires almost ALL types of .38,.357,9mm ammo you can stuff into it.  For those who do not know, .38 cal, .357, and 9mm are all almost the exact same diameter.  I say almost because there is the tiniest difference.  Enough that they normally cannot be used together.  The Medusa is not going to be as accurate as most handguns, but I'm talking about ease of finding ammo.  The problem is finding the gun, they didn't make too many and are going to be hard to find.  Here are a list of calibers that it can fire (there might be some more). 

Honestly I'm surpised that this hasn't come up on the forum yet (or maybe I just missed someone talking about it).


Revolver:
.38 Smith & Wesson
.38 Short Colt
.38 Long Colt
.38/200
.38 S&W Special
.357 Magnum
.357 Maximum

Semi-auto:
9X17mm (a.k.a. 9mm kurtz/short or .380ACP)
9X18mm Makarov
9X19mm Luger/Parabellum
9X21mm
9X23mm (Largo)
9X23mm (Steyr)
.38 ACP
.38 Super