3 GUN: urban escape

First off, I'm not a "tactical" expert so if you want a military grade recommendation of what you'll need to shoot your way out of a zombie apocalypse that occurs in a matter of hours and catches you completely off guard....then you may want to look elsewhere for wisdom. There are a hundred gun-writers and Youtubers with military training and money, who can afford to try out a vast range of firearms and gear and thereby give you the best list for surviving a walking dead scenario. For my part I only have firsthand experience (via my former career) of being in major world cities during three military coups, four riots where firearms and explosives were used by conflicting sides, three terrorist bombings and a natural disaster where eleven million people were advised to evacuate. In the last of these events all food and water was off grocery store shelves within four days and I left on the 5th. In all of those events there was ample time and opportunity to leave the city quietly and peaceably either by bus, private car, motorcycle or on foot and I never felt it would be necessary to fight my way through rampaging hordes of zombies, murderous mobs or packs of cutthroat looters. However, I could see how any one of those scenarios might very quickly have manifested themselves via one faction's decision to use widespread and sustained violence for whatever reason, or, if disease were the catalyst for societal breakdown as then you have mass hysteria and mistrust provoking irrevocable action on behalf of authorities and civilians alike. So, if things had broken down to fight-or-flight, what 3 Gun choice would I have wanted on hand to get me out of those cities?

Humans are undoubtedly the most dangerous creature on the face of the planet (after the mosquito) and my first three choices of weapon for the urban landscape are 1) evade, 2) evade and 3) evade. If you sense an imminent dissolution of order then get the heck out of dodge, asap, before it happens, even if you just go visit friends in the country for a few days to see if it blows over because that’s better than sticking around past the tipping point. But let's say you have stuck it out and the time has come to leave or risk dying in your home. It’s dark outside and you've decided to make a break for the hills with your wife and two kids in tow. If you're the praying sort then say a quick prayer before you leave the house to bolster yourself, because this could get hairy. What do you wear? Nothing tactical, military or otherwise conspicuous. And don’t try and be all special forces unless indeed that was your profession, because you’ll quickly be stomped by someone better trained or descended upon and outnumbered. If you can dress up as a couple of senior citizens out with the grandkids, you’ll be safer still. You can't take the car because streets are cordoned off and roadblocked to enforce a curfew. Don’t burst out through your front door like they do in the movies with a shotgun or any other longarm because you’ll immediately draw fire: you're not going up against LEO or the military because they're in the same boat as you and they just want to survive this, but, they have full authority for lethal force and they'll use it.

So, don’t hit the street visibly armed because the first thing you’ll catch is a bullet sent by someone ordered to keep the peace and maintain order. Plan on using your knowledge of your neighborhood to stay concealed, i.e. backyards, passageways between buildings, hedgerows etc. And you absolutely DO want a carbine because you may have to make a 75 yard shot at some malfeasant individual running toward your family with a weapon. So which rifle can be effectively concealed? Many SBR's will work here but meantime the Kel-Tec Sub2000, folded out of sight under your jacket, can be deployed very quickly and carries a punch from its 16” barrel. That’s your first line of defense. You take your shot and put it away again, immediately, out-of-sight. Then duck into the shadows and move quickly away from the location (the sound of gunfire will draw attention). Holding hands in single file will keep you from leaving anyone behind.

If you haven’t practiced with the carbine extensively beforehand (so you can deploy it quickly, and consistently place an accurate hit) then you’ll need those aforementioned prayers. So, let’s just assume you were smart and spent sufficient hours at the range practicing. Your spouse will either be carrying a duplicate trio of firearms or she’ll be concealing the Glock 17 (or other 9mm sidearm) which shares a magazine with your Sub2000. 9mm isn’t the best caliber, it’s just the most common so you’ll have a higher likelihood of happening across more of the stuff as the SHTF event unfolds. Together you and your spouse will get each other and the kids discreetly (save for the unhappy need to use lethal force) to the outskirts of the city into the relative safety of the urban greenbelt. And the further the better, and mountains and woods are optimal. In 8-10 hours of darkness you can hike a long way and clear all but the largest of metropolises especially if you already live in suburbia. Your “bugout” bag - containing means for acquiring food, water, shelter and everything in between - is another topic and there are numerous experts online who cover this matter. Anyway, make certain you're equipped properly and can keep yourselves and the kids hydrated and nourished as you find safety and maintain life until the “SHTF” scenario has passed.

A quick side-note on knives. Remember, an individual with a knife poses a serious threat. It always amazes me that people cry foul when a cop shoots an assailant with a knife: an attacker armed with a knife can get to you faster from twelve feet away than you can draw a gun, so be on guard. Also, knife wounds are often more egregious than bullet wounds as they typically cause rapid hemorrhaging thereby killing you faster. Also, a bullet is inherently sterile upon entry (notwithstanding it pulls fiber and pathogens into the wound from your clothing) whereas I doubt any knife used by an attacker would be pre-sanitized for your comfort.

Once you’re out of immediate danger you’ll need to turn to woodcraft to sustain survival. You always have the Sub2000 and the matching sidearm for suppressing threats, but quietly procuring food will be imperative. This is where a 22LR comes into play. If you read my last 3 Gun post I recommended the Chiappa Little Badger but the Keystone Crickett is another rifle that also comes in a threaded variant for those who have their Class 4 stamp. It’s also very accurate and has surprised even seasoned reviewers for its attributes in this department. Squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, birds, cats or whatever you come across will succumb to the 22LR. But small prey can still run off and disappear down a hole even with a body shot, so make a point of practicing those quarter-sized shots at 50 yards so you can confidently make head shots, and that’ll make sure meat isn’t wasted and the kids don’t go hungry.

So, in summary, remember these 5 rules during your next "zombie apocalypse", 1) evade, evade, evade: don’t try and be a gunslinging hero, the objective is survival. 2) Use lethal force ONLY when you have no other choice and evasion is impossible. 2) LEO and military are not likely to be your enemy, they’re there to keep order, but if you appear as a threat they’ll put you down. 3) So, dress inconspicuous, not tactical. 4) Use your local knowledge to get you out of harms way and keep you hidden as you treck out. 5) Have provisions and tools (in a so-called “bugout” bag) so you can survive in the woods until the threat has passed. And don't forget your prayers. GOM.