Headshot, Boom!! Headshot, Boom!!!

[darth los]

You can put in your HPOTD memoirs when it's all said and done. You can call it: Philly: the lost responses.

[Eyebiter]

There are a few tricks you can use to get a higher number of headshots. Firing from above down on a crowd of zombies is a good one. Not only do you have a more secure location, but this also gives you a good field of view. Just don't get caught on top of the town water tower or a roof top without adequate ammo, food, and water. Another option is to use a rifle with a scope. Any one trained to use a "scoped deer rifle" should be able to pull off head shots at 100 yards. Of course this assumes a sling, sandbag, bipod, or other aiming device is used. While there are some people who can pull off such a shot offhand with iron sights, it takes a lot of practice to maintain that skill level.

[darth los]

Just don't get caught on top of the town water tower or a roof top without adequate ammo, food, and water. Another option is to use a rifle with a scope. David Blane could pull it off, no problem.

[jim102016]

I had written a brilliant and lengthy response to this, and as I hit submit reply, my computer froze and I lost it. I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS! I will simply say now that yes, accurately firing a weapon is a science that requires practice. So is driving a car, and there are a lot more variables that you need to master to drive a car that to accurately fire a gun. And watermellon shot out of a catapault wold be more difficult to hit than a slow, shambling zombie. Damn Philly, I would liked to have read that lost response...one less for Philly's greatest hits album I suppose. A watermelon out of a catapault? How about one shot out of a cannon? Maybe we can use a slingshot or just throw it out of a biplane. I meant something slower, maybe drive it on a cable at a fast rate to simulate a speed a GAR zombie would move, or faster to simulate the ones from the George-wannabe movies.

[darth los]

It's not going to be impossible, but then again, it's not going to be piss easy. I just thought of the "high noon" character in Land, she blasts off about 20 rounds before nailing the zombie in the head...and before anyone bitches, clearly she was a new recruit/not a proper soldier...she may have been wearing camo, but think about it - zombie plague, the first line of defense is the soldiers, who'd sustain heavy casualties, therefore you'd be taking on anyone with minimal training (or at least, not proper military training) to stock up on defenses...so, you're not going to have a crack shot...and some people are just sh*t shots as well. True but with millions of zombies out there and a finite amount of ammo, consevation is essential.

[krakenslayer]

Zombie Flesh Eaters was actually quite realistic when it came to how well inexperienced gun users managed to deal with headshots. At least it depicts them having to take a few shots before landing one between the eyes. Watch this clip, especially 1:10 to 1:25:

[capncnut]

I love it when they initially start throwing the molotovs. You see each explosion but no fire.

[Skippy911sc]

I think shooting is easy...hitting the target that is a bit harder. I think one thing we don't look at very closely is the ammo. I am an active shooter and have found huge differences in ammo manufacturers. one round could hit dead center and the next may hit high and right. I reload so I am after the most accurate shot pattern as possible and it frustrates to shoot store bought ammo. One of the first few responses was regarding GARs daughter...she does not know how to hold a rifle...watch her shoot...I hate those little problems in movies. Rant has ended...SORRY!!!

[Publius]

To the distinguished poster that brought up that if it was the only way you could keep from being eaten you would learn quickly(paraphrasing of course) I would say, that is the exact reason you wouldnt be able to pull off a head shot. Could you imagine the fear of this? The terror and adrinaline pumping through you. Im not talking about ten years after an outbreak where people have made a habit out of survival, Im talking about now. Absolutely right. One thing we learn from actual experiences of military and law enforcement personnel in combat situations is that the stress of combat decreases accuracy, rather than increasing it. If you watch videos of short-range (even nearly contact range) police shootouts with criminals, it's amazing how many shots they get off without hitting a damn thing. That's why whenever there's a police shooting or other self-defense shooting and the family of the victim wails "why didn't they just shoot him in the arm or leg and incapacitate him?", anyone who knows anything about shooting shakes their head in disbelief. In an actual self-defense situation, you always aim for center of mass, because that's the only thing you can count on having a semi-decent chance of hitting. Planning on shooting at anything smaller is planning to miss. Any defensive shooting instructor (unless your talking SWAT/special operations level of competency) will teach shooting center of mass for this reason, and you move to riskier head shots only if you know your target is wearing body armor or COM shots aren't having effect. Or you can start out with a "failure drill"/"Mozambique drill" (and I know they aren't completely the same) -- two to the chest and one to the head -- but the head shot is a backup in case the COM shots are ineffective. Everyone knows the COM shots are more likely to hit. Doh! I didn't notice this was a necropost. Oops!

[Wyldwraith]

Want to weigh in on this issue, Zombies tend to shamble in very linear paths towards the nearest source of warm human flesh. The only two things known to cause them to deviate from this course once set is a) if they're forced to circumvent an obstacle directly in their path. Like a wooden roadblock sawhorse that they're on one side of and their potential meal is on the other. Or b) If the zombie is acted upon by an outside force. So saying that it's difficult to predict where a zombie's head is going to be after watching it for 2-3 seconds is sort of disingenuous. Yes, hitting a human head at moderate to long range is difficult under any circumstances, but at under 10 feet? Me personally...I don't consider myself an expert marksman by any means, but if I can hit a coffee can half full of water that I've hung from a tree branch and set to swinging relatively quickly 75% of the time from 10-12ft away then I believe I can consistently put rounds into the skulls of the undead at the same range. Assuming of course that I survive my "Oh my God, the dead are rising to attack the living" period of shock, dismay and panic. I've been in exactly 3 life or death situations in my life. Only one of which involved being attacked, but I know I tend to adapt relatively quickly. Some people don't. I don't dispute that. Nor do I dispute that between the people who will panic when confronted by the undead, the people with absolutely no firearms experience whatsoever, those with terrible luck and those who for whatever reason can't bring themselves to do what's necessary a WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE. It won't be because hitting an adult head with a pistol round at 10 feet distant is a particularly difficult task though. I'm not saying everyone is going to be downing 7 zombies for every 7 bullets fired, but even 3/5 hit rate will probably keep anything you saw coming from reaching arms length. After all, that is what we're talking about here. A zombie can't hurt you until it can reach you with its hands. A human on the other hand has a legion of potential methods to reach out and do brain trauma beyond arm's reach. Point blank range is almost retard proof if the gun isn't on safe.

[Crappingbear]

Absolutely right. One thing we learn from actual experiences of military and law enforcement personnel in combat situations is that the stress of combat decreases accuracy, rather than increasing it. If you watch videos of short-range (even nearly contact range) police shootouts with criminals, it's amazing how many shots they get off without hitting a damn thing. That's why whenever there's a police shooting or other self-defense shooting and the family of the victim wails "why didn't they just shoot him in the arm or leg and incapacitate him?", anyone who knows anything about shooting shakes their head in disbelief. In an actual self-defense situation, you always aim for center of mass, because that's the only thing you can count on having a semi-decent chance of hitting. Planning on shooting at anything smaller is planning to miss. Any defensive shooting instructor (unless your talking SWAT/special operations level of competency) will teach shooting center of mass for this reason, and you move to riskier head shots only if you know your target is wearing body armor or COM shots aren't having effect. Or you can start out with a "failure drill"/"Mozambique drill" (and I know they aren't completely the same) -- two to the chest and one to the head -- but the head shot is a backup in case the COM shots are ineffective. Everyone knows the COM shots are more likely to hit. Doh! I didn't notice this was a necropost. Oops! Excellent post and dead on. Massad Ayoob has written extensively on stress fire even naming one of his books that. He has been an expert witness in many justifible shootings defending lethal force. One of the greatest examples is them having a guy with a knife face off with a guy with a holstered gun 21 feet away and how the guy with the knife usually sticks the guy with the gun before he can clear holster and aim properly. Some misc thoughts on shooting in a zom world, first I'm assuming the Romero slow zom world. When it first breaks out there is the "oh shit" moment when you put a .45 slug in their breastbone to no affect and have to figure out the headshot. But once you know whats going in then you know how to take down the zoms. Distance becomes a determining factor of what shot you take and whether you need to close the distance or not. I'd favor an open sight rifle for most mid range situations (long range means you aren't in danger). Hitting a moving target with a telescopic scope isn't the easiest thing if you aren't experienced at it and that leaves out everyone except military or very experienced hunters. I recall a few years ago touring the book depository in Dallas where Lee Harvey was. I was surprised at just how close it was from there to the street and how any decent deer hunter could have hit his target from there. Any of the other conspiricy theory spots such as the overpass, grassy knoll and building near the book depository provided similar short shots. But, I digress..... In close quarters, I'd favor a pistol over a rifle or shotgun so I don't risk rounding a corner and zom grabbing the end of my rifle. Using standard po po or mil room clearing techniques you should be fine, especially a two person team. If you have 5-10 yards distance a shotgun with birdshot is all you need. Not much expansion but just enough to give you an ashtray sized hole in what you hit. At that point if you aim at their mouth you stand a good chance to taking the top of the skull completely off or blowing through their spine at the neck putting them down. You don't have to aim for the cranial nasal cavity for a direct brain puncture. I also think sometimes you might get distracted by looking a scary zom in the face and trying to aim, so just look down and shotgun a leg out from under them and you can walk up to put them down with an axe to the skull. On groups of zoms, the key is creating distance so you aren't in a panic trying to be Wild Bill Hickock from 5 feet away. Then you can take your time and put down an army of dead with a simle open sight .22 rifle.

[FoodFight]

What CB said. Mozambique drills to train yourself to headshot progression and mobility kills with followup shots for the other troublesome zeds.

[Yojimbo]

If you have 5-10 yards distance a shotgun with birdshot is all you need. Not much expansion but just enough to give you an ashtray sized hole in what you hit. At that point if you aim at their mouth you stand a good chance to taking the top of the skull completely off or blowing through their spine at the neck putting them down. You don't have to aim for the cranial nasal cavity for a direct brain puncture. I also think sometimes you might get distracted by looking a scary zom in the face and trying to aim, so just look down and shotgun a leg out from under them and you can walk up to put them down with an axe to the skull. Well said, crappingbear. Regarding shotguns, I might add that I have taken total firearm newbies (after a strict primer on gun safety) to shoot clay pigeons, and though they might miss the first few pigeons, with just a bit of guidance they are able to hit their marks at a fairly consistent rate. Now a clay pigeon is a lot smaller than a human head, and they move much quicker than any slow moving GAR ghoul ever did. The above being said, I admit that it would be effectively impossible to take a newbie to the trap range and do the above with a pistol rather than a shotgun (I have been shooting since I was a little kid and I am not sure that I would be able to do this with much accuracy), so I do agree that the idea that someone with no firearms experience is not going to be able to pick up a pistol and pierce anyone's skull the first time out.

[Crappingbear]

Well said, crappingbear. Regarding shotguns, I might add that I have taken total firearm newbies (after a strict primer on gun safety) to shoot clay pigeons, and though they might miss the first few pigeons, with just a bit of guidance they are able to hit their marks at a fairly consistent rate. Now a clay pigeon is a lot smaller than a human head, and they move much quicker than any slow moving GAR ghoul ever did. The above being said, I admit that it would be effectively impossible to take a newbie to the trap range and do the above with a pistol rather than a shotgun (I have been shooting since I was a little kid and I am not sure that I would be able to do this with much accuracy), so I do agree that the idea that someone with no firearms experience is not going to be able to pick up a pistol and pierce anyone's skull the first time out. Almost without exception, when I have taken gun noobs shooting the women are better than the men, especially pistol. Guys seem to think they have some innate ability to pickup up a pistol and based on watching movies be able to hit something. Women tend to have no ego about it and typically are afraid its going to kick or hurt. After a couple of rounds just to get used to the recoil and noise, they calm right down and take instruction very well.

[MaximusIncredulous]

True but with millions of zombies out there and a finite amount of ammo, consevation is essential. With the distance between the tower and the fence, I never understood why she went off full auto and waste all that ammo.