Max Brooks on Sons of Guns

[Yojimbo]

I did not see this mentioned, but did anyone else here catch Max Brooks on Sons of Guns where they were trying to come up with the ultimate anti-zombie weapon? Wonder what you folks thought of it.

At one point Max Brooks seemed like he really believes that he is the ultimate authority on zombies and began lecuturing Will (who is a master gunsmith) on which gun would be most appropriate. Maybe it's because I already don't groove with his personality, but I thought he came of as a know it all douche.

[AcesandEights]

I did not see this mentioned, but did anyone else here catch Max Brooks on Sons of Guns where they were trying to come up with the ultimate anti-zombie weapon?

Yeah, it was a fun little episode. I loved the .22 they cooked up.
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/p480x480/301896_358806697498933_161827083863563_948370_2063 232468_n.jpg


At one point Max Brooks seemed like he really believes that he is the ultimate authority on zombies and began lecuturing Will (who is a master gunsmith) on which gun would be most appropriate. Maybe it's because I already don't groove with his personality, but I thought he came of as a know it all douche.

To be fair, he was brought on the show to act like an expert and it's how he sells his products, so I don't mind that too much. I mean, it's his shtick, right? Plus as much as I like the show, they are kind of one trick ponies. I'm waiting for Will to get around to trying to suppress a cruise missile.

[Sammich]

Max Brooks is an egotistical knob in the zombie stuff solely for the money. He sold out on the WWZ movie and I really wonder if WWZ was done by a ghost writer. I agree that he is milking it for all he is worth now because I think his 15 minutes of fame are about up.

As for Sons of Guns, I DESPISE "reality shows". IMO most if not all of the screaming and yelling drama soap opera crap that takes place on these shows are scripted to draw in voyeurs. In the end, there is very little reality and mostly b.s.

Real Housewives of Orange County had shot part of an episode at the place I worked at the I can tell you firsthand how utterly fake the people are when the camera goes on.

[Publius]

At one point Max Brooks seemed like he really believes that he is the ultimate authority on zombies and began lecuturing Will (who is a master gunsmith) on which gun would be most appropriate.

Did he try to talk him into using an M1 carbine?

[paranoid101]

just watched the show and to be honest I didn't find Max brooks annoying or anything, also don't forget his books have brought alot of outside interest into the genre we love, some bad some good, I myself really enjoyed both his books and hopes he does more.

Anyway moving past him, so which gun was your choice then from the two?

The M16 or the .22?

[AcesandEights]

Anyway moving past him, so which gun was your choice then from the two?

The M16 or the .22?

Well, I loved the ideas behind the .22 and it fits what i like in theory. It also just looked like it'd be comfortable in hand. Frankly, the m-16 w/grenade launcher and beta mag looked so unwieldy for anything but firing from a prepared position or filing out from a vehicle to unload.

-- -------- Post added at 04:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:09 PM ----------


Did he try to talk him into using an M1 carbine?

He didn't mention the M1, but a lot of what he liked in theory was represented in the design he helped work on.

[Sammich]

Did he try to talk him into using an M1 carbine?

I never understood his thing with the M1 carbine. It is a gun that has long been out of production is now delegated to the realm of collectors. IF you can get your hands on one that doesn't have a shot out or corroded bore and parts it is going to cost upwards of $600 or more. Even when the CMP had a very limited number of them for sale the price still was around $500 for essentially plinker grade guns. Then there is the issue of the ever diminishing supply of non-chicom knock off spare parts, especially magazines, and with that comes increasing prices. A Kel-Tec in 9mm or .40 s&w is a much better carbine, with a huge plus being that it uses the same magazines (depending on configuration) as Glock, Beretta, Sig or S&W handguns. Kel-tecs can be had for around $500.

The .22 pictured above is simply a Ruger 10/22 in a P90 look-a-like housing. Yes, it looks cool and all but adds nothing to the function of the gun and actually would make it an additional hassle if you had to take the gun apart to clean or repair.

[Yojimbo]

The .22 pictured above is simply a Ruger 10/22 in a P90 look-a-like housing. Yes, it looks cool and all but adds nothing to the function of the gun and actually would make it an additional hassle if you had to take the gun apart to clean or repair.

Hate to agree that Will's beefed up m-16 was overkill and that I preferred the .22 - but I would have just went with a stock Ruger 10/22 rather than the bullpup config. THe Ruger 10/22 as it comes out of the box is fine enough for me.

As to Max Brooks, perhaps I am not capable of giving him a break and being fair since I think he is a rich boy opportunist and a fucking egotistical loud mouth fucking bastard who demonstrates little respect for the source material from which he makes his paycheck. I concede that he brought some attention to the zombie genre, but then again so did that fucking hack Zack Snyder.

Max has latched onto a niche genre that is making him rich - while I cannot fault him for squeezing the last bits of cash out of it while he can (everyone needs to make a living) outside of the genre and the ignorant fan boys who accept his word as gospel, I wonder if he will ever be able to survive. I would guess no.


In the end, I say, screw Snyder and Max Brooks can kiss my ass. Reality shows all blow chunks too, but at least the dudes at Red jacket can actually make firearms. All Brooks can do is survive off of concepts invented by GAR and not in a unique way.

-- -------- Post added at 09:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:15 PM ----------





To be fair, he was brought on the show to act like an expert and it's how he sells his products, so I don't mind that too much. I mean, it's his shtick, right? Plus as much as I like the show, they are kind of one trick ponies. I'm waiting for Will to get around to trying to suppress a cruise missile.

I'd have to concede with what Aces said - Brooks was brought on as an "expert" and therefore this undoubtedly had some bearing on his attitude during the show which, in my opinion, was a self aggrandizing, self-obesessed loudmouth of an "expert" of a genre he did not invent, but lives off of like Yoko lives like a maggot off the corpse of Lennon.

-- -------- Post added at 09:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:30 PM ----------


Max Brooks is an egotistical knob in the zombie stuff solely for the money. He sold out on the WWZ movie and I really wonder if WWZ was done by a ghost writer. I agree that he is milking it for all he is worth now because I think his 15 minutes of fame are about up.

As for Sons of Guns, I DESPISE "reality shows". IMO most if not all of the screaming and yelling drama soap opera crap that takes place on these shows are scripted to draw in voyeurs. In the end, there is very little reality and mostly b.s.

Real Housewives of Orange County had shot part of an episode at the place I worked at the I can tell you firsthand how utterly fake the people are when the camera goes on.

I grok this and at no point do I fool myself that I am viewing reality in any way. But it does not surprise me in the least that Brooks sold out - he demonstrated little respect for the source material and who created it in the first place so therefore it is not surprising in the least that he continues to exploit a genre that he did not create for his own benefit all the while acting as if he was the creator of the genre.

-- -------- Post added at 09:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:34 PM ----------


Did he try to talk him into using an M1 carbine?
As misguided that might have been (and I am a fan of the .30 M1 Carbine) at least that would have been consistent with his writing!

-- -------- Post added at 09:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:41 PM ----------



Anyway moving past him, so which gun was your choice then from the two?

The M16 or the .22?

Personally, I thought Will's M-16 was a lesson in overkill. While I would choose an M-4 if I had to deal with raiders in the zombpoc, I prefer to carry a decent sidearm, like a standard .45 automatic or a ruger .357 revolver and for zombies perhaps the standard (not Brooks-esque tricked out) Ruger 10/22. That bullpup config, while sexy looking, serves no true purpose allowing an advantage - and with the standard walnut stock of the out of the box ruger 10/22 I am sure that I could bludgeon the hell out of zombies much more efficiently than any plastic construct

[Publius]

I never understood his thing with the M1 carbine. It is a gun that has long been out of production is now delegated to the realm of collectors. IF you can get your hands on one that doesn't have a shot out or corroded bore and parts it is going to cost upwards of $600 or more. Even when the CMP had a very limited number of them for sale the price still was around $500 for essentially plinker grade guns. Then there is the issue of the ever diminishing supply of non-chicom knock off spare parts, especially magazines, and with that comes increasing prices.

Not to mention the ammunition. Mediocre performance, rare, and expensive compared to the popular alternatives.


The .22 pictured above is simply a Ruger 10/22 in a P90 look-a-like housing. Yes, it looks cool and all but adds nothing to the function of the gun and actually would make it an additional hassle if you had to take the gun apart to clean or repair.

I can see an advantage to a bullpup configuration, considering that with .22LR you'll want a long barrel to get every FPS of velocity that you can out of the cartridge, and a bullpup keeps the weapon compact even with a long barrel. But I agree that the reliability and maintainability complications of the cosmetic housing outweigh the benefits in this case.

[Sammich]

Not to mention the ammunition. Mediocre performance, rare, and expensive compared to the popular alternatives.

I can see an advantage to a bullpup configuration, considering that with .22LR you'll want a long barrel to get every FPS of velocity that you can out of the cartridge, and a bullpup keeps the weapon compact even with a long barrel. But I agree that the reliability and maintainability complications of the cosmetic housing outweigh the benefits in this case.

Comparing the .30 carbine round vs .357 mag out of barrels of equal length, the .357 has better ballistics with heavier bullets, higher velocities and the ammo can be used in revolvers. The only advantages the m1 carbine has over the .357 lever guns is higher magazine capacity and faster reload.

For optimum velocity in .22lr the maximum barrel length is 16-18". The cartridge just doesn't contain enough propellant to push the bullet to higher velocities through longer barrels and will actually slow down from friction. The pictured 10/22-P90 looks like it has a 12-14" barrel and the remaining length is a suppressor. The primary function of suppressors is removing the loud "crack" when crossing the sound barrier by reducing projectile velocity to subsonic levels. Add this with the less than optimum barrel length and any advantages to compactness is lost.

There are also 2 problems with bullpup riflestock retrofits on existing guns. A linkage system is required to run from the bullpup trigger to the original trigger of the firearm and results in a heavier and sometimes inconsistent trigger pull. The other drawback is that the gun cannot be shot left handed as the ejection port would be located directly under the face of a lefty shooter.

[paranoid101]

http://rjfgear.com/mens-wear/glow-in-the-dark-zombie-killer/

Sons of Guns Zombie killer t-shirts lol, glow in the dark, not sure I would be happy walking round with a target on my back lol

[Knighty]

Blimey some people have real issues with folks who make money/films/books that people dislike. Take things far too personally.