Zombie Strategy: Weapons

Under optimal circumstances, what weapons would you want at your disposal should Z-Day come?

I'm thinking that the combination of a ranged and close combat weapon is a good idea.
My favored primary would be a 9mm handgun with an extended clip. I don't know much about guns, but I want something with common ammunition that I don't have to reload too often.

For close combat, the katana is a popular choice but I am concerned that I won't always have the room for a full swing with a blade that long, so now I am leaning towards the common claw hammer. It won't stick the way that a pick would and you don't need as much of a swing. In a pinch I think I can swing a hammer more before getting exhausted too.

12 gauge shotgun that holds 8 rounds for an extended reach weapon. Pretty damn common ammo, though somewhat bulky. Against the undead, you are trying to decimate/remote the brain, or remove mobility. Painful injuries and organ damage from a 9mm aren't stopping them before they stop you.

Hand to hand depends on the zombie type. Slow Shawn of the Dead zombies, katana is ok, but I prefer random blunt object. Grab a cricket bat or medium pipe and don't get too attached. Fast zombies, there's no point in hand-to-hand, you need a grenade. You shouldn't get tired swinging, adrenaline should be working for you. If you're out there long enough to get tired, you're doing it wrong. How much weight you carry when running/climbing may be of more importance.

There are other considerations for weaponry than personal defense. Enough zombies can push through a door or stop a car. You need some kind of crowd control. Cattle-push on the front of a truck good. Chainsaws are FAIL unless you're Bruce Campbell. Grenades are good, but remember after throwing, "If you can see it, it can see you". Another upside to a random pipe are crowbar is barricading doors, prying chain and locks open, and there is always another at the beginning of the next level.

With a handgun, you are going for he headshot. All it has to do is penetrate the braincase. I'm not talking about using it to kick back with some lemonade and snipe, just to keep them out of arms reach because if you can reach them, they can reach you. I agree about blunt-force being the way to go for hand-to-hand combat. Severing heads is harder than the movies would make you think and piercing weapons get stuck. My goal is to defend myself until I can hole-up and wait it out. Then my concern becomes other survivors trying to kill me for my stuff.

At some point before Z-day, we'll have to setup a few cans and see your accuracy at 20 feet with a pistol versus a shotgun.

My concern was that the reload time on the shotgun would turn it into a club once you needed to. Although I suppose that if 8 shots with a shotgun don't clear a path or at least give you a minute to reload, you are probably screwed anyways. I really think that I would be effective with headshots at 20 feet as my targets would not be fast moving. I don't think I need to mention that if we are dealing with fast zombies, the only effective strategy is nuking them from orbit.

When you say, "under optimal circumstances," I am personally thinking that i am already in some fortress town that is mostly self-sufficient. In which case stopping raiders or immigrates would become the top priority. If I'm stuck at home when it happens, I'd be happy with a crowbar and a baseball bat, until i can find something with longer range capabilities. That is assuming that you can paralyze them with a good hit to the neck/head.

Melee Choice: baseball bat (metal for the weld, research cohesive properties), machete edge welded to one side. This tool requires pre.Z.Day preparation. possible weighted end for momentum assist?

ranged.. pfft, 9mm by default. It's a common weapon and the military showed me how to use one.

I guess that'd work, provided you aren't in a sub when it happens. Then your ranged weapon could be a nuke.