Why such a huge variety in "The Walking Dead"?

It probably comes down to what the prop guys had available, "script calls for Joe Blowski to have a semi auto rifle, what do you have left?" Also many prop rifles that aren't fired/dropped/thrown are actually hard rubber mock ups to avoid damaging a functional prop. Again, probably whatever the prop guy had in stock.

It was probably to make the post apocalyptic world seem more "realistic". Nothing standardized; people using whatever random firearms they happened to find. It doesn't make much sense to us, but the majority of viewer don't know what's popular and what's not.

Ignition, I've watched the series from the first. I guess it was catch as catch can where weapons and other supplies were concerned in the TWD apocalypse. Don't want to spoil it for you, but I've noticed in recent seasons that fewer firearms are in evidence, and few are shots fired. Much different than the earlier seasons you may be catching up on. I suspect this is the writers and producer's response to the country apparently going hard left, and the visceral hate for anything firearm related by a significant percentage of the US population....

Realistically there would be a lot of what the government uses, so M4 from military and cops who got ate and glock 19 and sigs from cops that got ate.

I quit watching like 2 seasons ago, but I agree with the above that the variety decreases (as well as writing skill).

I've been watching alot of videos with ISS recently (the gun prop house) on TFBtv on YouTube and Larry explains the logic behind casting of guns nicely. Check it out if you're bored

Rock185 said:

Ignition, I've watched the series from the first. I guess it was catch as catch can where weapons and other supplies were concerned in the TWD apocalypse. Don't want to spoil it for you, but I've noticed in recent seasons that fewer firearms are in evidence, and few are shots fired. Much different than the earlier seasons you may be catching up on. I suspect this is the writers and producer's response to the country apparently going hard left, and the visceral hate for anything firearm related by a significant percentage of the US population....

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It may have something to do with political correctness, but the official explanation is that the current season occurs 7-8 years after TEOTWAKI and ammo is simply getting scarce.

Ironically, given the socio-political upheaval of the last 10 tears, I think the average amount of ammo found in abandoned houses has probably doubled or tripled over when the show began......

I think the showrunners are actually pretty much on the money in this regard. A decade after the apocalypse, small bands of survivors would be running out of ammo, and the large government stockpiles would either be destroyed or under the control of a few warlords or new nation-states.

I think the main reason for the lack of guns and shooting in recent seasons is probably out of budgetary concern since firearms are expensive in terms of using and insuring. The show is on the decline and AMC has been notorious for trying to cheapen up production even during it's peak run several seasons ago. Just think about all the really cool zombie effects that were done in the first few seasons. I honestly haven't watched the last 3 or 4.

As for the gun variety, I'm guessing like others have said that its just a prop department thing. One of the most unrealistic in the comic/series was that it took them about 4 years or so before someone thought about reloading ammo cases and even had to go to the extreme of manufacturing new cases.

You mean to tell me that in rural Georgia NO ONE left alive is rolling their own or that the guy that knows how to do it is RARE?

Regarding firearms and their use in that series, as the series goes on, the realism actually digresses. Pretty disappointing, among other factors.

Fiv3r said:

I think the main reason for the lack of guns and shooting in recent seasons is probably out of budgetary concern since firearms are expensive in terms of using and insuring. The show is on the decline and AMC has been notorious for trying to cheapen up production even during it's peak run several seasons ago. Just think about all the really cool zombie effects that were done in the first few seasons. I honestly haven't watched the last 3 or 4.

As for the gun variety, I'm guessing like others have said that its just a prop department thing. One of the most unrealistic in the comic/series was that it took them about 4 years or so before someone thought about reloading ammo cases and even had to go to the extreme of manufacturing new cases.

You mean to tell me that in rural Georgia NO ONE left alive is rolling their own or that the guy that knows how to do it is RARE?

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Casting bullets- sure, no problem.
Finding/ turning cases- doable, tougher without electricity.
Making gunpowder- maybe, finding sulphur will be tricky.
Primers? Ummm, well.........

748 said:

Realistically there would be a lot of what the government uses, so M4 from military and cops who got ate and glock 19 and sigs from cops that got ate.

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I always said the same. Everyone in Rick's party could have had an AR and a Glock. The comic book may have been set much earlier but the show has used many 2000+ model cars so even civilian owned models would be no problem to find.

I quit watching it about the time Negan showed up. No real reason just got bored with it. Very slow pace.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Casting bullets- sure, no problem.
Finding/ turning cases- doable, tougher without electricity.
Making gunpowder- maybe, finding sulphur will be tricky.
Primers? Ummm, well.........

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Oh I have no doubt it would be difficult when the world gets the reset button hit. It was just funny to watch the rest of these survivors to be in awe of a reloaded case. I would just figure that the southern part of the country would be awash in reloading supplies that would last for years upon years, stockpiles of common ammo notwithstanding.

Guess they could always go back to flintlocks.

I actually read a series of zombie books several years ago that span a generation starting from the outbreak all the way the children of the heroes of the first several books. By the time the kids are young adults, they are beginning to spend more time learning how to use a sword as they figure ammunition supplies are going to start becoming finite with the world still limping along.

If Rick had a Glock a couple extra mags and extra ammo some of the scenes would have been different, more shooting less running away.
They gave him a revolver so he would be at a disadvantage, just like in real life.

Rock185 said:

Ignition, I've watched the series from the first. I guess it was catch as catch can where weapons and other supplies were concerned in the TWD apocalypse. Don't want to spoil it for you, but I've noticed in recent seasons that fewer firearms are in evidence, and few are shots fired. Much different than the earlier seasons you may be catching up on. I suspect this is the writers and producer's response to the country apparently going hard left, and the visceral hate for anything firearm related by a significant percentage of the US population....

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Oh come on, WD didn't decide to change due to a political choice..Judith(Grimes) is like 9 years old and they are just running out of ammo and gas so are back to horse and bows and arrows. yikes.

I stopped after Neagan got captured..WD seems to have no 'path', towards any kind of conclusion..plus the helicopter, at the end of that season?? Scratch head. Supposed to be 2 movies to explain that but now with COVID...

crestoncowboy said:

I quit watching it about the time Negan showed up. No real reason just got bored with it. Very slow pace.

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The plot holes and glaring mistakes were too much for me about that time, and I cancelled Netflix too. I have always thought the premise to be terrible though in honesty. A cartridge firearm is great for battle and is good for other things as long as you have ammo. Muzzleloaders do not require proper bullet, case, or primer and can be operated with a powder that is not hard to make (I haven’t but hear it’s not bad) and a rock that makes sparks. Why are they only concerned with military or police weapons again?

You mean to tell me that in rural Georgia NO ONE left alive is rolling their own or that the guy that knows how to do it is RARE?

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The flawed logic behind rolling your own is that you still need components. In the real world you'd be more likely to find loaded ammo than all of the CORRECT components to roll your own. Finding the right primers to go with the cases, powder, and bullets you can find is a challenge. That is a challenge in real time.

Some of the many crewmembers (I worked with before retirement) who live in that area told me that more movies are filmed south of Atlanta than are produced in Holly-Weird.

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That has been the case for a number of years and not just south of Atlanta. I live between Atlanta and Chattanooga and we have film crews working in our county on a regular basis. Most of Clint Eastwoods movie "The Mule" was shot here.

jmr40 said:

The flawed logic behind rolling your own is that you still need components. In the real world you'd be more likely to find loaded ammo than all of the CORRECT components to roll your own. Finding the right primers to go with the cases, powder, and bullets you can find is a challenge. That is a challenge in real time.



That has been the case for a number of years and not just south of Atlanta. I live between Atlanta and Chattanooga and we have film crews working in our county on a regular basis. Most of Clint Eastwoods movie "The Mule" was shot here.

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All you would have to do is find the right house. Everything is there. I don't keep non-usable stuff on hand.

I've seen m16s in it..full auto, M16s. Not M16A1s. There are not many of those out in the real world. Yet, they somehow have some after SHTF. Add to that, making their own center fire ammo...ya, no. Not realistic in the least.

Its entertainment. It was good for the first few seasons, but like others have said, it got old pretty fast after that. Only so many times you can use the "governor" type badguy. Neagan was a wash rinse repeat of that, with more bells and whistles.

It should have came to a conclusion 3 season's ago. Either they find a cure, or they all get eaten. Either way, it's just not worth the watch anymore.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Casting bullets- sure, no problem.
Finding/ turning cases- doable, tougher without electricity.
Making gunpowder- maybe, finding sulphur will be tricky.
Primers? Ummm, well.........

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Sulfur would be easier than saltpeter (potassium nitrate). Charcoal (carbon) would be the easiest, but getting it pure would still be a challenge. Same with sulfer. Finding it not much if a problem. Making it pure enough..not so much.

Saltpeter..that's next to impossible without industry.

Megawatt maker said:

Sulfur would be easier than saltpeter (potassium nitrate). Charcoal (carbon) would be the easiest, but getting it pure would still be a challenge. Same with sulfer. Finding it not much if a problem. Making it pure enough..not so much.

Saltpeter..that's next to impossible without industry.

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They did quite well finding saltpeter for centuries. Just go get some bat guano. The methods of purifying it have been known for over 800 years.

WestKentucky said:

I have always thought the premise to be terrible though in honesty

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I never minded the plot loosely. There are fungi, bacteria, and parasites that cause host animals to be zombies to an extent that are well known. None that I know of take longer than a couple weeks to kill the host though. And that would have made a great 1-2 season's or a movie, which is about how long I lasted with the walking dead. Obviously in the films and shows it is rediculous that the hosts are still feeding long after all normal functions (and most of the body...) are gone.

jmr40 said:

The flawed logic behind rolling your own is that you still need components. In the real world you'd be more likely to find loaded ammo than all of the CORRECT components to roll your own.

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I believe so too, unless you just insist on using your savage 99 in 303 savage... And with the constant shortages even though millions of rounds are being produced....... I'd venture to guess that there are more rounds per capita of loaded ammo setting around in ammo cans in America than all of us could ever hope to shoot in any such scenario.

Same goes for guns. I look on Gunbroker these days and realize that a great majority of guns never got fired. And not just Pythons, Smith's, and Parkers but utilitarian guns like Winchester 37s and H&R toppers, Marlin 1898s and such.

Couple that with the fact that pretty much all estimates show there are considerably more guns than people in the USA Finding a gun wouldnt be a problem at all after a great percentage of the population were dead/undead. I always considered that a big plot hole. Ammo perhaps after a really long while, but never guns. Maybe that's the reason for the variety. They know that in America (especially the south) one could find pretty much any small arm they desired. Realistically I think you would have your choice of most anything you wanted by the time period the show represented and only a small percentage of the population was alive.

A bigger plot hole to me is where they continue to find viable gasoline years later and how they pumped it out of the ground at every service with no electricity. If they are able to refine their own gas to use in modern EFI vehicles then surely they can make anything they need.

crestoncowboy said:

I always said the same. Everyone in Rick's party could have had an AR and a Glock.

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Problem is that Glocks and AR's don't cycle well on blank ammo. You can modify them to cycle, but that's expensive and I doubt the armorers want to do it as it spoils any resale value on the gun.

Paul Harrell addresses some of this here:

crestoncowboy said:

Couple that with the fact that pretty much all estimates show there are considerably more guns than people in the USA Finding a gun wouldnt be a problem at all after a great percentage of the population were dead/undead. I always considered that a big plot hole. Ammo perhaps after a really long while, but never guns. Maybe that's the reason for the variety. They know that in America (especially the south) one could find pretty much any small arm they desired. Realistically I think you would have your choice of most anything you wanted by the time period the show represented and only a small percentage of the population was alive.

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See the Paul Harrell video I linked above. Like he says; if this were to happen our armed forces would certain be sent out to try and stop it. If things got so bad they were defeated there would be plenty of M4's, M9's, and SAW's laying around for the taking. Appropriate ammo would be easy to scrounge, too.