What's with the Zombie Craze?

[Sgt.Murtaugh]

Why are all these gun blogs/magazines/forums always talking about Zombies? Is this some running joke in the gun community? Is it supposed to be funny?

Seems kind of lame but it's all over the place. People always saying "well if the zombie apocalypse occurs, I'll be ready"

OR

"Check out my zombie gun" or "I really hope zombies don't come to my house"

Then you have companies like Hornady who are taking it a step further and actually designing ammo called Zombie Max.

*** is goin on here?

 

[TexasRifleman]

Well we don't do the zombie thing here so maybe we're safe for now

But, since it keeps coming up, it's a reasonable question. I think a more important question is whether or not we should be trying to stop it. Does it put law abiding gun owners in a bad light to the public, or is it harmless?

It started with the idea that it's politically incorrect and frankly disturbing to talk about actually shooting other people in case of a disaster, civil unrest, etc. But, if you refer to bad guys as "zombies" it's OK, since you are not talking about real people. It allows for the discussion of something that is truly horrible, shooting another person, by referring to something no one really objects to being shot.

It wasn't originally supposed to be funny, it was a way to talk about something very serious without actually saying it.

Now it's become such a part of the shooting culture it's used in all kinds of marketing and doesn't really have the original meaning much anymore.


Note: This thread can stay open if we stick to discussing whether or not this is good or bad for gun owners. The first "But zombies are real" post or something similar gets the thread locked and the poster infraction points. It's a reasonable topic in that narrow manner, because it may have some effect on what non gun owners think of us. Please try to keep that in mind if you post. Thanks.

 

[parsimonious_instead]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think part of this might be driven by range rules.
A lot of ranges specify "paper only" targets - traditional paper targets can get boring, even with the addition of "splatter" types that more easily show the points of impact. Wacky paper targets offer at least some variety.
Some ranges outright forbid any humanlike target, even the silhouette types that law enforcement typically use.
However, exceptions seem to be made for zombies because they're technically a "creature" or "monster" and the whole thing is sort of a joke, anyway.

 

[Ash_J_Williams]

I like zombie films. I got into firearms through them, and other films (I'm also a filmmaker, my first firearms were .22s we used with blanks on screen, as blank guns were just as expensive as real ones, and I didn't get to take them out and enjoy shooting them when I was done). I now like firearms. So... it's a rational connection that the two will meet.

 

[slicksleeve]

Myself, I think it is the single dumbest thing to ever happen to the world of shooting or firearms.

 

[Sam1911]

We JUST did this: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=620634

 

[TexasRifleman]

Yes, but the question I think that needs to be addressed is whether or not this is good or bad for gun owners and the perception of the public.

Should we be trying to stop it or is it harmless?


Law abiding gun owners have turned a corner it seems, both in legislative progress and in the attitudes of most citizens. Does this move us backwards?

 

[rcmodel]

The other thread that got locked was started first!

rc

 

[TexasRifleman]

The other thread that got locked was started first!

Well, I am trying (without much success) to steer this one in a little different direction.

Should we as gun owners be telling vendors to cut this out or is it harmless? Does it hurt our cause?

 

[ny32182]

Yes, but the question I think that needs to be addressed is whether or not this is good or bad for gun owners and the perception of the public.

Should we be trying to stop it or is it harmless?

I think it is pretty dumb, but not any worse than the equally numerous Gecko45 types who swing the other way and take themselves way too seriously. And both are going to look pretty stupid to "outsiders".

 

[average_shooter]

Agree with above statements regarding needing an "enemy" to use to discuss serious topics such as socioeconomic collapse.

But also, how is the latest zombie craze, including tv shows like "Walking Dead," really any different from the previous, and slowly dieing out vampire craze? Frankly I think zombies are more interesting than glittery fake vampires with no teeth that all the tweens seem to be into these days.

 

[Sam1911]

I can't see anything terribly positive about using fantasy horror-schlock to promote a Constitutionally-enumerated freedom, or to make firearms owners seem like safe, serious, sane, and responsible members of society. At Halloween, a little goofiness is harmless enough, but the rest of the year I find it an embarrassment.

Yes, folks will say that it brings "young people" to the cause, just like video games supposedly do.

I tend to see that as a phenomenon that is questionable in practice. I mean really, how many teenage zombie freaks turn into 2nd Amendment fans becaue they wanted to buy a zombie killing weapon? Does that mean warm bodies at the polls pulling the right levers?

Is there some REAL benefit to individuals and/or society from the "preparedness" the zombie fans supposedly espouse? Aside from finally settling once and for all the pressing issue of which gun or guns and just how much ammo you really need to survive the apocalypse -- which I'm sure we'll get worked out in a thread any day now.

In many things there's a balance of good and dumb. You put up with some dumb and you get some good out of it. As far as RKBA is concerned, vis-a-vis the zombie rage, I see a lot more dumb than good.

 

[MtnCreek]

If it gets more people into shooting and broadens our base of support, then I’m all for it. When I was growing up, kids hunted, so firearms were part of my upbringing. Sadly, I think a lot of today’s kids are on more of a video game diet, so Zombies may be their prelude to firearms. If the Zombie thing bothers you, just keep in mind these youngsters will (most of them) grow out of the zombie thing and many will retain their interest in firearms (and by then, there’ll be some other stupid craze that pisses them off; dang young fellers!).

I think it is pretty dumb, but not any worse than the equally numerous Gecko45 types who swing the other way and take themselves way too seriously. And both are going to look pretty stupid to "outsiders".

To me, I don't think the zombie thing looks as bad to outsiders as the captain ninja crowd. Someone could look at the tactical ninja folks and think ‘extremist militias’. When they see the zombie crowd, I would assume they think it’s more of a stupid craze, but not threatening.

 

[USAF_Vet]

Zombies are PC. No one has feelings toward a zombie that wants to eat your face. there are some people who will stand up for the right of Jihadists, so if you take your OBL print out to the range and start plugging him SEAL team six style, people might get upset.

Generic bad guy targets have gotten boring. Cue the Jake Zweig targets (of Top Shot), but there will be complaints against that, too.

As said, zombies are a substitute/ stand in for a real, more searious and more likely threat (despite how unlikely the threat really is).

The film and video game industry has a lot to do with Zombies in pop culture. the Walking Dead has a massive fan base, so do Romero or other zombie movies. The Left4Dead video game and other 1st person zombie shooters are massivelt popular, spawning special zombie modes in typical zombielss FPS. Shooting Nazi's (another less tangible PC threat) is fun, but shooting Nazi Zombies!! Fur reelz! Bonus points.

It's a way to get the younger generation into shooting sports. Other generations had indians and bandits, others had gangsters like Dillinger as the popular villian of the era. the zombie is todays sociallyacceptable popular villian. Allowable because it's fake, and not really going to hurt anyones feelings. We can't allow Arab appearing targets because of the majority/ minority effect. Can't offend anyone. But we can have undead jihadists, no problems there. Makes a lot of sense, no?

Anyway, it's a marketing gimick. Like when the price of sugar increases, new and different styles of candy and kids cereals hit the shelves. Well, speculation of rising costs of ammo and gun bans put new ammo on the market, and new guns and accessories on the shelves. Marketing 101. Cause the demand, inflate the demand, limit the market, reap the profits.

Should we as gun owners be telling vendors to cut this out or is it harmless? Does it hurt our cause?

Would manufacturers listen? We, as gun owners speak with our wallets. If you don't want to buy a limited run of Zombie max ammo because you don't support the gimick, don't.

I don't think it hurts our cause though. Nor does it really help in anyway, other than bringing young new shooters into the sport. Lets not be Fudds here and take up the my stuff don't stink and my stuff is better than your stuff attitudes. It's counter productive. We should be banding together as a shooting community, made up of people of all ages, cultures, background and experiences.

 

[TXPROSTAR]

This is from people playing video games and killing zombies. I sold zombie targets at the gun show for a friend of mine and they where a very hot item. I had adults and kids wanting them.

 

[USAF_Vet]

FWIW, I don't have a zombie gun. I do, however, have a zombie tomahawk, but thats for the non firearm weapons sub-forum.

 

[MtnCreek]

I can't see anything terribly positive about using fantasy horror-schlock to promote a Constitutionally-enumerated freedom, or to make firearms owners seem like safe, serious, sane, and responsible members of society. At Halloween, a little goofiness is harmless enough, but the rest of the year I find it an embarrassment.

Yes, folks will say that it brings "young people" to the cause, just like video games supposedly do.

I tend to see that as a phenomenon that is questionable in practice. I mean really, how many teenage zombie freaks turn into 2nd Amendment fans becaue they wanted to buy a zombie killing weapon? Does that mean warm bodies at the polls pulling the right levers?

Maybe in time. If a zombie craze got them into firearms, then I would assume they're not the most likely person to show up at the polls, but the zombie thing will come and go and some (maybe most) will keep shooting. So 10 years from now, some of these zombie fans will still be shooting, they'll probably have a wife/kids, work / pay taxes. Now they're ready to vote and w/o the stupid zombie thing, they may have never started shooting.

 

[Sam1911]

Something I said in the other thread seems to apply to the question:

Zombies seem to cover the "I wanna SHOOT something" aspect of pseudo preparedness, but that's about it. If I heard more folks talking about how much water they have stored up for when the zombies come, or how many kegs of dried beans they had sealed in the cellar for when the zombies come, or what plans they were making for their long-term medication requirements for when the zombies come -- then I'd see it as a bit more of a benign or even positive stand-in for generic disaster.

But its all about how many guns and cases of ammo and loaded magazines I've got, 'cause my survival hinges on killing massive numbers of something. Specifically, something that can't think, can't plan, can't wait/starve/burn me out, something I don't have to reason with.

It's just me, crouched behind my cans of ammo with a glassy-eyed expression, pulling my trigger.

And it's that kind of brainless goofiness that I see not contributing to RKBA, not contributing to the shooting disciplines, not contributing to range safety and responsibility, not contributing to the positive public perception of the purpose or rightness of the armed citizen. Just visceral onanistic pleasure derived from muzzle blast and recoil.

 

[MtnCreek]

Well, I can’t argue with that; I just hope I’m right on this one.

 

[ny32182]

I don't think the original question was about zombies in pop culture (I enjoy the occassional Dawn of the Dead movie, video game, etc as much as the next guy) but rather about its role in the "gun culture". Do the "zombie" targets, so-called zombie gun, zombie ammo, zombie "bug out bag", etc, portray real life, responsible firearm ownership for circumstances that are actually rooted in reality? No. I think that is what Sam is saying.

 

[Sam1911]

And I can't prove that you're hope isn't valid. I'm sure some will.

Actually, I don't really believe there are very many zombie fans who are really out there buying firearms because of the zombie angle. Probably more of a happy (or whatever) coincidence that some like both things. So it's all likely a moot point.

If Hornady want's to sell a few boxes of zombie killer ammo for a lark, and some goofball wants to sell "reactive" bleezing zombie targets, I doubt there will be much of a real impact on the public, positive or negative.

 

[parsimonious_instead]

TexasRifleman:

If you Venn Diagram "Firearm enthusiasts" and "Zombie afficionados" you'd see two interlocking circles, but I think those circles will slowly drift apart nearly to the point of complete disentanglement.
In the realm of pop culture, the "Zombie Craze" has already reached its zenith, and anything new that has the label "zombie" will only contribute to the eventual backlash.

In short - zombies are temporary, firearms are forever. I don't think the "zombie craze" will have any long term impact on the gun community or RKBA issues in the aggregate.

However, another important point was raised before - preparations for a "zombie apocalypse" quite closely parallel those for just about any other disaster. Stockpiles of food, water, water purification, weapons and ammunition are important for getting through just about any type of disaster. At the end of the day, does it matter, for instance, if the route to a safe redoubt is blocked by a massive flood, an area bathed in radiation, or overrun with the undead?

 

[CharlesT]

I've heard of "hurricane zombies" and understand the phrase. But the zombie stuff if really annoying.

 

[Thylacine]

If you are prepped for Z Day then you are basically ready for anything.
And it is fun. Quit being such downers. The brady bunch does that well enough.

 

[KDS]

I am a contributor to a firearms blog for a friend of mine that is a guns and gear retailer. I guess I see the whole zombie thing as pretty immature. I am concerned that people who aren't sure about firearms or haven't been exposed to them will feel that gun owners are immature people who just want to get their gun off. Unfortunately my friend has started marketing the zombie stuff on his website and blog. I am currently deciding whether or not to continue to contribute to the blog. I just don't think "zombie guns" are the type of thing we ought to portray to the public. We should portray ourselves as responsible and concerned citizens, not 13 year old hormonal adolescents. Just my humble opinion.

Thanks TexasRifleman for keeping this post open and trying to have a discussion on whether or not the zombie craze is good for the cause of keeping our freedoms.