When the Head’s Not an Option: Zombie Battle Anatomy

Everyone knows that the only way to re-kill a zombie is to inflict major head trauma, causing significant damage to the brain. This is great in theory, but there will be times when that fatal head shot may not be available and you will be forced to look for an alternative spot that will either slow them down or reduce their threat to your healthy pulse.  Let’s take a look at the zombie body and analyze the best and worst spots to inflict damage, so you can stay alive and keep from being an all-you-can-eat zombie buffet.

The chest: This the absolute worse place to cause damage to a zombie using either a melee weapon such as a club or sword or projectile weapons. With no working internal organs, no muscular damage and no pain reflex, a shot or hit to this area would be wasting ammo and energy. The zombie won’t even be slowed down and will keep coming after you, even if his guts are falling out. While a chest shot is perfect for stopping a living human, it will do absolutely nothing for a zombie. A chest shot is the same as walking up to a zombie and telling him to eat you.

The teeth: What is a zombie’s only weapon? His bite. If you have a projectile weapon, such as a gun, shooting at the teeth will likely also hit the brain, but a melee weapon like a bat or club may neutralize that zombie’s threat forever. If you are able to hit their mouth hard enough and knock out their teeth, then that zombie cannot break the skin when biting and therefore cannot infect you or anyone with the zombie virus. The only caveat is that if you end up breaking the teeth and not knocking them out, you will be creating teeth remnants that are jagged and sharp. This will actually make it easier for the zombie to break the skin. You should be careful when attacking the teeth. This attack is best used with a small group of zombies or if you need to keep a zombie alive for study, but want to eliminate it as a threat.

The arms and hands: Once a zombie has you in his grasp, it can be very difficult to get out of it again. Their vice-like grip has been the downfall of many a hapless camper and mallgoer. A zombie’s hands are its most useful tool in acquiring its next meal, especially in groups. Who hasn’t seen the clichéd image of a group of zombies standing over their victims, arms outstretched? A gun or club is pretty useless in taking out a zombie’s arms and hands. Unless it’s a shotgun, the firearm will cause only a small hole and the club will crush the bone, but that is relatively ineffective against the undead. If you are going after the arms a bladed weapon, such as a sword or an axe, is your best bet.  The blades will have an easier time of slicing through the muscles and skin. Your best shot would be to attack at the shoulder or wrist joint and avoid trying to cut through the humerus, radius or ulna.

Legs and Feet: Zombies don’t drive cars or ride bicycles, so their only mode of transportation is there two feet. If you want to effectively slow down a zombie so you can escape, then a shot to the legs or kneecap will do the trick. Shotguns can be effective at close range to eliminate a portion of the leg entirely. Handguns and rifles might be able to neutralize movement if the bullet strikes the kneecap or the major bones such as the femur, tibia and fibula. Be aware that since a zombie feels no pain, a broken bone may not stop it. A club can be used to knock the legs out from under the zombie and a sword or axe can easily cut through a leg, especially at the knee joint. Without its legs, the zombie will be forced to crawl after you on its hands. A legless zombie is still dangerous, especially if you aren’t paying attention to the ground near you. A zombie bite is just as effective at the ankle as anywhere else on the body.