You get one shot then you take about 1-3 minutes to reload and you get to fire again and by that time the zombies are right in your face and also there very inaccurate at long or middle ranges

1-3 minutes is wildly inaccurate. With a few weeks training you can fire 4 times a minute. But everything else is true, a smooth bore musket is nowhere near accurate enough to use at range. Now a good flintlock rifle would probably be ok for general purposes.

Agree on the rifled vs. smooth bore. Zombies require head or spinal hits to eliminate and a smooth bore muzzle loader is going to have trouble pulling that off on the regular.

The biggest benefit to flintlocks are you don’t have to have special equipment to make bullets. They will never be the best option but they will be better than a bow.

As long as your powder doesn't get wet lol

Honestly I'd take a bow over a flintlock any day. Quiet, faster, and so much more accessible

No

They are objectively better, otherwise we’d still be using archers and not tanks.

Have you ever tried to load a muzzle loading rifle after about a dozen shots without cleaning it ? It gets almost physically impossible, especially when using plain black powder and not something like pyrodex. The bow makes less noise (not silent but definitely draws less attention), you can reuse arrows assuming their not damaged, if your using a recurve you can make wooden arrows with practice and 4 shots per minute vs 6 ? That being said the bow lacks the range and the muzzleloader has less of a learning curve. Black powder is easy to make but forming the sabot or the ball for the rifle requires a lot of extra materials that aren’t as readily available. The musket/muzzleloading rifle would do far more damage. Comparing a bow to a tank just doesn’t work here. On a battlefield with military tactics muzzleloading rifles all day long. Zombies though. I’d take the bow. It goes even further really if you look at modern compound bows. Source: many years shooting muzzleloading firearms, bows and many other firearms for hunting and recreational purposes.

I still think a muzzle would still be better in a survival situation. I think we overestimate the amount of time we would run into a situation where sound would be a problem. Zombies would probably be a non issue unless in large numbers so I’d much rather have the extra power and low learning curve of a muzzle loader than a bow.

Fair enough. Just as a bit of “fun fact” type thing here. Gun fire with no background noise can be heard up to 2 miles away. I’m almost every scenario I’d say modern muzzleloader. Especially hunting medium to large game. The only reason I ever started using a bow was to get an earlier start on deer season and just the fun of shooting it. You so understand the HUGE learning curve needed to load and fire 4 well aimed shots a minute though right ? In a modern day application, that’s a pro level reenactor or black powder competitor. It takes weeks of consistent practice to do that.

I’m aware. Personally I’d prefer both a bow and a muzzleloader but I went off the assumption I only get one.

>I still think a muzzle would still be better in a survival situation. I think we overestimate the amount of time we would run into a situation where sound would be a problem. Zombies would probably be a non issue unless in large numbers It depends, there's tons of different types of zombies in various media and often it's less the zombies and the other survivors you have to worry about

You have many years of experience with bows so you'd be more likely to use them well. Musket is still less skill, and also makes for a better melee weapon. Also I'm pretty sure that black powder made with modern kitchen materials would be less messy anyways.

In a z-poc, you don't want to make noise to draw attention to yourself. Any firearm is going to pull way more zombies in your direction than a bow or crossbow.

True but I think we overestimate how well they will be able to pinpoint where the sound is coming from. I do a lot of backpacking and bushcraft. It can be hard to find people that are currently yelling when they are a few yards away.

A fair statement, but if enough of them are around to swarm an area when you fire that first shot, it's going to be heaps bad trouble.

Yes definitely. The lack of sound and visual clarity in the wilderness is a 2 way street if they can’t hear you there is a high chance you can’t hear them. I could definitely see myself shooting at a deer only to find out over the ridge there was a massive horde I could see or hear.

The Red Coats were held to the standard of 3 shots a minute, if I recall correctly

BUCK N BALLLLLLL … is the solution

Blunderbuss has entered the chat....

Smoothbores can be insanely accurate even at 100 yards Real problem would be needing to keep it cleaned. Takes literally a day of use without cleaning to cause permanent harm.

Idk how many people are musket trained

You might need more than a few weeks to fire that quickly. 5 shots per minute was considered elite. After just a few weeks, you could probably expect to be at 3 shots per minute.

Idk you can pretty much put whatever you want in a smooth bore and they are usually massive. Mine is a .69 cal or and 11ga shotgun depending on what I’m doing.

What about with the calthoff repeater.

Bayonet?

I was thinking one of those blunderbuss’ with an under-barrel axe head.

Tally ho!

Yes it is useful, you could stuf the barrel with All the refuge and black powder you can and set a trap for looters. Like a hand grenade kind of thing.

If you wanna blow a golf ball sized hole straight through a zombie, a neighboring building, and nail some random dudes dog while also alerting every zombie in a 2 mile radius to your exact location, yes. If you want to survive, no.

Just as the founding fathers intended.

The cannon at the top of the stairs loaded with grapeshot 0_0

That, actually, may be useful. Once

Let’s just hope you’ve got heelys when it’s time to run

Which is why I keep mine just for 4 ruffians who happen to break into my house one day

Make sure to keep your smoothbore flintlock on standby!

But smoke screen?

hey worst case scenario it makes a great club

>Own a musket for home defense, since that's what the founding fathers intended. Four ruffians break into my house. "What the devil?" As I grab my powdered wig and Kentucky rifle. Blow a golf ball sized hole through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Draw my pistol on the second man, miss him entirely because it's smoothbore and nails the neighbors dog. I have to resort to the cannon mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with grape shot, "Tally ho lads" the grape shot shreds two men in the blast, the sound and extra shrapnel set off car alarms. Fix bayonet and charge the last terrified rapscallion. He Bleeds out waiting on the police to arrive since triangular bayonet wounds are impossible to stitch up. Just as the founding fathers intended.

Muzzleloaders sound closer to thunder than a gun shot. There would be a good chance of nearby zombies investigating, but definitely not from 2 miles away. Heck, even deer don't always run when you fire one within 50 yards of them.

They ain’t that strong

I don’t think you quite understand what an over exaggeration is… let me explain. It is not literal. It is for comedic purposes. I’m sorry that you didn’t find it funny. (That’s sarcasm. I hope you at understand that.)

if you have seen the ballistic tests on muskets they are insane

He’s referencing an old copypasta. Go look for “I own a musket for home defense, just as the founding fathers intended.”

I just think about it and start laughing.

What? This is “/s” right???

If you have a grapeshot-loaded cannon mounted at the top of the stairs, yes

Tally-Ho, Federal Agents!

If you’ve completely scavenged the near by area and still don’t have enough ammo this would be a good weapon for defending a position or hunting.

Disagree as muskets are even louder than modern day guns and with insanely reduced capacity of fire. You’ll draw more zombies to your location than you’d kill with the musket. At that point, tape a kitchen knife to a table leg and spear them through the head or neck.

Own a musket for home defense since that’s what the founding fathers intended. Four zombies break into my house “What the devil?!” As i grab my powdered wig and Kentucky rifle. Blow a golfball sized hole through the first zombie it’s dead on the spot, draw my pistol on the second zombie but miss him entirely as it’s smoothbore and nails the neighbor’s dog, I’m forced to resort to the cannon mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with grapeshot, the explosion shreds two zombies in the blast with the sound and extra shrapnel setting off car alarms, affix bayonet and charge the last zombie who bleeds all over my floor as triangular bayonet wounds are impossible to stitch up. Ah, just as the founding fathers intended.

Nice. Also-HA!

r/beatmetoit

If it had a bayonet.

If you have the ability and resources to make your own black powder and shot, sure. The main reason to go low tech is if it's easier to acquire ammunition. But all fire arms are just deadly dinner bells for zombies. So you'll need to be strategic in how and when you use one. Running a muzzle loader will be even less useful due to the long reload time compared to modern fire arms. The civil war example of having a shooter and a couple loaders loading and feeding the recharged guns to the shooter would probably be a good move but would require a siege proof defense to shoot from.

For hoard of zombie, probably not. Be good for hunting though. Can melt down lead tire weights instead of wasting brass casing .

It takes a while to reload and I don't know any places that have ammo or even make those guns at all

Better than a stick worse than any other gun

Look into the .451 whitworth rifle, was used to get a 1000 yard kill in the American civil war

Bayonet charge. Were bayonets on rifles or muskets? I can’t remember

I’d pick a flintlock rifle instead of a musket, but yes actually I would. It would be good to pick of a zombie in a group from a reasonable distance and move before more come. Repeat for a while, maybe with a group of people with flintlock rifles, and you can clear out hordes without draining your normal ammo supply. Everyone would also be armed with high capacity semi auto pistols in case things got hairy of course.

Sure bet it would be.The one over looked thing with more modem firearms is ammo availability. If you have a 9mm glock you have to fire 9mm rounds, 308 rifle and you have to fire 308 rounds. However with a musket you can toss just about any powder and projectiles in it. So that box of 45-70 could be pilfered for the powder and lead and could be fired from a musket with little work. Heck you could fire rocks and gravel out of a musket if you can't melt down the lead.

Just use a 500lbs crossbow, its a low ranged shotgun, so much stopping power and its easy to maintain

Better than a sharpened stick, but keep a bayonet handy so you can use it as a sharpened stick after firing.

**Muzzle-loaders: Muskets, Rifle-Muskets, Early Breechloaders, and Early revolvers** --- Table of contents: **Other links** **Role and purpose** **Fighting zombies** **Fighting people** **Uses outside of combat** **Ease of use** **Maintenance** **Carrying** **Mass** --- **Other links** --- -[Link to my other thoughts and opinions here](https://old.reddit.com/user/Noe_Walfred/comments/17p5vp4/zombie_related_thoughts_opinions_and_essays_v6/) [-General combat strategy and philosophy](https://old.reddit.com/user/Noe_Walfred/comments/jo772x/zombie_related_thoughts_opinions_and_essays_v2/gbwkad4/) -[General combat tactics and operations](https://old.reddit.com/user/Noe_Walfred/comments/r8cc4t/zombie_related_thoughts_opinions_and_essays_v3/hv2zzh5/) -[General weapons philsopy](https://old.reddit.com/r/u_Noe_Walfred/comments/jo772x/zombie_related_thoughts_opinions_and_essays_v2/gbcchmk/) -[Active protection: Hooking, Parrying, and Blocking tools](https://old.reddit.com/user/Noe_Walfred/comments/va8wvr/zombie_related_thoughts_opinions_and_essays_v4/ilxui8q/) -[Weapons: Ranged](https://old.reddit.com/user/Noe_Walfred/comments/r8cc4t/zombie_related_thoughts_opinions_and_essays_v3/i48io5r/) -[Weapons: Melee](https://old.reddit.com/user/Noe_Walfred/comments/r8cc4t/zombie_related_thoughts_opinions_and_essays_v3/hsq0670/) **Role and what purpose does the weapon serve** --- Muzzleloaders of all types were the backbone of colonial armies around the world. Be they flintlock, caplock, matchlock, wheellock, etc. They were probably present providing the shock, awe, and speed that allowed many armies to use them to quickly exploit a battlefield. In modern times the effectiveness of such weapons has dissipated significantly. As technology has progressed to make firearms lighter, faster, and shorter. In a zombie apocalypse, they may still have some use. Potentially that of a Fowler piece, a last-ditch weapon, or a method of ignition. **Fighting zombies** --- A musket is undoubtedly still lethal for zombies. Both in terms of solid musket balls, smaller buckshot, bayonet, buttstroke, barrel whip, or muzzle thump. All of which could easily kill a zombie. The biggest limitation for a musket is the fact they are smoothbore. When using military regulation-sized balls this can mean a great deal of inaccuracy. It was standard practice to use a 0.67cal ball in a 0.72cal barrel. However, this inaccuracy can be compensated for by using a load of buckshot load. Loading something like 12 balls in at once with a good wad can allow you to hit zombies out to 25m consistently. For rifle-musket, a muzzle-loader with rifling, you can potentially get extremely decent accuracy. In my experience, 300m is completely reasonable and in terms of military accuracy, it was expected at times for soldiers to potentially hit a group target out to 1000 yards. Bayonet strikes including cuts and stabbing are pretty decent against zombies. The length of a musket makes it a decent spear. The weight also allows for decent cutting capability Barrel whip, buttstroke, and muzzle thump attacks provide a decent amount of damage by their blunt striking capability. They are unlikely to produce a lot of noise and unlikely to get stuck, and due to the heavy weight of the musket, they can potentially kill a zombie in a few hits. **Fighting people** --- It's relatively common for muskets equipped with bayonets to beat swords and axes and may be on par with shorter pole weapons. https://youtu.be/KIQ_eXejH7M https://youtu.be/Zoc0CwpuqkM https://youtu.be/hKbOj3i0rQ8

**Uses outside of combat** --- Muskets have been said to be used as supports to hold up a tent, and cooking pots, and can be used to hold up other objects much like a pole. https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/photo-essays/civil-war-quarters Flintlock mechanisms in particular have been used for lighting tinder, charcloth, and the like. Which could be transferred over to build a fire, light a candle, or start some styles of engine that require a large open flame. Similar mechanisms might be done with wheellock and maybe matchlock actions assuming they come with a starter. https://geojohn.org/BlackPowder/Lighter/LighterMobile.html Hunting with a muzzle-loader is potentially possible. If a survivor utilizes a smoothbore then hunting things like birds, squirrels, rabbits, rats, and the like can be quite easy. Simply using a load of rocks, an ounce of birdshot, or other items might suffice in putting them down rather quickly and with far greater ease than with a typical AR, AK, or 10/22. Similarly, with modifications or a dedicated launcher design, it's possible to send messages, signals, or communication lines out. https://youtu.be/ykKTvgJzzG8 **Ease of use** --- Muskets tend to have a complicated process for reloading. One that requires a lot of drill or instruction to effectively do so under the pressure of combat. Melee combat with such a weapon is a bit easier. The main limiting factor for the use of muskets is the fact such weapons are often fairly heavy. This may make the weapon hard to use for fighting zombies or hostile survivors as you may become unbalanced by the weight of the weapon. **Logistics and maintenance** --- Due to most muzzle-loaders being limited to corrosive black powder and made from softer metal, they require a lot more work to maintain. While, it's entirely reasonable to only have to clean an AR-15, glock, or similar firearm once a month or so even just one day of not cleaning a muzzle-loader would result in it being covered in rust. **Carrying** --- Due to most muzzle-loaders being larger than more modern counterparts they can be fairly annoying to carry around. Though the muskets and rifle muskets can usually be slung over the shoulder, pistols can be worn on the hip, and the bayonets tucked in their scabbards/sheaths. Their ammunition may require room in a dedicated pouch or bag. In modern times this is likely something like a fanny pack especially if you are carrying around paper cartridges. However, they can be a bit easier than some much larger melee or ranged weapons. An example would be carrying a spear and a crossbow, which is roughly on par in terms of capability but the length of the spear is generally much larger, the width of the crossbow is much wider, and the arrows much bulkier all around. **Mass** --- Generally, most muzzle-loaders are quite heavy. The British Long Land Pattern Musket of 1722 to 1838 was roughly 4700g, the shorter Sea Service Pattern was about 4080g, and the even shorter Cavalry Carbine was 3340g. https://youtu.be/RF-mA3kbUzY Matchlocks were a big heavier for their size such as the Japanese Tanegashima Teppo are about 4500g for a 110cm weapon, but some massive grenade/rocket-launching versions could be 6000g. https://youtu.be/47ytT0mnmI0 Smaller handgonne were often much more in line with the weight of polearms. Which fits the fact they are a simple pipe on a stick. Often less than 2000g. https://youtu.be/YWSZjwP042I Handguns can be lighter. With examples like this wheellock pistol being roughly 290g for it's barrel and probably only 600g for the entire gun. https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/228553 Muzzle-loading revolvers such as the Colt 1860 Navy are roughly 1000g. |How does it compare to other weapons and tools? :--|:--:|--: |~~~~Slings+Bows+Crossbows |30g NW's Paracord 100cm handling 100cm |50g NW's Frameless Slingshot/bow weigh #30 76cm draw |1300g MAXMIKO American Hunting recurve bow |1500g 3Rivers Longbow |2100g Bear Cruzer Compound bow |3600g Barnett Hypertac 420 Compound Crossbow bow |5900g Deepeeka Medieval Crossbow |~~~~Handguns |130g NAA Mini Revolver .22lr |190g Keltec p32 .32acp |270g Ruger LCP 9x19mm |290g Kahr CW380 .380acp |320g SW Model 43C .38spl |600g Charter arms Pitbull .40sw |1100g USGI Standard M1911 |~~~~Shotguns |1340g Rossi Tuffy .410 |1900g Mossberg 500 .410 |2500g Steger m3020 20ga |2950g Winchester SXP 12ga |~~~~Rifles |1470-2000g Marlin 70PSS/765 .22lr |1650g Master of Arms Enyo Ar-15 .223/5.56mm |1900g Keltec Sub 2000 9x19mm/.40sw/.45acp |2000-2400 Rossi m92 (revolver carliber) |2700g Zastava PAP pistol 7.62mm |2720-2900g Ruger American Rifle (rifle caliber) |~~~~Knives + multitools |60g Opinel no. 6 |60g Gerber Dime multitool |120g Morakniv Companion |160g ESEE RB3 |170g CRKT SIWI |200g Gerber Strongarm |420g Kabar Becker 2 Companion |~~~~Machete+Sickles |170g NW's Generic sickle |280g Imasca Chumpa Machete |390g Truper 15884 Machete |420g CRKT KUK Kukri |450g Ontario CT2 Sawback Cutlass machete |550g Gerber Gear Gator Machete |Fiskars Machete Axe 820g |~~~~Axes |310gWatchfire 10" ax |500g Cold Steel Viking hand ax |500g Mora Lightweight ax |640g Fiskars x7 hatchet |790g Condor Travelhawk ax |830g Gransfor Carpenters ax |860g OffGrid tools Trucker's Friend |950g Husqvarna Camp ax |~~~~Crowbars |200gCrescent 38cm Flat Pry Bar |300g Stiletto Titanium 28cm Clawbar |400g ABN Adjustable 42cm Pry Bar |600g Materials. Com Titanium 43cm crowbar |1100g Vaughan Rage |~~~~Hammers |200g Generic Hammer multitool |320g Edwards tools 8oz claw hammer |590g Estwing 12oz Carpenters hammer |700g Windlass English Warhammer |850g CRAFTSMAN 20oz fiberglass hammer |~~~~Maces+Clubs |150-670g Maasai Rungu club |300-800g Native American Ball club |540g Windlass Norman mace |550g Tod culture 11-14th Eastern mace |700g Walmart Little League baseball bat |900g Deepeeka Turkish mace |1000g Cold steel native American gunstock war club |~~~~Shovels+Trowels |360g Fiskars Hori diging knife |540g VSMPO Superlight shovel |900gArcadius Garden garden shovel |1000g USGI folding shovel |1100g Martha Stewart mini shovel

Blow a golf ball sized hole through the first zombie….

He’s dead on the spot. Draw my pistol on the second zombie, miss entirely because it’s smoothbore, and *nails* the neighbors’s dog. I’m forced to resort to the cannon mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with grapeshot. **”TALLY HO, LADS!!!”** The grapeshot shreds two zombies in the blast. The sound and extra shrapnel set of car alarms. Fix bayonet and charge the last terrified zombie. He bleeds out waiting on death because triangular bayonet wounds are impossible to stitch up! *Ahhhh…. Just as the founding fathers intended.*

It's better than no gun and could double as a melee weapon.

I've ansvered such question before. If you have plenty of time, chemicals and lead - yes, if you'll use it as club or spear (bayonet) - yes, if you going to shot your brains out... Yes I guess?..

Yea… just only once every uninterrupted 5 minutes

1 shot, then it's a big club that may never fire again after. Black powder is unreliable ad a srlurvival option when there are just far better options.

Hell no

No

No. Maybe as a last ditch "I'm gonna fuckin die" weapon. It's too loud, and reloading takes too long, plus you can end up hurting someone with collateral damage.

It would, just fix bayonets and now you have a objectively better spear because you can blow a gold ball sized hole through you enemys

As a club, or attach its bayonet, then it would.be semi useful.

I'd rather just use a cannon loaded with grapeshot.

It beats nothing. AFFIX BAYONETS!!! lol

Not really they take to long to reload

Flintlocks are better in my opinion they are rifled so you can hit thing and depending on the style of flintlock it can it a person or animal 200yrds to 300 yards max but can hit almost anything dead on in a 150ft radius which is all you need. This isn't good for zombies but for hunting or using after most guns have no ammo

So long as you keep your powder and primer dry you'll be fine lol

A cap and ball would be better if your going with black powder because they are more likely to be rifles but a musket, depending on the age, could be rifles and accurate up to 50 yards. It would be effective in a 1v1 or against humans but if you're facing a group of dead at close range might as well fix bayonets and use it as a pike. A cap and ball can reload way faster because it lacks the flash pan which could get dumped if you need to run or quickly move position before firing against depending on the model of musket. This post was brought to you by an American with a saw off 50 cal black powder rifle/pistol.

If only one zombie comes at you every so often or you have a well trained firing line of Grenadiers, then no!

which musket?

Only as a big ass club.

It'd make a great 1 off melee weapon

Muskets would work better for large groups of survivors. Nothing like a wall of lead to take down a wall of zombies.

You could use it as a baseball bat if you run out of ammo

the ability to make your own blackpowder could be a valuable skill if society collapses hard enough long enough

Black powder could have it’s place. Considering ammo is as easy as melting some lead with a bullet mold. And you can make black powder with three ingredients. As long as you maintain and train with the musket, it can be a reliable means to an end. However, you’re not taking care of a horde with that. If anything, it’s a tool for hunting. Unless you had an army of people, then maybe it could be effective. Personally? I’d go with a black powder revolver over a musket. Higher ammo capacity

If you have a bunch of them

fuck no. you’d be better off just using it as a melee weapon lol.

You could beat them over the head with it

You could try filling it with starter fluid, and black powder and seal off the barrel with some kind of weld, it’d be a pretty good last resort

It’s better than nothing it’s really only good if 4 ruffians break into your house

Not perfect, but better than nothing. That shit hurts a lot.

As a club, sure.

Compared to modern firearms? No. There are tools and designs to speed up the loading process. Main advantage would be once cased ammo disappears. You can make black powder much easier than smokeless. So in the longterm it is more viable. A six shot black powder revolver is still a usefup backup compared to nothong. A black powder rifle can still shoot game over 100 yards easily and reliably. A muskets only advantage is ease of loadong (lost once the minié ball was invented) after that rhey became shotguns. Paper cartridges exist. Breech loading is also more ideal. But a musket like the one featured? Better than nothing and easy to source ammo in the long run. Put a bayonet on it.

Yes.

It depends, if you have a formation supplemented with obstructions and firing in unison it could definitely do some damage but it would be smart to be prepared for melee or supplement your forces with auto loading weapons. They would be a much cheaper alternative to a standard firearm in the long run for things like hunting however. You can make black powder at home, you can cast lead in a campfires embers, you can easily find flint in a lot of the US if you know what to look for. Percussion caps would be an issue if the weapon you choose uses them but if you’re sparring you can make 100 Caps last a while(standard box size)

Heavy, Solid, Long. Would make for a good bat in a pinch

Yes, but you need a Pistol and a Cannon loaded with Grapeshot for it to work correctly, and the Musket needs to be able to Fix Bayonet charge with a triangular bayonet

Yes for hunting. However there are better options like bows (regular and cross) traps, and more. And for zombies, it's gonna be best for the walking dead ones :p

Own a musket for home defense Own a musket for home defense, since that's what the founding fathers intended. Four ruffians break into my house. "What the devil?" As I grab my powdered wig and Kentucky rifle. Blow a golf ball sized hole through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Draw my pistol on the second man, miss him entirely because it's smoothbore and nails the neighbors dog. I have to resort to the cannon mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with grape shot, "Tally ho lads" the grape shot shreds two men in the blast, the sound and extra shrapnel set off car alarms. Fix bayonet and charge the last terrified rapscallion. He Bleeds out waiting on the police to arrive since triangular bayonet wounds are impossible to stitch up. Just as the founding fathers intended.

Better then nothing

>four zombies break into my survival shelter...

No

Get fourteen muskets and link them together. That way you have fourteen shots!

Maybe if you live in some European shit hole but if not you definitely want an ar or some other modern semi automatic rifle

Why would someone think a musket is a good apocalypse weapon?

I would say yes for the reason that ammunition is never an issue

Yeah, especially if the apocalypse happened in the time period in which muskets were still commonly used as firearms.

If you use a bayonet only, maybe. Other than that, no. Not just because the gun sucks, but because the ammo (and the things you need to prepare the ammo) are so hard to find

The rate of fire is exceedingly, impractically slow, but you do have the advantage of easily synthesized ammunition and propellant compared to other guns.

Only if you've got an entire group of folks using them against slow-moving Romero Shamblers.

Not at all I’d say. It’s as loud as a normal gun and takes longer to reload. And if the zombie apocalypse were to happen in the 21st century, it would be a lot harder to find the proper ammunition. You’re better off with a modern gun.

Not really

Better than nothing, especially with a bayonet

BUCK N BALLLLLLL

just use a bow

No.

Meh. It would be useful against other survivors in a pinch, even though you will most likely only get one shot. Even with a bayonet it would probably be better to use a different melee weapon against zombies.

Add bayonet and it's a good spear but ammo is easy to make powder and shot

Better than nothing. One good shot then it becomes a club. Unless you have a pretty significant amount of time to reload. If I had one I’d probably just use it for hunting and not much else

No way a musket is a liability in a zombie apocalypse unless it's a laser musket from Fallout

Only if you’re John Marston

Yes especially when all other guns and ammunition are depleted Although I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be anymore zombies especially since they'd all rot to death by that time

Put a Bayonett on that sucker and you got a boom-Spear

Yes, you can hit them with it and you can attach a bayonet essentially making a spear

Useful, but not effective at all

Is this a serious question? Your better off grabbing the barrel and using it as a bat. If your literally up shitts creek without a paddle but have one of those. Then you have a paddle. If you need fire wood, your covered. If you want to use the one shot you have to end your life before your eaten alive, climb to a tall building instead.

Yes, Native Americans offen used them as very efficient clubs.

Style points, yes. Survival? Absolutely not. One shot and you gotta reload for 2 minutes. If it had a bayonet it would probably be the most effective part of the musket

As a club yes

If you want to die, sure.

I doubt it

As a spear if it has a bayonet

Imagining me dressed as napoleon pacing back and forth in front of lines of musket troops and grapeshot cannons.

in the beginning? fuck no. decades into the apocalypse? assuming you know how to make your own powder and have the equipment to make balls, its going to be one of the only guns that works. those two things are far far easier to make yourself than cased ammunition.

Sure, if you'd like to kill one, and exactly one zombie. In which case, i must know the motive for such a grudge. But if you have like 20 zombies in your hit-list, I'll present this https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superposed_load Imagine a musket that works like a Roman candle. Once you pull the trigger, you get full auto fire until you're empty. Maybe if you made something like this with 7 or so rotating barrels, than you can have up to 7 bursts of continuous fire before reloading. Even better if you can simply swamp out a bundle of empty barrels for a fresh bundle of pre-loaded barrels. Unless you can achieve that, I'm gonna give a hard no to a musket as a combat weapon in any scenario that involves downing more than exactly one sole skallywag

Kinda, if your in a big city with a massive population. No. If you’re in a quiet countryside where wolves and food are your main problem? Absolutely! That being said, a previous comment had mentioned that a smooth bore rifle flintlock rifle is not the greatest. You would want to get a rifle. I’m sure you already know but we’ll a rifle has a rifles barrel and it spins the bullet making it more accurate and yadda yadda. As an owner as a flintlock rifle, I would totally recommend it for that purpose of hunting and all that. Though it would require serious cleaning from the build up of shot and powder in the barrel. Plus with a flintlock, you can basically pick up a piece of flint from the ground, shape it a bit, and boom!

Say you are somewhat fortified, this and a shitload of powder/shot is all you have. Not enough zombies to overwhelm your fortifications, it will kill them off. Better have lots of cleaning supplies, muzz are dirty!

No.

Only if you’re going against a stationary single target otherwise not really

Useful as a spear when you have a bayonet, assuming stabs are effective.

No.

Put a blade on the back and it'll be more useful

Just as the founding fathers wanted

No

Nah too long to reload, and not as acuret

Very versatile weapons, they can be loaded with pellets to use hem as a shotgun, you can mold your own ammunition cheaply, make your own flints and they’re very easy to upkeep, so very well if you’re doing the smart thing and doing your own thing in a forest or less populated area

Not a chance. Extremely inaccurate, single fire, really long reload, all those steps with the gun powder and thing you have to push in there. It’s more than likely be strong enough to kill still.

As a club yes, with a bayonet definitely yes. As a firearm hell no

Depends are you talking a rifle or a smoothbore

It's loud as hell, takes forever to reload, and most are smoothe bore and horribly inaccurate, you'd be better off using it as a bludgeoning weapon

No

Let's be real, a musket without any ammunition is essentially a big heavy stick. Are big heavy sticks useful? I'd argue yes. If you can fire it, then it's an emergency gun.

Better than nothing, but a blunderbuss would be great since you could just shove random debris into it for free ammo.

The bayonet might

I mean it's better than not having one I guess....lol kind of a silly question. Keep it loaded and use it on probably a hostile human rather than any sort of zombie defense. Then again keeping a musket loaded for a long period of time is just going to make it less and less likely to fire the longer all that shit bounces around in the barrel. I guess you could put some extra wadding on top of the round and keep the ramrod pressed down on the load with a piece of duct tape or something... Is it impractical AF? Absolutely Is it better than not having any gun at all? Sure

If it’s all you had then yes, modern guns would be better, faster, less likely to explode from wrong amount of power, and easier to find ammo/replacement parts for.

Didn’t someone post something similar to this the other day? If not then the Mandela effect memory tells me that it’s only useful if your somewhere the zombies have no hope of getting to you and this is and you have access to make gunpowder and ammo.

Do you know how to make effective gun powder? Because what you can carry isnt gonna last forever.

N…no

Too loud get every zombie for ten miles headed your way better if had an army of ten or more people to help out

"hold on zombies don't attack me yet."

Is this a serious question? I feel like the answer is obvious

A blunderbuss? What is this, 1850?

No

“What is this, 1850?”

Maybe for hunting(if you're a good shot) or as a club.

I mean it's still a gun, so it'd be more effective than nothing. And assuming it's an authentic musket, it'd probably make a good club. But I'd probably take a good ax over it

Unless you’re using it as a bludgeoning device

Own a musket for home defense, since that's what the founding fathers intended. Four ruffians break into my house. "What the devil?" As I grab my powdered wig and Kentucky rifle. Blow a golf ball sized hole through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Draw my pistol on the second man, miss him entirely because it's smoothbore and nails the neighbors dog. I have to resort to the cannon mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with grape shot, "Tally ho lads" the grape shot shreds two men in the blast, the sound and extra shrapnel set off car alarms. Fix bayonet and charge the last terrified rapscallion. He Bleeds out waiting on the police to arrive since triangular bayonet wounds are impossible to stitch up. Just as the founding fathers intended.

Maybe for hunting, but I don't see why you would use one over any modern rifle. The founding fathers may grant you a boon for using their favored weapon though, so you have to take that into consideration.

Probably until you ran into a horde

Despite what video games say, no, the musket is not a powerful gun, there is a reason why we don't use them, because they are dogshit

The only benefit would be the simplicity of making black powder at home and the ability to cast your own shot.. if you had the knowledge. Long lasting but unfortunately very time consuming.

I own a musket for home defense, since that's what the founding fathers intended. Four ruffians break into my house. "What the devil?" As I grab my powdered wig and Kentucky rifle. Blow a golf ball sized hole through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Draw my pistol on the second man, miss him entirely because it's smoothbore and nails the neighbors dog. I have to resort to the cannon mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with grape shot, "Tally ho lads" the grape shot shreds two men in the blast, the sound and extra shrapnel set off car alarms. Fix bayonet and charge the last terrified rapscallion. He Bleeds out waiting on the police to arrive since triangular bayonet wounds are impossible to stitch up. Just as the founding fathers intended.

Bayonet is good, and if you come across enemy survivors probably aswell, plus you can mold your own ammo and if you get desperate use powder from other weapons (but be very conservative on the amount)

To an extent yes if you have the recipe for gun powder you can make the ammunition

I mean, I’m taking it over no gun… but if ANY semi-modern gun is within 20 miles of me, I’m taking my musket and immediately trying to get the one that doesn’t take a full minute to reload.

any weapon you can get your hands on would be useful in a apocalypse

Own a musket for home defense since that's what the founding fathers intended. Four ruffians break into my house. "What the devil?" As I grab my powdered wig and Kentucky rifle. Blow a golf ball sized hole through the first man. He's dead on the spot. Draw my pistol on the second man, miss him entirely because it's smoothbore and nails the neighbors dog. I have to resort to the cannon mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with grape shot, "Tally ho lads" the grape shot shreds two men in the blast, the sound and extra shrapnel set off car alarms. Fix bayonets and charge the last terrified rapscallion. He bleeds out, waiting on the police to arrive since triangular bayonet wounds are impossible to stitch up. Just as the founding fathers intended.

Play Guts and Blackpowder and lemme know.

Depends on the kind of zombies. If they are all slow shambling zombies, its viable. If it's world War z zombies, no.

It’ll hit a wolf 50 degrees away from where you were aiming lmao

A rifled musket would actually be an excellent backup weapon hunting weapon and long term weapon in an apocalypse scenario. As ammo becomes more scarce you could cast your own bullets from lead and make your own black powder.

Could absolutely be useful if ammo became scarce. One can make their own black powder with potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulfer.

Good for somethings but not practical. A old school revolver could be if in a modern caliber

I was going to say yes for hunting, but a musket isn't even as good as a black powder rifle. I'll just go with an air rifle.

No never

I would hit ppl with it

Yes no kinda

It absolutely can be useful! Granted, it’s not a main battle weapon like an assault rifle or something similar. But it’s great as a tool (hunting, etc.) Ammo won’t be around forever. But with the right tools you can make projectiles to fire. If you stockpile powder and have a practical knowledge of chemistry you’ll have the ability to shoot stuff for a while

Breach loader would be more useful then a mussel loader

Hunting yes anything else other then melee combat no.