I personally like a machete, or possibly the sharpened blade from a paper cutter.

If I absolutely had to use a gun, I suppose it would be a handgun, preferably with a silencer.

I would have to say a very sharp sword. I saw Manic Cop 3 and he carries a sword that looks like a billy stick until you take it out of the sheath.

Samurai katana. A very sharp and manuverable sword. Guns are nice, but then there's the hassle of locating more ammo...Yes, I would carry a firearm, several in fact. But, being skilled in sword play would also be a good thing.

I think I'd prefer to make my own weapon ...something all me

Oooh weapons.  I hate to be all boring, but I think I'd just stick to something like a tire iron.  Tire irons (and similar tools) are ubiquitous, well-tolerated by the authorities (at least more so than your average firearm or long bladed weapon), durable, and versatile.  You can use it as a truncheon or a stabbing weapon, and you can use it defensively to ward off and misdirect blows.   It also has uses in...well...changing tires (which in a zombie catastrophe type thing might come in quite handy) and prying open locked doors.

Of course, what's probably more important than a given weapon is the flexibility to see any tool or object as a potential weapon and the intestinal fortitude to use said weapon to do what is necessary in a dire emergency situation.

tire iron? never thought about that... i would have to go with CauliflowerJones. i would prefer a machete. did u see what that thing could do to a human head in friday the 13th? i know its a little over acted but come on if u have enough strength to cut through a neck then its a pretty good weapon.

I think people underestimate the quality of a good homemade weapon. I keep one in my closet. It's kind of like a baseball bat. Same idea defense against intruders, but its actually three railroad spikes wired together and covered with electrical tape. Now that will leave a bruise or you know crush your skull with one swing...very versatile. You'd be surprised what you can make with scrap metal and such.

I keep a sawed of bit of pipe next to my bed and a tapered metal table leg (it's solid but light, so I can swing and recover it almost instantaneously) next to the front door.  I feel a bit silly about the table leg since I've lived in the same place since 1980, and not only has nobody ever tried to break in but the most I've ever had stolen off the property was a trash can (and it might have just blown away).

I have an old iron pipe that's long enough to serve as a stave in the backyard, but I mostly use it for scraping the grass crud from the underside of the lawn mower, breaking tree limbs, and prodding the occasional mystery object.  It would probably be alright for jabbing, but otherwise it's a lousy weapon because it takes too long to recover if swung due to its weight.

There are aluminum baseball bats made for little kids - T-ball bats... they are perfect weapons and I keep one in the back of my truck at all times. Light, solid, maneuverable and would have no trouble taking off a zombie's head (as well as a would-be attacker in other instances...)

I am a big fan of shot guns generally, but don't know about their usefulness with zombies. I need a good rifle to assist with my beaver problem (see blog) anyway so I will likely go that direction as well. The country folks where I live love their guns... but I've stopped short of an actual gun rack in my truck for now.

On that topic... glove gun...definitely glove gun...

But for zombies...i'd go with some heavy bludgeoning instrument of some kind 

A chainsaw, of course. Or even a lawnmower like that one used by Lionel to end the zombie party at his house in Dead Alive.

Heavy broken table leg

or 12" piece of steel pipe with an elbow joint at the end

either with scraps of scalp still adhered.

and without being sexist, an icepick for the ladies.  (for those close quiet moments).

ouch!

Are we talking about weapons for actual self defense, plotting a murder or what would be the best thing against a zombie? If we're talking about a murder, a friend of mine from high school once made a good point that an ice sickle would be the best thing. Other than being an obvious stab wound, the exact type of weapon used would be hard to identify forensically and after a couple of minutes in the microwave you've permanently disposed of the murder weapon. If we're talking zombies/self defense I'd have to go with a boat paddle. They're fairly sturdy, not that heavy or bulky and the paddle part itself is a little less sharp than an ax head.

Ever since I watched Shaun of the Dead i'm going to have to go with a cricket bat, and there's almost something nostalgic about a crossbow. I'd probably die using these 2 weapons as my only defense against a zombie invasion but i'd feel pretty damn bad-ass while I did. Gotta love them Brits.

Careful with that cricket bat.  It can hurt if you hit yourself in the head, ow. 

As for me, I'd use either the lawnmower strapped to the chest from braindead or the riding one from the video game Dead Rising.  Just with lots of gasoline of course.

I can think of worse things than being beaten to death with you, Molly

My own weapon of choice would have to be the MK47 Advanced Lightweight Grenade Launcher "STRIKER40":

I fired its predecessor when I was in the Marine Corps in the eighties. Trust me, get behind one of these and the only thing you have to worry about is cleaning up the mess. (In case it's not clear, this is a machine gun that fires grenades instead of bullets. It fires 4-5 rounds per second, which is pretty darned fast for a 40mm shell due to the recoil. Zombie invasion, sir? What zombie invasion?)

Fuckin a'!

I suppose its a good choice for a gun person.

It's not so much that I'm a gun person. I thought we were stopping a zombie invasion. If it's just onesies, I'd probably use piano wire. Or, if I could get the bugger strapped down, boring beetles (no, not Ringo...).

I don't think there's any greater pleasure or rush in the world than a four inch blade sliding through the epidermal skin of the neck with the ease of dog shit spreading out under the weight behind your shoe, splitting the jugular in two and the hard jerk when you dig it into their windpipe, then you can see the priceless look of shock and surprise. The type of look that says "I shouldn't have died this way. What happened? Where did I go wrong?"

Hmm... Shit.

If anyone's interested, i saw a video on liveleak.com a few weeks ago and there's this new gas powered knife where you stab something and push a button and it shoots this high pressure gas into whatever it is you're stabbing. The dude totally blew the shit out of a watermelon. First thing I thought of was, Zombie head. It's designed to blow up your internal organs. Yummy.

that is the coolest thing i have ever heard in my life and i would take that hands down for a zombie attack

Just had this conversation with a friend this morning.  I think we have to seperate your Zombie types first.  For the slow moving zombies like those in shaun of the dead, blunt weapon would be prefered, a bladed weapon has the danger of getting stuck in something.  A gun, no, not in this case, just easier to bash the thing in the head without having to worry about carrying ammo everywhere.  Don't forget about your clothing, could save you if your bitten,  I would suggest Carhart clothing, thats pretty thick and strong material.  For your fast moving zombies like those in 28 days(or weeks)later, though these arn't really the undead, so classification as zombie? dunno.  But I digress, your weapon of choice for your speedy zombies, a gun, nothing else would really work, those things are just to fast.  Truthfully if your being chased down by the fasties I would just kiss my ass goodbye.

Bakili, if we had followed your lead, we would still be British. Remember Valley Forge! Remember Antietam! Remember Tarawa! Where's your fighting spirit, man? Zombies don't even have weapons!

no, but they are very "bitey".

for up close a small two pound sledge is pretty good.

1.  crossbow

2.  nailgun

3.  aluminum bat

4.  battle ax/mace

5.  good, solid blade

I definitely need to put more thought into this...

"Y'see, I'm a guy of simple taste. I enjoy Dynamite..and Gun Powder and..GASOLINE! And y'know the thing that they have in common? They're cheap."

~The Joker~

I really appreciate that in Dead Rising, the game, I can chop off a zombie's hand and use it as a weapon :D

I love that game-- I like to run over them with the truck or sometimes I would make a stand in the doorway of the hardware store and use the chainsaw, sledgehammers, and the long scythe.  You can kill them til the bodies start to pile up into a mound--very cool

Being a BRIT :)  its hard for us to gain access to firearms, hence the Cricket Bat in Shaun of the Dead, Most of the lads i know have one of these from there days at school.

although a good sturdy 9 iron would help with a zombie attack, as it can penetrate the Kranial area while still giving you the distance so that you are out of the reach of the aforementioned Dead Dude

Well if you're gonna go with a golf club, try a driver or a 1 wood.  Larger head, longer shaft for greater distance.  Optimization is always key.

I agree with cryptic, more flex from the drivers shaft too. Ever hit something head with an iron like a tree, your hands wont be very happy.

What if you sharpen the edge with a grinder, or is that going a bit far .............................................. or not far enough :)

Sounds good....youd have to be REALLY ready for the zombies to have that though.  It'd bite your head off while you ground it if not.  lol.

Oh this one's easy.

Three weapons.

1) Close range- Crowbar. Simple. Not heavy. Common. And has MULTIPLE USES (zombocalypse survival is all about usability and efficiency).

2) Open ares- Shaolin Spade. Love this one, by far my favorite. 90" staff with each end bladed. Decapitates without a whole lot of effort (good for me since I'm not a large guy).

3) Long Range- I prefer bows over guns. Yes, they lack a bit of the raw power and do require a bit stranger form of ammunition, however, you can go and retrieve the ammunition after you are safe.