The Smashing Coconut Test II: Arrows

Today we determine the effectiveness of standard flight arrows against the evil brain-eating coconut.

Why Archery?

A zombie hunter proficient in archery is an important asset to your team. 

He or she can take out the living dead quietly using ammunition that could be manufactured more easily than those used in firearms. 

Stealth missions, hunting for food, or just simply thinning down the horde a few zeds a day are important to long-term survival.

Equipment:

• SF Archery Recurve Bow, limb poundage is at 28 lbs.
• Easton Platinum shafts
• Saunders 145 grain field points (arrow points)

*My bow's draw weight is 28 pounds. This is determined by the limbs. This is what are lot of beginners start with. When I graduate to intermediate or advance-level proficiency, I can upgrade to 40 pounds or higher. 40 and above is the minimum standard for bowhunting.

Target: 

1 ripe coconut (juice suitable for drinking & salad) 

The Test:

• To find out if a flight arrow using field points (heavier tips) shot from a recurve bow with a 28 pound draw strength could destroy a zombie.

• To determine overall penetration or deflection against a round surface that is shaped like a skull.

with home-made silencers

Technique:

I was worried about the arrow deflecting in odd angles so the coconut was set on the ground to be shot at from my 2nd floor balcony at a distance of 15 meters & approximately 45 degrees or higher.

Bowhunting is most commonly done at steep angles. This is also ideal for Zombie Hunting.

15 meters is my usual practice distance, mostly because my yard only goes as far as 18. I've been working on hitting a head-sized shape at least 2x a week. So far it has taken me about a month to maintain a grouping of 6 arrows out of 10 in the zombie-killing head shot zone.

Results:

I shot a regular flight arrow (red & green fletching) using regular target points. It only penetrated through 5 inches of the coconut. This was deep enough to make it into the empty space that contains the meat and juice.

The second arrow (green & black fletching) quipped with the heavier field-tip points made it all the way through the coconut. Penetration measured at 8 inches, entering through one side and exiting through the near-middle portion of the coconut. Perfect zombie-kabob!

There was a neat sounding thunk! sound when each arrow landed. Killing a zombie this way will be very satisfying. 

No shot deflected, even if they landed slightly off-center. Awesome.

Conclusion:

You CAN destroy a zombie with a "trainer-strength" 28 pound bow with simple field-tips. I can't wait to upgrade to 40 or 50 pound limbs so I can take zeds out at longer range!

Quite interesting that the arrow dug in as far as it did. By comparison, my best attempt using a hand axe with my left arm only chopped into the middle.

I ate his brain. Yum.

Success is sweet, and so was the coconut salad! A happy ending for all.

Stay vigilant!

Armscor .22 TCM VS Steel Plate

On my recent trip to the Armscor Firing Range at the basement level of the Makati Cinema Square, I was delighted to find the Rock Island Armory .22 TCM pistol already being sold. 

I'm excited about this thing. And so is American Handgunner. 

The .22 TCM weighs only 40 grains but can travel over 2000 feet per second. Pretty impressive numbers for a tiny little package.

Check out this framed 4mm steel plate that shows the effect of various types of ammunition that were tested against it.

This is the same steel that protects each shooting bay. As you could see, only the 5.56 caliber bullet fired from a Ruger Mini-14 and the .22 TCM were able to penetrate. 

A pistol round doing what a rifle bullet does? Holey moley.

When I tried it out a few months ago at the Bolo Cup tournament in the ARMSCOR FIRING RANGE in Marikina City, I was just amazed at how fun it was to shoot. I felt hardly any recoil and it was very accurate. It did things to a watermelon that would put a .45 to shame.

Can someone please send a few samples to that truly awesome gentleman at The Box 'O Truth so we can see how it works against water jugs & denim, drywall, door locks, car doors, and other cool stuff?

I'm a bit worried worried about how this would perform in a personal defense scenario.  Over-penetration endangers you family members in your home, and also your next-door neighbors. You are responsible for all your shots, even if it passes through your target and into someone else!

Now imagine if someone would develop a submachinegun using the .22 TCM that would hold 30-100 rounds in its magazine. I'd say it would be a fantastic zombie-killer.

Stay vigilant!