Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

Curiously, the adoption of the 5.56 NATO round as the most common round type in America was rapid and overwhelming. But I don't think the same thing has happened in the handgun market. I presume that .38, 9mm, and .45 are all about equally common these days, with a significant number of .32, .357, and .44 running around, too.

Regardless, when the zombie apocalypse comes: maintain your calm, grab yourself something that shoots .5.56 NATO, and get on a sailboat out at sea.

I know for a while 10 mm was popular with some LEOs, I was told it was "too hot".  The 9 mm seems to be a sweet spot.  State patrols might carry 10, dunno, they used to like .357 because of its penetration, speaking of hot rounds.

My graphic shows how rifle rounds generally are a lot more powerful even with smaller "calibers".

I'll note again how naval and artillery rounds use the term "caliber" to mean something different, barrel length, not width.

Fix that. It's a good one.

Sure, rocket launchers would be nice, but I figure the best bet is to stay away from as many people and zombies as possible while still being able to feed and water myself. I'm reasonably confident that a sailboat along a coastline is the best option for that. If you end up in big enough cross hairs, all the 5.56 and rocket launchers in the world won't help you. And I think I'd rather spare the room on my boat for things I need to maintain the boat, and keep myself clothed and fed. The rocket launcher is a poor use of space.

That's my theory. Now if only I owned a boat, a rifle that took 5.56, a handgun that took 9 mm...

[fortunately, I'm not especially worried about the end of civilization as we know it--and if it does come, there will be enough stupid people around who panic that I will be able to find what I need.]

I might want a .50 cal (Ma Duece) on my boat, but mostly for show. Don't want to keep a lot of rounds in the hold, and if I get to the point of actually using it, things are going badly.

Those puppies up there are Iowa class: 50 cal. I'm sure you knew that. But yes, it's the length of the barrel, not the size of the shell (propellant was different, though).

:-)