Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Hornady Zombie Max Z-Max Ammunition Review Test

Hornady Zombie Max Z-Max Ammunition Review Test

About a year ago I was on a plane reading the Max Brooks Zombie Survival Manual.  Half way through the flight the guy sitting next to me noted how he loved zombie fiction and asked how hilarious I thought the Survival Guide was.  I stared blankly into his face and asked “what are you talking about? Zombies are real!”, cast a wink to the 60 year old lady on the other side of me and then I went back to reading.  Good way to get extra leg room by the way.

After the guy next to me hurriedly de-boarded, the 60-year old lady to the right of me, laughed hysterically and said as she was tapping my survival guide that she had seen zombies too, “they drive mini-vans”.  I too have seen zombies, they are usually are wondering around grocery stores after 5PM shuffling their feet, mumbling they need to pick up cheese and milk. Recently they did have that guy down in Florida eating that other dude... wow maybe zombies are real.
They say it could never happen, they said the mad cow virus would never mutate, and they said the Solanum virus would never surface, but today is the second after that starts our survival. For the Zombie preparer there is only one choice for Zombie ammunition loaded with the proprietary Z-max bullets and buckshot proven effective on all zombie types.  The one, the only original, fully certified Zombie Max ammunition from Hornaday is the only ammunition proven to be effective on Zombies.

The ZombieMax ammunition is real loaded ammunition, loaded to specifications ballistically similar to Hornady’s top end ammunition.  The distinctive green Zombie Z-Max tips will assure you have authentic Zombie Max ammo when the walking dead come clawing at your door.

Hornady Zombie Max Ammunition is available in these popular calibers
380 AUTO 90 GR Z-MAX™
SKU: 900801 | 25/BX  MSRP: $25.85


9MM LUGER 115 GR Z-MAX™
SKU: 90262 | 25/BX  MSRP: $22.92


40 S&W 165 GR Z-MAX™
SKU: 91342 | 20/BX  MSRP: $25.91


45 AUTO 185 GR Z-MAX™
SKU: 90902 | 20/BX  MSRP: $27.15


223 REM 55 GR Z-MAX™
SKU: 83271 | 20/BX  MSRP: $24.53


7.62X39 123 GR Z-MAX™ STEEL CASE
SKU: 80782 | 20/BX  MSRP: $21.24


30-30 WIN 160 GR Z-MAX™
SKU: 82729 | 20/BX  MSRP: $30.57


308 WIN 168 GR Z-MAX™
SKU: 80962 | 20/BX  MSRP: $37.51


12 GA 00 BUCKSHOT Z-MAX™ 2-3/4"
SKU: 86247 | 10/BX  MSRP: $15.52

FUNCTION & TESTING
My connections with classified military operations and a rogue buddy in DOD Special Operation, provided me with exclusive access to the Top Secret US Government Zombie Neutralization and Testing Facility (ZNTF) in Area 51 where trapped zombies are held for testing and research.  In the facility we were able to test the effectiveness of both single and double taps to the torso and head with the Hornady Zombie Max Z-max ammo.  Sadly, my camera was confiscated as I left the facility, however I am sure you already know what zombie brains look like. Single head shots to zombies with all calibers of the Hornady ZombieMax ammo proved instant stopping rounds while single and double taps torso shots to Zombie subjects provided incapacitating shots which prevented them from further pursuit. 

Apparently the day before we arrived ZNTF officials and researchers had just completed an inventory and realized they needed to reduce captive volumes by a considerable amount and allowed us to thin the horde a bit during out testing. After we finished ballistics testing, ZNTF allowed us to participate in zombie neutralization drill which seemed more like a high end organized ranch hunt where a dozen or so zombies were released and neutralized at various distances from shooters in the back of chase vehicles. One of my favorite firearms was a sniper setup with a Lilja 308 barrel which allowed precision head shots all the way out to 500 yards.
 

Firearms was Used During Testing
  • Ruger LCP - 380ACP
  • Glock 19 - 9mm
  • Keltec Sub 2000 - 9mm
  • Glock 22 - .40 S&W
  • Ruger SR1911 - .45ACP
  • Black Rain Ordnance Fallout-15 - .223 Wylde, Millet 1-4 DMS scope, Geissele trigger
  • Del-ton DTI15 - 5.56 Nato
  • Spikes Tactical ST15 - 5.56 Nato
  • Century Arms 39 Sporter USA Made AK47 - 7.62x39
  • Thompson Center Contender - 15" 30-30 barrel
  • DPMS AP4 - 7.63x51/308
  • Remington 870 - 12 Gauge
FINAL THOUGHTS

Based on our hands on testing, the Hornady Zombie Max ammunition was the most effective ammunition against zombies even when compared to Mil-Spec M855 rounds which consistently over penetrated.  These Zmax tipped hollow point bullets are devastating zombie stoppers.  The 00 buckshot 12 guage rounds were stunningly effective at close ranges. Without question the Zombie Max ammunition is a must have for your zombie preparedness kit.  Don’t leave home without them.

EDITORIAL NOTE - Of course I was having a little fun here helping promote a really unique product from Hornady for the Zombie preparedness folks, however the Zombie Max ammo will perform very similarly to the Hornady TAP and Critical Defense rounds and is real live ammo.  These are not blanks or stage props, this is real live premium ammunition.  In fact it shoots eerily similar to the TAP and Critical Defense ammunition in all my guns.  Very good stuff.  Obviously I should note, from a legal perspective, probably best to keep this loaded in your zombie defense gun and not in your home defense gun.  As an aside, the actor (Garrett Machine) in the Hornady Zombie Max promo video was one of my instructors at Mako Defense, was a finalist on the TV show One Man Army, and is a real Israeli Special Forces operative and is also a really nice guy that would be handy in a zombie fight. Plus he can do that slide over the car hood thing and make it look cool.

SOURCES
Where better to start your ammo search than at Brownells.com 

Hornady Manufacturing
http://www.hornady.com

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I'd be interested to know exactly how you go about designing a round specifically for use against zombies.

It is generally known that, in zombies, that apart from the nerves, all of the organs in the centre of mass are obsolete, so that unlike in humans, you've got to aim for the head.

This would require penetrating the thick skull, then quickly losing remaining momentum despite the relatively lower density of the brain inside.

I reckon then, that the best thing for it would be a round with a hard point shaped in such a way that after penetration it tumbles to face base forward as it travels in the soft tissue.

If there's any way to make the base soft without getting deformed before it's in the brain, like some kind of discarding sabot, that'd be good.

Unknown said...

The Zombie Max ammo is the same stuff as the Hornady Critical Defense. The only difference is the color of the plastic tip.

Unknown said...

Zombie max ammo is the exact same stuff as Hornady Critical Defense. Only difference is the color of the polymer tip.