You may be a fan of The Walking Dead series, or maybe World War Z – either way, what could be more fun than smoking hordes of groaning, salivating zombies? The only question is, what would be your weapon of choice? It may surprise you that the Pentagon takes this question seriously…I mean, really seriously. So much so, in fact, that the author of the graphic novels World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide, Max Brooks (son of comedian Mel Brooks, btw) is a Senior Fellow at West Point and has given lectures to both FEMA and The Naval War College on how a zombie apocalypse might unfold in America.

Unlike the Hollywood movie starring Brad Pitt as a cross between a Mission Impossible-style hero and a world-renowned epidemiologist, the 2006 novel that originally inspired the film is billed as “An Oral History of the Zombie War” — and the majority of deaths happen not from ravenous zombies, but from resulting military conflicts and infrastructure collapse that lead to famine and other natural disasters. Long story short, if Brooks is right, ravenous swarms of zombies aren’t the only threat you’d be facing, and there won’t be any blonde-haired superheroes coming to save you, either.

Furthermore, typical of zombie biology, Brooks’ zombies can only be neutralized by either a clean headshot or severing the head from the spine. Nothing else will do the job… With that in mind, we asked some experts exactly which guns they’d want to have in the event of a zombie apocalypse, and why? Here are their answers…

3. DDM4 PDW, Sig or Diamondback 300 Blackout — Light, large capacity and good for sweeping rooms, as it’s short and a thumper. Ammo capacity is higher than some of the 7.62 or similar calibers. Highly adaptable and a nice, slim profile. Highly recommended for wasting zombies.

4.  SIG MPX Copperhead 9mm — Small, compact, high capacity sub gun with great flexibility. Perfect for crowded defense situations and single-handed use. Can be stowed easily and used accurately by a smaller person. Has ammo coordination with the 1911.

Bonus Weapon:

TenPoint TX440 Crossbow with Evo-X Scope (for zombies with bullet immunity) – Compact, lightweight, easy to draw in tense situations. Shoots 440 FPS, with a user-friendly AR-style stock and quiet release that’s ideal for taking out the undead without giving up your position. Pricey, but compared to the alternative (being eaten-alive and condemned to an eternal after-life as a blood-thirsty zombie) it’s worth the money.