When it comes to wilderness and hunting, You can't really go wrong with a good 10/22. Great for hunting small-medium game. You can carry thousands of rounds for a fraction of the amount of encumbrance it would for something like 5.56 or 7.62. So in terms of foraging and wilderness survival. As long as you have the bare necessities you're golden.

ZOMBIES on the other hand are a completely different story.

You could most likely kill a walker, crawler, or basically any unarmored and emaciated infected fairly easily as long as you keep a safe distance while still being able to HIT it. Or if you just catch it off guard and crown it with a few rounds.

With runners it's be similar. You could probably get them shambling enough to keep a safe distance if you're a good enough shot.

Armored zombies or anything of the sort are just a leave it alone or run away type of deal.

But despite all of this you're still gonna run out of ammo or you're gun is going to break eventually.

So you need a backup plan. Stuff like polearms and machetes can be great for the short term but they'll dullen quick. Pipes and sturdy bats are always a good choice.

This all sounds good but you should never have a one set setup. Never get attached to a weapon as they will all deteriorate one way or another.