Places to Find Guns and Ammo in Project Zomboid (Build 42.19)
Build 42.19 · Hunt building types first · Map pins point to the block, not a guaranteed gun
Pistol
Shotgun
Assault rifle
1. Hunt building types, not town names alone
High-value gun rooms and what they usually hold:
| Building / room | Priority containers | What you usually get |
|---|---|---|
| Gun Store (shop floor) | Display cases, counters, shelves, lockers, crates | Shop firearms + ammo; display cases are the densest gun rolls |
| Gun Store (back storage) | Crates, cardboard boxes, metal shelves, military crates/lockers | Back-room ammo and armor more than floor guns |
| Police Station armory | Gun lockers, military lockers, metal shelves | Pistols, revolvers, shotguns, holsters; often behind armored doors/alarms |
| Military storage | Military lockers, military crates, metal shelves | Assault rifles and military sidearms in true storage rooms; shelves mix other army goods |
| Army Surplus Store / Jamieton Army Surplus | Display cases, shelves, military crates/lockers, clothing racks | Military-theme shop mix: long guns on cases, surplus clothing, packs, ammo boxes |
Secondary sources still matter early: police zombie outfits, pawn shops (mixed surplus chance), hunting shops, and rare house gun cases—but volume is far lower than the five types above.
2. Relative priority (risk vs gun volume)
“Best” depends on spawn town, transport, and how hard you can clear. Ranking below is relative for a normal Apocalypse-style world—not a guarantee of loot.
Tier A — Early armories
Where: local police stations (Rosewood, Riverside, Muldraugh, Ekron, West Point, Brandenburg/Irvington/Echo Creek when nearby).
Why first: close to many spawns; town PD armories are the standard small-town gun source.
Cost: armored doors, possible alarms, moderate zombies.
Tier B — Dedicated gun shops
Where: labeled Gun Stores (classic example: West Point) and Army Surplus shops.
Why: display cases force pistol/rifle/shotgun rolls; storage rooms stack ammo.
Cost: metal gates, counters, alarms—see the locked gun shop guide.
Tier B+ — Jamieton Army Surplus
Where: Doe Valley / Fallas Lake band (northwest of Rosewood); in-game key label Jamieton Army Surplus.
Why: surplus + gun-store style display loot in a rural cluster with fewer mega-city hordes than Louisville.
Cost: long travel; plan fuel/food. Full route notes: Jameston loot run.
Tier C — Louisville military density
Where: military outposts, checkpoints, surplus shops, refugee-camp armories, large PD/prison complexes.
Why: highest concentration of military lockers and army storage rooms.
Cost: very high zombie pressure; treat as mid/late expedition, not day-one shopping.
3. Sandbox loot multipliers (Build 42.19 presets)
In Custom Sandbox, look under Loot rarity → Ranged Weapons and Ammo. Building loot still rolls first; these multipliers scale how much of that loot you actually see.
| Preset | Melee weapons | Ranged weapons | Ammo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apocalypse | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.6 |
| Outbreak | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.6 |
| Rising | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Extinction | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 |
Custom sandboxes can raise or starve firearms independently of melee tools. If a store “feels empty,” check these multipliers before assuming the map pin is wrong.
4. How map pins work on this site
?goto=x,y links).
They are not full debug-menu world coordinates. Rough conversion: world X/Y ≈ grid × 10, then fine-tune inside that 10×10 block.
Example: grid 1207, 676 ≈ world 12070, 6760.
5. Classic town pins (still useful starting points)
Louisville, Riverside, Muldraugh, West Point, and Ekron coverage below. Military Outpost and Refugee Camp are listed separately; locker counts are not treated as hard facts.
Louisville — Military Outpost
Grid: 1251, 419
Outskirts military footprint. Expect dense zombies and military lockers/crates in storage rooms—not a quiet starter stop.
Separate from the refugee camp (do not treat them as one building).
Open Louisville mapLouisville — Refugee camp armory
Large multiplayer-famous compound: shelves, cabinets, tower lockers, and a dedicated armory wing.
Single-player often means breaking gates on the approach; accessibility is about the journey and crowd control, not a single sledgehammer puzzle. Pair with sledgehammer locations only if you plan wall/gate routes.
Louisville overviewLouisville — Army Surplus Store
Grid: 1223, 132
Army Surplus room type: display cases pull long guns; shelves and crates pull surplus clothing, packs, and ammo boxes. Strong military backpack odds for hauling gear.
Open Louisville mapLouisville — Police department & prison
Grid: 1241, 159
Heavily fortified civic complex. PD armories use police gun lockers; the prison side is smaller—often a single secure gun room rather than a full shop.
Open Louisville mapLouisville — Southern military checkpoints
Grid: 1343, 407
Roadblock-style military stop. Smaller than an outpost, but military lockers can still roll army firearms and ammo. Clearable as a side stop on a Louisville run.
Open Louisville mapRiverside Police Station
Grid: 608, 525
Typical small-town armory: expect armored access into a gun-storage room with lockers and shelves.
Open Riverside mapMuldraugh Police Station
Grid: 1063, 1040
Same pattern as Riverside: break or key the secure door, then loot police gun storage—not the office desks for primary firearms.
Open Muldraugh mapEkron Police Station
Smaller town PD with police gun lockers and support shelves. Use the in-game map / annotated maps once you reach Ekron rather than relying on a single old grid pin.
Open B42 full map (search Ekron)West Point Gun Store
Grid: 1207, 676
Classic high-value gun shop. Metal gates and locked layout; display cases are the main firearm rolls, back storage for ammo. Entry tactics: locked gun shop guide.
Open West Point mapWest Point Police Station
Grid: 1190, 694
Secure armory rooms with police gun lockers. Watch for building alarms when opening exterior doors before you commit to the armory fight.
Open West Point map6. Build 42 expansion towns (do not skip these)
Build 42’s playable map includes more than the old Louisville-centric list: Rosewood, Brandenburg, Echo Creek, Fallas Lake, Irvington, March Ridge, Valley Station, and the classic towns. For each, prioritize the same building labels: Police Station, Gun Store, Army Surplus Store, and military storage rooms.
| Area | Why it matters for guns | Map / guide |
|---|---|---|
| Rosewood | Beginner-friendly police station close to many first-week bases; lower pressure than West Point/Louisville. | Rosewood map |
| Fallas Lake / Doe Valley | Home band for Jamieton Army Surplus (key label in-game). Rural surplus + gun-shop style cases without Louisville density. | Jameston guide · B42 map |
| Brandenburg | Western expansion town; use POI search for police / gun-related buildings when based west of Riverside. | B42 map search |
| Irvington | Southwest expansion corridor—same building-type hunt as other towns once you establish a southern route. | B42 map search |
| Echo Creek | Far-west services band; plan long trips. Look for civic/security buildings, not only residential loot. | B42 map search |
| March Ridge / Valley Station | Extra urban/suburban pockets on the expanded map—police and commercial gun rooms follow the same loot rules. | March Ridge map · B42 full map |
7. What typically drops in these places
Within each place type, some items show up more often than others. Weapons and ammo usually come from different containers—check lockers for guns and shelves/crates for boxes of ammo.
| Place type | Common firearms / gear | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Police armory | Pistol, revolver, shotgun; secondary pistols / short revolvers; holsters; police bag | Standard armory for town PDs |
| Military storage | Assault rifle, pistol; scopes and military cases less often | Strongest on military lockers in army storage rooms |
| Gun Store display cases | Revolver, pistol, hunting rifle, assault rifle variants; shop holsters/sights | Display cases on the shop floor drive most of the firearm rolls |
| Gun Store ammo stock | Boxed ammo and related shop ammo stock | Dominant on counters, crates, shelves, and storage rooms |
8. Practical raid checklist
- Bring tools for metal gates and armored doors (crowbar, axe, or sledge depending on plan)—do not assume a store is open.
- Mute or plan for alarms; West Point and many PDs punish noisy entry.
- Loot display cases and military/police lockers first, then ammo shelves/crates.
- Leave with a bag plan: surplus shops pair well with military backpacks; PD loot is lighter but closer.
- Maintain what you find: weapon repair and ammo crafting / reloading options.
- Choose loadouts with the firearms comparison guide.
9. Related guides
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