Where to find a gun in DayZ

One of the things you’ll probably want to do when you first start DayZ is to find yourself a gun to defend yourself from not only zombies, but primarily from other players who assume the role of bandits and try to steal your hard-earned loot.


One of the best places to look for a gun is the Balota airstrip (to the west of Chernogorsk), which his home to a barracks as well as several other looting points. Be wary here, as you may encounter a number of other players also attempting to find weapons or ammunition, or worse, laying in wait to rob unsuspecting and unarmed players.

There are 3 barracks in Balota airstrip, and you can often find M4A1 rifles underneath the beds. You may also find ammunition under some of the other beds, so it’s worth having a look around just in case.

The best place to find ammo, however, is just across the road from the barracks. You will see an area filled with tents; look inside the larger tents with two entrances and you should find some ammo.

If you’re unlucky and don’t find ammo or guns in these locations, allow me to briefly explain the spawn mechanism in DayZ.

The spawn mechanism is based on two factors: time and distance from the spawn area.

There are 3 distances to keep in mind (illustrated below left): 200m, 120m, and 30m respectively from the spawn area.

Once you are within 200m (the yellow circle), zombies will spawn in the area.

Once you are within 120m (the green circle), the loot spawn timer will begin. This lasts for 10 minutes from when you initially enter the area, so you can afford to take a bit of time looting as long as you don’t exceed 10 minutes.

The red area represents 30m from the spawn zone. If you are within this when the 10 minutes expires, no loot will respawn there, which is why you should make sure you are out of the area once the 10 minutes are up.

If you are playing with friends, this becomes much easier as the loot will respawn provided at least one of the players in the party is out of the red zone.

There you have it, good luck finding yourself a weapon, and good luck surviving DayZ!

Have you found any better places to find your first gun in DayZ? Let us know in the comments section below!

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