RavenPanther

While I can't answer much but the last two paragraphs, from what I've seen you're absolutely right about the medical supplies. As for the bows: The crossbow is easy to find, the bolts only take up 1 space (composite arrows take up 2). But the reload time is very, very long (~4-6 seconds after each shot). It takes 2-3 shots to down a zombie, military zombies take more. However the crossbow can be used with a holosight, which is handy. The Ashwood Shortbow is easy to make (have an ax, and some rope, and find any ashwood tree near a town) and the arrows are relatively as common as bolts, plus they can be crafted from sticks and chicken feathers if you happen across a chicken. They take up 2 spaces (2 wide, 1 high), there's no 'iron sights' or anything, and as of this latest update, I've found it VERY hard to hit an animal from around 20 yards, I'm not sure why. The nice part is, it fits within a hunting backpack (letting you carry another weapon and not worry about dropping anything.) I've never shot at zombies simply because you CANNOT move while drawing the arrow back! So I cannot tell you how many hits it takes to kill a zombie (or even player.)

If you're still looking, Blaze, PM me your steam ID and we can talk a bit! I have a small group and we're always looking for others to join us!