What is wrong with a bayonet lug?

I stand corrected, there has not been a recorded military bayonet charge in slightly over 50 years. Even so, the lug is very useful for a bipod mount and adds almost no extra weight to the weapon. I would rather have it and not need it. The 2A does not say anything about bayonet lugs and it was written back when the actually used the things.

Tim the student said:

Incorrect. You can read an obit/story about the man that led the last one (that I am aware of) here. He died in 2009, BTW.

Click to expand...

I thought I read about the british using bayonets in afghanistan just a year or two ago. could be wrong though.

It seems bayonets would tend to increase muzzle awareness and reduce "sweeping," so they might actually have practical applications to non-military use after all.

Here's some examples:

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthr...ding-story-of-British-Bayonet-Charge-in-Basra

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8252974.stm

From wikipedia:

The British Army performed bayonet charges during the Falklands War, the Second Gulf War, and the war in Afghanistan.[7] Recently in Iraq at the Battle of Danny Boy, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders bayonet charged mortar positions filled with over 100 Mahdi Army members. The ensuing hand to hand fighting resulted in an estimate of over 40 insurgents killed and 35 bodies collected (many floated down the river) and 9 prisoners. Sergeant Brian Wood, of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, was awarded the Military Cross for his part in the battle.[8] This engagement brought to notice the tactical use of the weapon for close combat and the sheer psychological effect it can have. Similarly, in 2009, Lieutenant James Adamson, aged 24, of the Royal Regiment of Scotland was awarded the Military Cross for a bayonet charge whilst on a tour of duty in Afghanistan: after shooting one Taliban fighter dead Adamson had run out of ammunition when another enemy appeared. Adamson immediately charged the second Taliban fighter and bayoneted him.[9]

I thought I read about the british using bayonets in afghanistan just a year or two ago. could be wrong though.

Click to expand...

I've read some stuff like that too, but with mixed accounts of the events. I can't find any articles about it either. A forum discussion with a couple different stories here. I've also heard about them being used in Vietnam, but not as a whole elemental attack. I'm not a military history scholar though.

I know for a while we had to carry them in Iraq, but I never personally heard the command to "Fix Bayonets".

Geez, I believe I saw a couple of sks style guns with bayonets on them at the store a couple of weeks ago. Maybe I shoulda bought one of 'em.

Why are you even expecting a rational answer for this? So much of gun control is irrational and this is certainly a good example. And I'm not sure of why you disparage the zombie threads on this forum. We have been seeing hoirdes of mindless zombies as recently as yesterday milling around the state capital in Wisconsin.

Bayonets are just about obsolete. They were a great idea back in the days of single shot muskets...

Click to expand...

I'm not so sure, at least until the solve the "infinite ammo" problem.

Bayonets are one possible solution to the problem of "what do I fight with once I run out of ammo?"

True, the 30 round magazine do kick the problem down the road a bit, but anyone who has walked into a range with two mags and 100 rounds of loose ammo and has depleted it in 10 minutes can tell you, ammo goes darned fast.

The m4/m16/ar does make a really dumb spear, but it's an even worse club.

My Lee Enfield came with a lug ... AND a bayonet. 8)

Bayonets make me want to rape and kill.
Father stabbers and mother rapers prefer bayonets over flash hiders, hand guards, pistol grips, and thumb holes.



"Our wrongs we must right if we can through the Ballot Box, and if this fails us, through the Cartridge Box."

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story wrote;

I just like them because every rifle should have a large pointy piece of steel hanging off the end.

I don't know what is wrong with bayonet lugs, all my Mosin Nagant's bayonet is, is a really long screwdriver! Or hot dog stick!

Too similar to the shoulder things that go up.

Bayonets are just about obsolete.

Click to expand...

Utility knives are handy, especially when combined with wire cutters (M9). If you're going to carry one anyway, why not include a means of attachment, so that a rifle can be made into a spear when needed?

Bayonet training is really about instilling aggressiveness and a warrior spirit.

Bayonets are just about obsolete. They were a great idea back in the days of single shot muskets that could double as a pike after the one shot was fired but there has not been a recorded military bayonet charge in over a century

Click to expand...

Not true!
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article88661.ece

But seriously though, people's irrational fear of bayonets just confounds me.

Like what was eluded to in an earlier post. Bayonet lugs, along with other "evil" features, such as pistol grips, folding stocks, removable box magazines were items commonly found on military-style weapons that later became mislabeled as assault weapons.


The infinite wisdom of politicians concluded that by banning weapons with these features, they would effectively remove the military-style weapons from the possession of citizens, while at the same time "preserving" the right to keep and bear arms by not restricting non-military-style weapons, such as most bolt-action hunting rifles and similar.


Unfortunately for the politicians, most manufactures quickly realized that these new laws could easily be gotten around by simply removing some, but not necessarily all, of these deemed "evil" features, and still produce a military-styled weapon that was within the law.


Banning the features had no direct impact on the production of military-styled rifles, except to say that it, much to the dismay of many former politicians, actually increased the overall popularity of these military-style rifles, while having absolutely no effect on the overall, and unproportionally low crime rate committed with these types of weapons.

Oh, man, I just googled "the thing that goes up", and can't believe I ever missed that one! Perfect similarity, ban one little part of something because of emotions, even if we don't know what it does.

I suspect the OP's question can be answered thusly (is that a word?): Because government is inefficient, want's to be seen "DOOOOINNNGG SOMETHING!", and isn't accountable for knowing what the laws it passes are. (Not to mention, looking for logic in the government is a good way to drive yourself insane.)

Utility knives are handy, especially when combined with wire cutters (M9). If you're going to carry one anyway, why not include a means of attachment, so that a rifle can be made into a spear when needed?

Click to expand...

That does make sense. I was thinking more along the lines of a civilian SHTF bug out weapon. If I found myself on foot in a Katrina type situation, I believe that I would rather carry one more magazine than a bayonet. Anyway, one good use that no one brought up yet is using an AK or SKS folding bayonet as a monopod by unfolding it half way down and sticking the tip into the ground. I have seen pictures of Chinese soldiers shooting this way.

The 2A does not say anything about bayonet lugs and it was written back when the actually used the things.

Click to expand...

I still like Tench Coxe's phrase: "Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American."

Recall too, that the Fed AWB began in CA with either a DiFi or Babs Boxer aide being given a Guns Almanac and a marks-a-lot and being told to "circle everything that looks like a machine gun." Knowing that a law could not be passed if written that way, they sorted out what all the "appearance-evil" weapons had in common. And, thus, the list of "characteristics" was created. Nothing about function, use, even documentation of criminal use; all merely about appearance.

They don't want you to hurt yourself. See, they really care......

Because, when you're in a rough part of town, and you see a bunch of Scary-loooking young men hanging out, and they're looking you over as though you were a medium-rare filet mignon, the very last thing you want to hear from those gangstas is the order to "FIX.... BAYONETS!!!!"

For centuries the bayonet was the primary infantry weapon, the musket/rifle was just a neat extra trick. That could have something to do with it, but mostly it's just another way to try to ban an entire format of firearm.

Certainly the bayonet lug is gateway hardware to assault weapon violence.

This is most certainly the answer. A bayonet lug is an evil "assault weapon" feature. Look at the "assault weapon" law in NJ. If you have a Ruger GB Mini 14 in a standard stock you still have one too many evil features. If you grind off the bayonet lug the rifle becomes legal and obviously safer to the public.

Go ahead and try to find me an incident of someone in NJ being bayoneted since their AWB!