Bayonet on rifle? Yes or No?

[Charlie98]

Bayonet drills in a modern army? When was this? Do soldiers still do such drills? I’m not a military guy and assumed bayonet drills were a pre-WWII thing.

Army Basic Training... 1986. Judging by the Iraq photo above, they still train with bayonets, as well they should.

 

[d2wing]

Bayonet drills in a modern army? When was this? Do soldiers still do such drills? I’m not a military guy and assumed bayonet drills were a pre-WWII thing.

No. We had bayonet drills during Vietnam with the M-14. Since some units were issued bayonets for the M-16 they must have had bayonet training as well. It wasn't required when I was changed to M-16 on my second tour.

 

[lightman]

I have a couple but have only mounted them on a rifle to check the fit. I don't shoot any rifle with a Bayonet or have ever been in a situation where I needed one. (yet)

This thread brings to mind the final battle scene in the movie "We were Soldiers". Even though I'm not a Vet and have never been in combat that quote "fix bayonets" makes the hair on my neck stand up!

 

[doubleh]

When a high school kid I bought a WW II surplus bayonet while attending a state FFA convention. I had no rifle that it would fit but I thought it was cool. I have never got into Mil-surps and have no idea what happen to the bayonet. It turned out to to be pretty much unusable for anything except looking at. At least it cost very little of that time period's money. In other words it was dirt cheap.

 

[Gun-Reck]

Thoughts on the M1 rifle bayonet.

Pass.

It makes a marginally handy rifle long, unwieldy, and shoot poorly.

The rifle is already over 10 lbs., and makes a great staff/club.

A "bayonet" thrust with the muzzle into the face of an opponent would also ruin his day.

 

[jmr40]

Here's mine.



I do actually have one, figured it was worth $5 at a gunshow for the novelty.

I also have a couple of these. USMC issue actually used in the Middle East somewhere. I picked these up for $30 each a few years ago. I bought them for the historical perspective. The Marines no longer issue them. Don't know about the Army but I doubt if they do either. They will fit on one of my AR's but I can't ever envision actually using them.

 

[AlexanderA]

Why stop at bayonets? If you're a collector, you should have all the web gear that's associated with each milsurp rifle. Otherwise it's difficult to understand the context in which it was used.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Soviet rifles were sighted in with bayonet fixed, so putting it on can definitely help that Mosin group on paper where you’re aiming.

I like to own a bayonet for my rifle on principle but I’d not quite call myself a bayonet collector.

I'll have to put my bayonet on my mosin and shoot it. My SKS i let it on. Since it folds out of the way.

 

[tarosean]

Other than a couple SKS's in the late 80's early 90's.. Never had one mounted.

 

[Shodan]

Thinking about one for my 10/22, because occasionally I walk up on a squirrel that's not dead yet.

 

[AgentPickle]

Bayonet vs. Watermelon.I like bayonets, I will die on that hill (or maybe I won't because I have a bayonet.). Related link. How to make all your gear smell watermelon fresh.

Edit:
I accidentally broke the link, so here it is
http://bayonet vs. Watermelon. https://youtube.com/shorts/fGlmfY5NHvQ?si=TTSi1h5YAT4oW3Kl

Sorry,
Robert

Thank you Sir.

 

[AgentPickle]

Flamethrower because it's never a war crime the first time.

You sound Canadian Eh. LOL

 

[AgentPickle]

If the guys on the southern border had bayonets, they wouldn't have been overrun by that group of illegal border crashers.

This is exactly my point. People are less likely to test someone with an affixed bayonet.

 

[Wildfan99]

Why stop at bayonets? If you're a collector, you should have all the web gear that's associated with each milsurp rifle. Otherwise it's difficult to understand the context in which it was used.

I have to stop somewhere. LOL
If I was doing reenactment, I'd be all in.
I have some miscellaneous stuff, but it just gets too cluttered and overwhelming.

 

[12Bravo20]

I still have a M7 bayonet from when I was in the Army. I ended up building a M16A2 clone to go with it.

Oh the fond memories of bayonet training in Basic Training at Fort Leonardwood in 1989. And we trained a little bit with bayonets mounted when training up for the Bosnian peace keeping mission in 1994.

 

[AK Hunter]

I like having a bayonet with my carbine rifles but I wouldn't carry it around with the bayonet on. I want it there when I need it.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I probably have more bayonets than milsurp rifles - they are often found in parts lots bought in bulk.
I like them as a back-up, in theory: I might run out of ammo but I've never run out of bayonet.
Anyway, some of my bayonets are worth much more than the guns that are supposed to bear them... .

 

[AlexanderA]

If I was doing reenactment, I'd be all in.

Doing reenactments (at least in my case) was mostly an excuse to collect all the gear.

Here are the muskets, each with its bayonet:

 

[silicosys4]

No. They have zero utility for me

 

[Hunter 08]

You sound Canadian Eh. LOL

Nah, just an American. Where war crimes happen in 12ths.

 

[Rick McC.]

I have one as well. I only fixed it to my M1 once just to see how it fit.

I had a Chinese and a Russian SKS that had attached bayonets. The Chinese model had a spike bayonet. The Russian model had a blade bayonet. I do miss that Chinese SKS. It was darned accurate for an assembly line weapon. I have it to a friend of mine’s son. I think he liked it more than I did.

That’s my only bayonet affixed rifle, too; a Norinco fiberglass stocked SKS.
I think I paid $96.00 for it in the early ‘90’s.

 

[FL-NC]

I'm kind of surprised they are even still a thing in the military. They are very antiquated in a modern battlefield scenario- they can't even be mounted or used on a rifle or carbine with a grenade launcher attached, and the M4 variants in SOF won't even accept one- one upper has a 10" barrel, the other has a full length rail with a low profile gas block, so it doesn't even have a bayonet lug. I didn't see a single one carried by a single soldier anywhere during GWOT. My personal experiences with the bayonet was in basic training running around yelling and stabbing things on some type of obstacle course with foam enemy dummies all over the place, followed by graduation from basic training with rifle and fixed bayonet. They COULD be a very effective tool in the hands of the national guard for civil unrest situations, like a border crossing being overran. Unfortunately, public opinion has a real problem with any use of force employed as a response to people acting like savages.

 

[Show Me]

Get off my lawn.


Mounted it for a picture. Can you imagine that thing falling over in the night next to my bed. Or on my foot.

 

[Show Me]

Army Basic Training... 1986. Judging by the Iraq photo above, they still train with bayonets, as well they should.

Your young yet

 

[Charlie98]

I'm kind of surprised they are even still a thing in the military.

It just depends on the mission role. I could see where it would be a detriment, and I can see where... if it got down to that... it would be a benefit. A bayonet is for a specific type of engagement.