practical uses for the bayonet.

[ISC]

I have a friend that told me a story about an experience he had about 15 years ago. He was only about 20 then and the only firearm he owned was a Russian SKS that he bought as an investment on another friend's advice. His girlfriend at the time and he had just started going out and her ex boyfriend was obsessed about it and threatening to beat her up again. She started staying at my friend's apartment.

Late one night he was woke up by his nieghbor's dog barking and then heard a noise in his living room. He was on a higher state of alert because of a threat that the ex boyfriend had made to the girlfriend so he had his SKS out and leaned up against the wall by his bed. He grabbed it to check out the noise thinking that theere was nothing to worry about and he wwas just going to go reassure his girlfriend. He came around the corner from his bedroom and saw someone dressed in dark clothes carefully and (he thought) quietly opening the hall doors looking for their bed room. He was carrying a baseball bat. My friend was carrying the SKS at something like port arms and as soon as saw the guy he gave him an uppercut buttstroke, dazing him.

My friend held the ex boyfriend at bayonet point while the girlfriend called the cops. He tried to get up and leave and my buddy forced him to roll over on his stomach and poked him hard enough to nick him a little and draw a tiny bit of blood. The cops got there and charged the exboyfriend but then threatened to charge my friend with false imprisonment and assault. They then took away my friends SKS and held it until the exboyfriend's trespassing charges went to court.

The ex boyfriend never tried to contact the girlfriend again.

It appears he got the point!

[45Gunner]

Florida has the "Castle Doctrine" and anyone found in your house at night can be shot. A bayonet can be taken away from you and used against you if you are not proficient in martial arts. Once the bullet leaves the gun, there is a very good chance that that bullet will not be used against you, especially if it is in the perp who is illegally in your house.

[ISC]

All this happened before the castle doctrine became law. The thing I as focusing on was that once someone is apprehended or subdued, A bayonet could concievably be useful to hold them for the authorities.

[BitterTait]

I think the gun pointing at them would be equally effective as a bayonet.

Bayonets have their pros and cons. It's an extra tool, if the criminal attempts to grab your gun they may accidentally grab the blade, but it increases the length of the gun making it less handy around corners and in crowded rooms.

[Deaf Smith]

No problem guys. Just get the Glock bayonet.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/w...0/img-1751.jpg

Deaf

[jhenry]

A bayonet certainly has some added intimidation value so long as the individual believes you are going to use it without mercy. It is about the last thing I would add to a HD rifle though. It increases length, and weight. It also affords a handhold and added leverage for someone to disarm you. Going around corners, the bayonet will precede you. Most blade type bayonets are not sharp, some are, and I realize all can be made sharp. The cruciform types are only pointy. As for myself, if deadly force is to be used, and I sure hope it is not needed, the last thing I want to do is skewer some crackhead a bunch of times in my living room.

[animal]

Well, I wouldn’t go traipsing around with an extended SKS bayonet (it’s too long), or take the muzzle off of a captured bad guy long enough to flip it out and latch it (), so that’s out for me. I’d prefer not to be quite close enough to stick him with it too (there are ways to get out from under bayonet point and closeness can be a liability)..... glad it worked out for the guy that did use one, though.
Actually, I wouldn’t be using an SKS by choice in that situation to begin with, but I can't be critical 'cause I've done worse.

Kinda off topic, but the SKS bayonet does make a decent impromptu monopod.
Also had an SKS once that just wouldn’t shoot right without the stupid thing on the gun… couldn’t hit worth nuthin with it off the rifle, but got decent groups (for an SKS) with it mounted …didn’t matter whether it was folded or extended .. dunno if it was the added weight, psychosomatic, or what… Studied that thing for loose parts and such til I got sick of it and sold it. I’ve owned SKSs before and since and the others didn’t do this.

Best use for a bayonet I’ve found was in the early MAK-90 days when AK folding ones got cheap as sweat in summer. They make the sweetest tent stakes you’ll ever find.

Dispersed a small crowd of crackheads on a small commercial lot I owned once (the cops were only interested in sending me fine notices for garbage on the property, refused to run the trash generating the trash off , and city code wouldn’t allow me to put up an effective fence) That was with a P-17 Enfield bayonet that happened to be in the truck at the time … more like a short sword, really…. But it was what I had and it worked. Would’ve rather had an aluminum little league baseball bat … now that’s a truly sweet non-gun weapon !

[Dave P]

"Florida has the "Castle Doctrine" and anyone found in your house at night can be shot."

I sure hope nobody takes this literally :barf:


PS I always thought bayonets were good for the moles in my grass!

[Deaf Smith]

I sure hope nobody takes this literally

Dave,

YES. Take it literaly. Same for Texas. If someone breaks into your house the law says you are presumed to be in mortal danger and you most definatly can shoot.

It is not wise to break into houses that are occupied in Texas or Florida.

Deaf

[Catfishman]

It seems that most people on TFL laugh at bayonets. But I can see that a bayonet makes a scarier weapon. So you may be less likely to have to pull the trigger. Also bayonets don't jam. As for bayonets making it easier to take a gun from you. It would take a really tough guy to take a loaded gun with a bayonet on it away from an angry homeowner.

All that said, the only bayonet I have is on a Mosin-Nagant.

[T. O'Heir]

Ever heard about a thing called spelling?
"...poked him hard enough to nick him a little and draw a tiny bit of blood..." He's lucky he wasn't charged with attempt murder.

[ISC]

Originally Posted by T. O'Heir

Ever heard about a thing called spelling?
"...poked him hard enough to nick him a little and draw a tiny bit of blood..." He's lucky he wasn't charged with attempt murder.

What the heck are you talking about? The only mis spelled thing in your last post wasn't in quotations, it was "attempt murder" instead of "attempted murder".

Were you referring to "nick"?

Main Entry: 1nick
Pronunciation: \ˈnik\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English nyke, probably alteration of nocke nock
Date: 15th century
1 a : a small notch, groove, or chip b : a small cut or wound

[jhenry]

I assume you meant to spell "attempted murder" and not "attempt murder".

Edit: Crud! ISC beat me to it.

[OldMarksman]

YES. Take it [anyone found in your house at night can be shot] literaly. Same for Texas. If someone breaks into your house the law says you are presumed to be in mortal danger and you most definatly can shoot.

Slight but important difference here--"found in" your house vs. "had unlawfully and forcibly entered."

But the key word is "presumed." A presumption is rebuttable.

The current code greatly reduces the burden on the defender to prove that he or she faced imminent danger, but it is not a defense against a murder charge that may come about as a result of other evidence.

[ISC]

glass houses and all that....

Aside from this rememberance of a story from an old friend, I think bayonettes are more or less useless items. I even left mine at home when I deployed because it was something I bought for personal use and I figured that if the Army wants me to have one they'll issue me one out of the tuffbox in the armory.

All my SKSs have bahonettes though, not because I ever expect to need one, but because it's a unique feature of the rifle and looks cool. Since I consider my SKSs part of the "collectable" part of my collection instead of "1st line go to war" part of my collection, I try to keep them in original configuration.

When things go bump in the night back home I grab my CCW 9mm. Here, well we have to carry our M4s around with us everywhere we go.

[ClayInTx]

Dave quoted this:
“Florida has the "Castle Doctrine" and anyone found in your house at night can be shot."

and said this:
I sure hope nobody takes this literally


Study that sentence and you should see what Dave was referring to.

[noyes]

practical uses for the bayonet

1 in each car
1 in tool box
1 for yard work
1 collectible
2 in the house

[Thecrazy2233]

1 in each car
1 in tool box
1 for yard work
1 collectible
2 in the house



totally agree!

[THORN74]

ur friend should have pulled the trigger and shot the intruder. Ive got a ww1 mauser with its original bayonet (12" blade) and i wouldnt use that for self defence durring a home invasion. i wouldnt get close enough to use a bayonett (by choice) untill after the guy stopped breathing.

the bayonett hasnt been a primary weapon since the civil war.

[Edward429451]

Here's a lil thread veer, someone on the know speak up. I am non military and have seen my share of bayonets...all of them dull, I don't think I've ever seen a sharp bayonet...

They are dull on purpose, aren't they? So they tear and not cut...That's the only thing that would explain it why everyones bayo's are dull...

[GM1967]

Walking through your house with a bayonet on the end of your rifle might be a little unsafe, at least if there is anyone else in the house who is supposed to be there. Remember, there's no safety on a bayonet, and you don't control it with your trigger finger. In the dark, the wrong person could easily walk into it.

However, if you live alone, and you want to put a bayonet on the end of your home defense rifle, go right ahead. Just be aware it has advantages and disadvantages

[kodiakbeer]

All of you are assuming the rifle was loaded or had ammo available. The OP says he bought the rifle as an investment, so I'm assuming he didn't have any ammo.

I'm sure it made a better weapon than a chair or lamp.

[Old Grump]

Bayonets are dull because they are thrusting tools designed to go in between ribs, spread them out and in general raise havoc with the insides of your enemy. The edge isn't ground for sharpening and they aren't tempered to hold a sharp edge. You could grind away and make a sharp edge and then you will break the edge the fist time you used it.

It was a multi-purpose tool as an improvised mine finder, digging a shallow trench, opening a can of oil or a can of beans, pry bar for opening a crate of goodies or snapping the bands on your case of ammo and you just happened to leave your shears in another foxhole.

If you had my favorite, the M17 it made a dandy short sword. 16 1/2" of blade and a 5" grop made a formidable weapon mounted on the gun or hjeld in your fist.

For those claiming it was just another hand hold to be used to take the gun away from you think again. Looking at the sharp end of a bayonet is pretty intimidating, maybe more so than the muzzle behind it. Not everybody is conversant with ninja moves and in the heat of the moment the man with the fised bayonet holds all the trump cards. It does make the rifle a little unwieldy indoors but in the open and out of bullets fighting hand to hand a spear was a wonderful weapon and so is a Springfield with 6 1/2" of steel on the front of it.

If a knife was needed for cutting that was what the Kabar sheath knives were for.

Told you I was a dinosaur. My company commander was a lawyer by training and worried about his troops cutting each other up in horseplay so he wouldn't let me issue bayonets. For 6 years that goody box of blades got hauled around everywhere we went but the only time it ever got opened was for inventory. We had some discussions about that but Captain trumps SSG. Sigh. What a waste.

[jimbob86]

Opening MRE boxes and bags..... or T-Rats.

...... killing Jake, or any other critter that decides to take up resicence in your hole/guardshack/bunker.....

......with the addition of a rag affixed to the end if the grip (as a drogue), it can be used as equipment for a game of "Desert Lawn Darts"......

[THORN74]

ED: baynetts, while many are knife size, are more of a sword weapon catagory, and as such do not need a razor sharp edge. I have a rather large collection of period correct "battle ready" swords (meaning full tang non-wallhangers) none of these weapons aside from maybe a katana have a razor/knife edge. infact they appear dull to the touch. to think of these as not as lethal or not as dangerous is follhearty at best.

they are lethal weapons designed with the primary purpose of killing.