The Bayonet
From about 1989, when democrats in Congress began pushing for the assault weapons ban they eventually got passed in 1994, during the Clinton administration, guns with bayonet lugs were viewed as being among the most evil type. I lobbied with other cops from across the U.S., on multiple occasions with the NRA and the now defunct Law Enforcement Alliance of America, against such a ban for those five years and was shocked by the level of hatred that existed against rifles with bayonet lugs.
By that time, I had been a full-time cop for around 10 years and had never seen a bayonet charge by gang-bangers or any other criminals. Be that as it may, the presence of a bayonet lug on a rifle like the AR, AK, FN, or SKS (where the bayonet is removable but built in), was one of the items that, if present on a gun in combination with other “horrible” features such as flash hiders and a magazine greater than 10 rounds, prohibited its new manufacture, import, or sale. Thus, the bayonet lug was ground off many of these types of rifles from 1994 to 2004 so as to make them saleable—all this, even though a rifle with a bayonet affixed to it had never been used in any sort of crime (not even during the great Los Angeles bank robbery of 1997).
Little thought has been given to the bayonet since that time, other than by collectors of certain weapons. Now is the time to look at them again, but not quite for the purpose they were originally designed.
Starting in late WWII, the bayonet changed in form and function. Prior to that time, most military bayonets were almost a type of short sword, with a blade roughly from 10 to 17 inches in length. This length gave the soldier maximum reach for thrusting through their opponent when battle was close or ammo was low. However, bayonets of those lengths, or the spike-style bayonet on the SKS, weren’t really good for a whole lot of other uses, and the tool spent most of its time adding weight to a soldier’s belt.
As WWII progressed and the M1 Carbine found itself in unintended frontline combat service, there arose a cry for a bayonet that would fit it. Due to the short length of the carbine itself, the old-school, full-length sword bayonets unbalanced the gun severely. In answer, the M4 bayonet was introduced, along with the barrelband bayonet lug. The M4 bayonet was much like the Ka-Bar fighting knife made for the U.S. Marines, right down to the leather washer handle (Korean War versions were produced with plastic handles). With a 6.5-inch blade length that could be sharpened of both sides, the bayonet no longer was a little-used burden for a soldier to carry, but became, instead, a piece of equipment that could be used as a bayonet, fighting knife, or a tool for prying or opening rations and other items.
Starting in 1953, the 16-inch-long M1905 bayonet (which fit both the M1903A3 Springfield bolt-action rifle and the M1 Garand), and the 10-inch blade M1 bayonet designed by John Garand for his M1, were replaced by the knife/bayonet M5. The M5 used the same blade as the M4 and was equipped with a plastic handle. This is the model I have for my M1 Garand, and it’s handy. But even if I didn’t have the rifle to go with it, the M5 would make a great survival tool in and of itself.
The advantages of the knife bayonet were not lost on the rest of the world’s armed forces. When the AK-47 replaced the SKS, the folding spike bayonet was replaced by a knife-style bayonet, and armies of the world followed suit in a similar vein with the new weapons they introduced.
Today’s armies don’t tend to use bayonet charges as part of their standard tactics, although soldiers are still taught basic thrust-and-parry fighting techniques with fixed bayonets. This makes sense, as the bayonet was designed to be affixed to the muzzleloading single-shot rifles in standard use by the world’s militaries of that era, intended to be used as a “reload” when the armies closed with each other. One of the more recent examples of the bayonet’s deployment was in a charge by the 7th Cavalry in the battle of Ia Drang Valley during the opening phases of the Vietnam War. There the troops were ordered by Col. Hal Moore to fix their M7 bayonets on their M16s in the final battle for control of the valley.
History is history and useful at that, but use of the bayonet on our survival rifles is not for bayonet charges. Where the bayonet shines is for use as the ultimate weapon retention device while moving on foot beyond your defensive position. There are many long gun retention techniques taught to law enforcement officers in order for them to safeguard and control their guns (although my method would likely be a pull of the trigger). Even though some long-range accuracy may be degraded by the addition of a bayonet, any close-quarter gun grab would be stopped in its tracks, and if the grab attempt was originally a surprise, the bayonet’s presence would allow time to adjust, remove a safety, and fire any needed shots.
The modern bayonet is of course, a knife, and a tough one at that. If you have a rifle that can accept a bayonet, find one, either a good used one or a new reproduction model, and make it your survival knife. That way you maximize the utility of the weight of this particular tool that you’ll be carrying. (Anything you’ll be carrying for emergency evacuation use should have as many uses as possible for it to earn a space on your body.)
One particular bayonet that does this is the newest M16 bayonet, the M9. There are a number of manufacturers who make this bayonet, who’s design is really focused on its use as fixed-blade survival knife, since that is the most likely use for this tool in an army that probably has to ask for permission before they affix it to their weapon (can’t look too mean and aggressive these days in war, right?) Anyway, the M9 is much upgraded over the M7 in that a wire cutter attachment has been added to the scabbard tip in a fashion similar to the design on the AK-47 knife/bayonet.
The M9 makes a very fine stand-alone survival/camping/outdoors knife, even without the rifle to go with it. Note that the M9 can be added to properly equipped Mossberg 500/590 shotguns, as well, which helps address those firearms’ lower magazine capacity a bit. Beyond the M9, for survival purposes, consider that any rifle that can mount a bayonet should have one available for it. For example, if you have one of the Auto-Ordnance M1 Carbines, a barrelband bayonet lug can be added to it with little effort.
