Bayonets

Baz JJ said:
My experience of bayonets fixed is you only tend to get one shot at it. The momentum of the rifle lunge means that if the opponent is able to deflect or dodge the initial attack, the assailant is then off balance with his opponent suddenly inside the radius of the bayonet. Psychologically the user of the bayonet is reluctant to let go of his gun because he has been drilled not to and the knife wielding opponent has a number of ways of thrusting up or down behind armour, back of neck or under the rib cage now that he is between the fixed bayonet and its owner. Gaining increased control of the attack by gripping the bayonet equipped rifle in his free hand, the knife user has the opportunity to make quite a few wounds with his blade before the rifleman recovers the situation.
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TBH I think that's film & TV talking. In a fight you can move stuff very quickly and a fit'n'healthy squaddie would have no trouble moving their rifle and bayonet back and forth several times in the space of time that the classic 'lunge' takes. You could also always use a modern bayonet, which unlike its forerunners is sharp bladed, to slash at the enemy while pulling back for another go at stabbing them.

Personally I think I'd be inclined to use an entrenching tool in my left hand, to parry, and a bayonet in my right to distract, while the actual attack would come from a swift kick in the kneecap or my helmetted forehead right across the bridge of the nose... but then again, I haven't been trained to fight with a rifle.

 
Baz JJ said:
My experience of bayonets fixed is you only tend to get one shot at it. The momentum of the rifle lunge means that if the opponent is able to deflect or dodge the initial attack, the assailant is then off balance with his opponent suddenly inside the radius of the bayonet. Psychologically the user of the bayonet is reluctant to let go of his gun because he has been drilled not to and the knife wielding opponent has a number of ways of thrusting up or down behind armour, back of neck or under the rib cage now that he is between the fixed bayonet and its owner. Gaining increased control of the attack by gripping the bayonet equipped rifle in his free hand, the knife user has the opportunity to make quite a few wounds with his blade before the rifleman recovers the situation.
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I'm not sure what your experience of bayonets is, but if anyone who has been trained in any spear type weapon, including a rifle with bayonet, manages to fly forward that much on their thrust then they are not doing it right, and certainly not doing it as trained. The training (like any striking art) emphasises the importance of grounding your feet to create balance and power in the thrust. I'm not saying that when the adrenaline is up and you're doing your 'war face' you won't overcommit a little, but the other guy is going to have to be pretty calm and ninja to just step off to the side and open you up.

Here is a video of the US Army training it:


The idea in any case is to use the advantage of range and keep you out of the enemies attack area while keeping him in yours. You only need to put an inch or two in him, not the whole bayonet followed by the rifle too. Effective aggression is controlled, it's not just jumping forward.

 
The poor lambs! I thought some of 'em were going to cry :wub:

 
Yeah, technique lol! I wonder if any of the Taliban have watched martial arts films? Probly not...

Just as well, or the old 'sweep the leading leg from under an over-committed opponent' trick would see a lot of those babbies with something to cry about...

 
I saw him and he has an SVD AK which came with an attached Chinese PLA spike bayonet.

He also has a Makarov pistol which he converted from a ball bearing firer.

Baz JJ said:
Ian, the only bayonet I seen fixed in Airsoft was on an AK. In fact, the guy is in my safe zone section and the first I knew of it was a feeling between the shoulder blades. It hurt no more than somebody digging their finger in my back. I don't know where he got it from, but I will ask him. I would be surprised if he paid a lot of money for it.

Ive got the Cold Steel Leatherneck. The point isnt really - its very wide.
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I considered doing exactly that with the Makarov, but had to concede to myself that I just don't know enough about gas pistols to have succeeded. I bought a pretty shitty HFC PPK-alike to convert (which I still haven't attempted, but I have some Fimo on its way for that and my SVD 'pistol grip' stock';s ergonomics.

Fcuking typical though, there has since been a decent Makarov released that isn't way too hot for most sites' FPS limits. I forget which now, b/c I'm miffed so I've put it right out of my mind :lol:

 
Yes I saw it. No blowback mind !

 
Bayonet frog arrived and it fits perfectly for my Cold Steel knives.

Ive also got an ACM bayonet but its pretty cheap and nasty by comparison.

View attachment 8572

 
Wow, I might have to get one of those daggers with the finger guard, just for the evil looks! Cold Steel?

 
Yes

www.coldsteel.com/Product/92R80NTP/Trench_Knife_Double_Edge_Trainer.aspx

 
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My belt has arrived and Ive jury rigged a leg strap with some velcro straps, although at the moment, I don't think I will need them as the frog stays pretty close to my leg anyway.

I bought an Elite leg extender strap to effectively bring the frog further down my leg, away from my belt.

Unfortunately, Ive discovered that the Trident style quick connector is much larger than the one on the Remploy frog.

I didnt realise you could buy different sizes of trident. I thought they were universal - doh

 
something for the bayonet that i haven't seen mentioned yet is this(where i wished i had one several times on Saturday) when you are behind enemy lines, and are near an opponent who hasn't seen you, you are in knife range, but you know you dont want to take your sights off them in case bang bang, and also incase you make a noise drawing your knife out. with the bayonet just walk up and tap... dont have to take finger off the trigger. also can be used for those people whose guns come round corners slowly simple tap and for the ones that are slightly out of arms reach through a window. you can also use it to knife into somewhere without leaving much of a target for others to shoot at(similar to blind firing, lol caution to be advised there though) ya know in fact im almost talking myself into getting one of these....

 
Baz JJ said:
My belt has arrived and Ive jury rigged a leg strap with some velcro straps, although at the moment, I don't think I will need them as the frog stays pretty close to my leg anyway.

I bought an Elite leg extender strap to effectively bring the frog further down my leg, away from my belt.

Unfortunately, Ive discovered that the Trident style quick connector is much larger than the one on the Remploy frog.

I didnt realise you could buy different sizes of trident. I thought they were universal - doh
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Yeah, what you need for the frog is a 40mm side release buckle - afaik you can't buy them as separate halves. Cheap enough on fleabay - get some 40/38mm webbing and add inner velcro. A normal sewing machine will stitch through 2 layers of webbing and a strip of velcro if you use a 'jeans' needle.

I'm not @home right now but I think I have most of the bits for this, so if you cba or just can't make one, I could do it for you for £5 + costs & P&P.

 
Thanks Ian. I might take you up on this. I dont have a sewing machine and it would cost me that to do it myself.

I can always paypal you the money.

 
Yeah, i'll be home late 2moz, so anytime after that PM me colour prefs and length. Green and tan buckles exist but aren't easy to find @reasonable prices, so you're pretty much stuck with black, but webbing is pretty ubiquitous so any colour should be possible.

 
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