My thoughts on the bayonet.

[Jerry D Young]

The Bayonet
 
When my father went through bayonet training during WW II it was not just for a last-ditch effort after running out of ammunition. The bayonet was to be fixed when close quarters combat was anticipated. You did not just use the sharp end of the bayonet, either. You also slashed and used butt strokes and butt hammers. The use of the bayonet lessened the possibility of hitting you own troops with rifle fire when the combat was at CQC range with troops of both sides intermixed in a small area.

 Since it is quite possible for the bayonet to become lodged in a bone in the enemy, standard procedure was to fire a round if the bayonet did not immediately come out of the enemy's body when the rifle was pulled back. The recoil would assist in disengaging the bayonet from the body and you were then free to carry on the attack.

 There are lesser uses for the bayonet, not the least of which is prisoner control. A guard needs an intermediate response between doing nothing and firing upon unarmed prisoners. The bayonet can take that role on quite easily. The threat of it, as well as the gentle (if that term may be used) prodding with it will often cause the prisoner to do what the guard wishes. You also have recourse to the fully deadly use of the bayonet to resolve the issue, with a round from the rifle as last resort.

 The bayonet is also a psychological threat, by showing that the soldier is willing and able to take the combat to the face-to-face stage. If a unit is known to have used the bayonet effectively, it will weigh upon the enemy to one degree or another. The sight of fixed bayonets when close quarter combat is expected will, in many cases, affect the willingness of the enemy to press the attack.

 These facts listed, you should be able to tell that I believe that the use of the bayonet still has legitimate value.
 
Before I had to sell them to generate some money to pay medical bills, both my Remington 11-87 26” barrel shotgun I had set up for my intended purposes as a dual use hunting and defensive shorter range weapon, and the PTR-91 for use as my primary defensive long arm, were equipped with adapters so I could use the current issue Marine Corps bayonet. The OKC-3S. It is a well-designed and well-made bayonet, fighting knife, and general-purpose utility knife.
 
Besides being my bayonet of choice, it has become my daily carry knife when in the field. If/when I get a couple of .30 M1 Carbines, I figure out a way to attach OKC-3S bayonets to them.
 
Just my opinion.

[WolfBrother]

My home defense shotgun, a Mossberg 590A1, was the type issued to Marines pre-Y2K. It has the buttstock that allows you to put 4 shells in. I put a 6 round side saddle on it.  I keep it Cruiser Ready.  8 in the tube mag, chamber empty, hammer down, off safe. To make it go all I have to do is rack a round and it’s REDDY. 


I keep 50 shells in a GI cartridge belt. 5 per pouch.  I also keep a Nylon GI M16 sling on it.


Last but certainly not least, I keep a mil-spec Ontario OKC-3S bayonet fixed with the scabbard on the blade.  To make it go all I have to do is pull the scabbard off and it’s REDDY.


I also have one fixed on my AR clone. Same set up.


Jerry’s 100% on this knife.

[Jerry D Young]

That is kind of amazing, actually. I had my Remington 11-87 set up with a 26" threaded barrel, which is the shortest length that will fully use the auto-adjustment for different levels of power of the shells. From really light loads to really heavy loads will cycle the action. I added a screw-in Poly-Choke instead of using the regular screw-in chokes, so I could dial in the amount of choke I wanted for the type of shell and the application for which I was using the shotgun. Defense or hunting.


My gunsmith at the time installed a 5-round additional capacity magazine extension to give me 9+1 in the gun. I used a pistol grip Speed-feed stock that held 4-rounds. I kept specialty rounds there. I covered the Speed-feed slots with a 6-round butt-cuff. I also added an 8-round sidesaddle giving me a total (with one in the chamber) of 28-rounds in/on the gun.


Additional modifications included a larger bolt handle, Easy-loader carrier release, ghost ring sights, over-size safety, high-visibility magazine follower, a magazine clamp with a Picatinny tri-rail (for use with a light/laser unit and a rail mount bipod, and several sling attachment points and a snap hook sling.


The gunsmith machined a 'button' that he attached to the end of the magazine tube, and with a bayonet adapter mounted the correct distance behind it, I could attach my OKC3S bayonet.


It was long, and heavy, when everything was mounted. However, with throw-lever attachments on the light/laser and bipod, it lightened it up some when I removed them. If I did not have a full load of ammunition on it, that made it even lighter, primarily for hunting, where I would not need as many rounds available.


It was primarily for under-100-meter site defense, not patrolling, where the weight was much less a factor.


I had an adapter on my PTR-91 that would also take the OKC3S bayonet, so I was covered either way.


Unfortunately, when I became more seriously ill, I had to sell both of them to help defray medical costs.