While I do not disagree with you, speaking as a former Infantryman, I can tell you that:
1) Yes. Under certain circumstances the bayonet is a highly useful tool and any man who has been properly trained in it's effective employment, and is willing to do so, is one scary lethal sonnuvabitch at any distance, and a man not to be taken lightly. He will fucking, no shit, kill you dead.
2) Just like with the rifle, just buying one and mounting it doesn't not mean you will be effective with it. Any more than buying a piano, violin or a guitar makes you a musician. There is a reason why Infantry units practice bayonet drill as a regular part of PT. Just like with rifle marksmanship itself, or any other fighting art, it takes many proper repetitions to reach a level of competence that will see you through a hard fight.
But, as I would much rather light a candle than curse your darkness, so here a few links to get you started:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1gYUSgcfZ4 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/57186/57186-h/57186-h.htm https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/FM/FM23-25/index.html https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a511484.pdf https://archive.org/details/MarineBayonetTraining
One further note. Mounting a bare bayonet could be seen as a threat of lethal force, and stands the chance of being construed by a prosecutor as "premeditation". Proceed as you deem fit.
But, as I would much rather light a candle than curse your darkness, so here a few links to get you started:
You are a man among men, and I thank you for it. All kidding aside, I may just look into a bayonet for my shotgun.
Good luck to you.
Before I drop a hundred bucks on I'm going to see what other options are available.
Thank you very much for the links. They're highly informative
Did you know, that there are very few bayonet encounters in recorded history, in which both sides actually fought each other? When confronted with a bayonet charge, people usually run away, so bayonet charges are a nice way to clean out enemy positions, and people then sometimes get stabbed in the back while running away, or get stabbed while being on the ground. But it's very rare, that something like bayonet-fencing occurs. This was true even in napoleonic times.
Oh, I'm very familiar with the much variegated history of my little friend, "Mr. Stabby." There's a very good reason why he was kept polished until he gleamed, bright and shiny. The British Redcoats built an entire empire on Brown Bess and cold steel.
A massed formation bayonet charge represents a pure all-or-nothing commitment. The man you see coming at you with bare steel and blood in his eyes from having worked himself into a murderous fury, knows that he must win through or die. Most sane men, when faced with that level of commitment and approaching calamity, will decide that they have other options and promptly exercise them.
It is good to see, that the wisdom of commitment and murderous intent has not been entirely forgotten.
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