Quote:
Originally Posted by HorseSoldier
Contact shooting somebody with an M16 or M4 will work fine -- the flash suppressor provides venting, and even if it wasn't there the escaping propellant gas would just shred tissue on the target.
The problem I always had with the "shoot to disentangle your bayonet" idea was that if you have a round in the weapon why you ever using the bayonet in the first place? I think it was Rommel who noted in WWI that bayonet fights are usually won by the guy one with more ammo in his weapon. The development of the "shoot after you bayonet them" idea represents how vestigial bayonet use became in the 20th century.
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Anything that blocks a muzzle is never a good thing, even with a flash suppressor!
Have to agree, as long as you have ammunition, why take the time to stab. There are several personel histories dating from the Wellington's campaigns in Spain (back in the flintlock era) that talk about how few men were ever killed by the bayonet. One story in particular mentioned how amazed the soldiers were when they found the bodies of two men who had killed each other with bayonets. Its the threat of the bayonet, more than the use on one that dominates the other side.
Of course, when you see the Russians charging you with bayonets fixed, firing up the ole M-1A1 and chasing them down with the tank kinda defeats the purpose!