The Pistol Bayonet
I've shown a few new products from SHOT2009 that I thought were neat, or at least somewhat innovative. Now, I present the ridiculous, the stupid, the woefully cataclysmaly useless. At the top of the list is the Laserlyte pistol bayonet.
Truth be told, when I first saw this item, I thought is had to be a parody. I was shocked to discover that a manufacturer would make such an item.
I was even more dismayed to read that some shooters and writers have endorsed the pistol bayonet as "cool" and a "gotta get one" accessory.
Here are my thoughts...... Knives don't belong on pistols. Knives do not need grips placed at a 70-90 degree angle to the blade. Such designs do not enhance the use of the knife in real world applications. Even bayonets on rifles are seldom used except for intimidation, and last ditch weapons. Last ditch? Give me a fresh magazine and a malfunction drill.
Maybe I'm not the high velocity mambo jambo ninja warrior princes that some folks are. Maybe I'm just a fuddy duddy old guy with an exposed scalp and a few bygone war stories. I'll be honest folks, I don't see the purpose of this accessory, and I would not want to be seen using it, lest my fuddy duddy friends think I'm a crack smoking idiot. I wouldn't want to holster such a thing in a IWB holster, nor a thigh holster, and I wouldn't want to have it inserted into any struggle involving a handgun. I damned sure wouldn't want it held up in front of a jury attached to a firearm I was forced to use to preserve my life. Not every new product is inspired. Some are repeats of old ideas, and some are ideas that need to be called what they are. Stupid.
edited to add: Ogre takes a look........
Truth be told, when I first saw this item, I thought is had to be a parody. I was shocked to discover that a manufacturer would make such an item.
I was even more dismayed to read that some shooters and writers have endorsed the pistol bayonet as "cool" and a "gotta get one" accessory. Here are my thoughts...... Knives don't belong on pistols. Knives do not need grips placed at a 70-90 degree angle to the blade. Such designs do not enhance the use of the knife in real world applications. Even bayonets on rifles are seldom used except for intimidation, and last ditch weapons. Last ditch? Give me a fresh magazine and a malfunction drill.
Maybe I'm not the high velocity mambo jambo ninja warrior princes that some folks are. Maybe I'm just a fuddy duddy old guy with an exposed scalp and a few bygone war stories. I'll be honest folks, I don't see the purpose of this accessory, and I would not want to be seen using it, lest my fuddy duddy friends think I'm a crack smoking idiot. I wouldn't want to holster such a thing in a IWB holster, nor a thigh holster, and I wouldn't want to have it inserted into any struggle involving a handgun. I damned sure wouldn't want it held up in front of a jury attached to a firearm I was forced to use to preserve my life. Not every new product is inspired. Some are repeats of old ideas, and some are ideas that need to be called what they are. Stupid.
edited to add: Ogre takes a look........
Labels: SHOT Show 2009
posted by Xavier at 9:21 PM
30 Comments:
Looks like someone copied the concept from an accessory for the CZ SP 01. That was a dedicated bayonet and pretty much as stupid as the one in your picture.
In the days of single shot, muzzle loading pistols folding bayonets for war weapons made some measure of sense. For naval boarding parties such as the ones designed for the Elgin-lead expedition of the U.S.S. Constitution attaching a hefty blade to a single shot pistol was not a bad idea.
For a modern handgun firing modern ammo?
I won't laugh at the person I see with one. I don't laugh at those I pity.
I think it needs a flashlight as well so you can stab 'em in the dark!
It's funny though :)
The purpose of the pistol bayonet is to get the word "Laserlyte" mentioned many times in print, radio, and internet reporting.
And it worked.
Any bets that the blade says "Hecho en Pakistan" on the right side, which is displayed in no photos?
I know about the CZ -- always figured it was someone's idea of a joke.
I don't know. If I had a railed home defense pistol (or shotgun), I could see this possibly being useful. Three reasons:
1. something pointy between you and the bad guy is never a bad thing
2. helps prevent the gun from going out-of-battery in a tussle
3. gives an extra reason not to try and grab your gun away from you
I was about to say... Birdman? Creator of the "Homey nyte sytes?"
That did look a little too ridiculous to be true.
I commented to a friend that the only reason I would buy such a silly thing would be to make Sarah Brady cry.
His reply was that Sarah Brady probably designed it. His reasoning was with such a device on the market, the rail is now the same as a bayonet lug. We all know how evil and dangerous those bayonet lugs are, which is why they will soon be banned again.
If memory serves, the bayonet basically evolved from the pike and a short handled pike makes no sense what-so-ever...
I agree with Xav's first tho'ts - parody; something 'bout "knife to a gun fight" comes to mind.
"3. gives an extra reason not to try and grab your gun away from you"
The best reason not to get within arms length of my gun is that it will make a very loud noise...
Lookie... a Swiss army gun.
Under the magazine (not shown) is the bottle opener.
This one's gonna be all the rage among NFL players.
I got one for my Sig. It makes me laugh. Its surprisingly well built, but disappointingly dull.
I think Don hit it right on the head. The silly thing is getting Laserlyte's name all over the place.
While I could maybe possibly see it be useful in close combat it kind of defeats the purpose when I put my can on the gun.
It's a joke, something to pull out when you Ubertacticool acquaintances start going on about the 17th rail they have added to their AR, bringing it's gross weight to 23 pounds.
I ordered my son one for his range bag, for the next time someone starts going on about the necessity of the new Porsche foamed magnesium kombat grips for 1911s
ARRRRGG! Be ye ready ta repel the borders, boys!
When I saw a pic of one of these earlier this week, I thought it was put out as a joke/promotional item of some sort. I even thought that if made out of plastic or rubber to make your friends laugh, it might be worth $5. Now you say that it's for real? Maybe as a prop in a low budget movie.
Never bring a knife to a gunfight.
Not even if it's hanging off a gun.
I know, my reaction was "WTF? Am I missing something really basic here?" Thanks for the reassurance. If we are both wrong, well then I don't think I want to play that game anyhow. Probably designed by the same marketing consultant who came up with "Golden Sabre" Who wants one of those in a fight?
I'm not old, not a fuddy-duddy, and I've never been to war. So take heart Xavier, when I first saw this I laughed out loud.
But Laserlyte is on to something here. I think most of the great ideas in enhancing firearms are taken. But have to give them credit for recognizing a fat market opportunity in the "Super duper secret squirrel wannabe Operator" market.
This could open a whole new world of accessorizing. Let me spit a few off the dome here: BAM! A pistol mounted by rail underneath your Carbine. BAM! A .30 Carbine mounted by rail underneath your full size rifle. Am I blowing your mind?
"....from the minds that brought you Sword-chucks."
How would you carry the darn thing, let alone holster it??
Hah! Anonymous, you mean like this?
http://fatwhiteman.com/2009/01/05/wtf-israel.aspx>
The pistol was evolutionary--so that officers didn't have to dirty their hands with knives or swords. It's a "hand to hand" weapon. Always has been, always will be.
Edged weapons for fighting is for peasants. And those that use food stamps.
Marcus
CZ's bayonet was indeed at first a joke, then they figured out it would actually sell.
HOWEVER... their design had an "easter egg". The blade was held in my a simple spring clip. It was very easy to remove it, leaving you with a massive block of steel with points on teh front and a big ring around the muzzle.
That's right; a pusher device. The blade mount made a great pushing device, you could shove the nose of the pistol as hard as you wanted into something, even something hard, and still fire it without pressure issues or pushing the slide out of battery.
I guess these guys have never heard the saying "don't bring a knife to a gunfight". Seriously, if you run out of ammo before the other guy, there's no chance that you're gonna get close enough to use that thing. You only hope is that the other guy will be too busy laughing at you to shoot your stupid ass.
I am embarrassed to work for a firearms dealer which sells this (which is why I post anon). Good thing it is only a temporary arrangement complete in a few weeks. I think that the gentleman who invented this should have to carry it gangster-style attached to the pistol and stuck in the front of his pants.
I would agree that this is completely ridiculous. There is no good reason for having a bayonet on a modern pistol. It would be more of a hindrance than it would ever be of help. As for weapon retention, I'm no expert on pistol disarm tactics but from what I understand a bayonet isn't going to get in the way. The idea, at least of the tactics I have seen, is to first get the business end of the pistol (and thus also the bayonet) to a position where it is not pointing at you, as well as to a position where you have more control over the pistol (and thus the bayonet) than the other guy. Also if I'm ever in the situation where I might have to consider using such a technique (hopefully never) seeing a bayonet on the front end isn't going to deter me, in fact it would probably give me some confidence knowing that my assailant likely has no idea what he is doing. Basically this is just another toy for all those gear junkies to spend their money on.
For those who say "Never bring a knife to a gun fight:" I'm a combat vet from Afghanistan and Iraq, now I have been a Deputy Sheriff for about 5 years. Ever heard of the 19 foot rule? The average person with a knife can cover 19 feet of space in the time it takes the average person to draw their weapon from a holster. Close that down to 10 or 15 feet, and if he is trained at all, he's going to beat you. This is taught at many, many LE academies and is certainly not black or white, but definitely food for thought.
Stay safe boys.
Semper Fidelis
I'm familiar with the rule. Actually it's 21 feet. Regardless, in my opinion, a knife on a handgun is foolish. On a rifle, sure, you have more reach. But on a handgun you will lose leverage and the ability to employ the blade effectively, assuming you missed your attacker with all those rounds in your magazine.
So even with the 20 foot ish rule, using this would mean it would take you longer to draw your firearm. I dunno maybe you should have a normal knife with you or a baton or even a hammer.
As a carry option, this is indeed ridiculous. The amount of bulk it would add to a holster in order to be able to safely pack this item would be prohibitive.
However, as a nightstand go-to gun when things go bump in the night it could possibly be beneficial. Having something pointy on the end might not be a bad thing when you're at bad breath distance in a dark room.
That said, personally I'd rather (and do) have a dedicated light mounted on my bedside .45 than a blade. If you really like gear and gadgets and have a hard time making the choice between the two, just get the offering by CZ and mount a light underneath that blade.
bought one of these yesterday cause i love buying novelty items but i have found it will attach to a rifle rail as well which makes it a little more practical it still doesn't qualify as a bayonet but for the scatter brained such as my self always forgetting or losing my knives when hunting it seemed like a good idea til i put it on the rail of all the pointless things i have ever wasted money on this takes the cake
If you wouldn't want that held up in front of a jury, maybe you shouldn't be carrying a gun. They're going to treat your gun the same way: as a weapon. And they're going to try to demonize you just for having a gun. Facts.
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