Gun Control & RKBA
In reply to the discussion: Pistol grips on long guns, and rifle crime in general. [View all]We_Have_A_Problem
(2,112 posts)...designed in such a manner as to allow it to be attached to a rifle. The reason for this is simple necessity.
When firearms were first brought to the battlefield, they didn't have the range or accuracy they have today. They also took (comparatively) forever to load. At some point, the enemy was going to close to a range at which one could no longer use them as a firearm and would be reduced to using melee weapons. At that time, the most common arm was a pole arm, basically a spear - which is nothing more than a knife on a stick. The first bayonets allowed musketeers to turn their weapons into something a bit more useful at contact range.
As firearms progressed, there remained a need for close in protection - and so the bayonet remained. Even today, when the idea of doing away with it has been brought up, the very real effect of 7-10" of steel on the body of someone who is wanting to kill you tends to keep the bayonet attachment on military firearms. Yes, it is barbaric, but war is supposed to suck. If it were fun, we'd never stop fighting.
Does a bayonet have other uses? Sure does - at the end of the day, its simply a knife - man's first tool.