Wow! An article that refers to magazines instead of clips; and ammunition instead of boo-lits. None of these morons can explain why a bayonet lug on a rifle makes it an assault rifle. BTW, when is the last time ANYONE has seen an AR with a bayonette attached?
I saw one in 91. Bayonet training in basic. It was fun, I literally tried to break my rifle doing buttstrokes. That’s hitting with the rear of the stock .. the m-16 held up great and gave me great confidence in it’s durability.
Additionally, there have been several bayonet charges by Coalition troops in the Sandbox - as recently as 2011.
US Marines with fixed bayonets, Fallujah, Iraq, 2004:
The latest autheticated bayonet charge: https://www.forces.net/services/army/bayonet-charge-foiled-taliban The bayonet may be much more limited in use these days, but when you *need* one, nothing else will do and the psychological impact on the enemy is ugly. It's usually a weapon of desperation these days (which is why to increase utility, it's also basically a fighting knife in form now) - out of ammo, out of hope, enemy closing in, likelihood of seeing tomorrow pretty much gone? Affix bayonets and charge. I have heard rumors of Kurd units, perhaps including female YPG squads, affixing bayonets to what they had (usually AKs) and charging home more recently than the above, but never seen any proof. If so... well, I don't think the day of the bayonet is quite over. If it ever will be before energy weapons are introduced to infantry combat.