Bayonet question?

[10 gauge]

I have a pedersoli Brownbess and was wondering what was the best deal on a bayonet for it. I have seen some advertised for $36.00 and Pedersoli's for $165. My question is whats the best bang for the buck out there on the market with out being disappointed. Thanks 10 gauge.

 

[Enfield1]

My experience has followed the old saying, "You get what you pay for.". I bought one of those $29.00 bayonets for my Bess through Track of the Wolf. Don't do it. They are cheap Indian imports. Mine is not straight and fits so loosly that it rattles badly and barely hangs on to the end of it. It makes a nice addition to an outfit hanging in it's scabbard on my side, but that is all that it does. My advice would be to pay for a good Italian one the first time and be done with it.

 

[Robert Egler]

"You get what you pay for" :hmm:

I hear that all the time, but actually it's rarely true, I think. You often get less than you pay for in my experience. Only rarely, if ever, do you get more than you pay for.

I'm pretty happy when occasionally I actually do "get what I paid for". :grin:

 

[Brasilikilt]

Hey there

I have one of those Track of the wolf bayonets, and have the same problem as MinnieBall.
I was told that those bayonets are meant for the custom built muskets that use a Colerain barrel and would fit poorly on a Pedersoli.

I have been wanting one of these for a while to try out. They seem as though they might also be imported, but at least this one is advertised to fit a Pedersoli Bess, and they are under $100.00
http://www.gggodwin.com/36b.htm

Hopefully someone has one and will let us know how well they work.

 

[10 gauge]

Thanks guys, I will call Godwin and ask them about the quality of thier bayonets.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I am curious: Other than re-enacting battle scenes, what use is a bayonet on the end of your barrel today? Yes, I know that some re-enactors use their bayonets as shovels, or for a spit to cook meat over an open fire, and for other camp chores.

If all you have is one of these cheap bayonets, you might as well use them as such and get some benefit out of them. I would not use the expensive bayonets as a shovel, and would worry that the cheap ones might bend in the process, but for light chores it might work.

I am not a re-enactor- at least not of that period of time. I had access to my father's Springfield rifle with its bayonet as a kid, a genuine antique, and we explored its uses then. I decided that unless you are in actual war, doing hand to hand fighting, the bayonet was just something more to drag your pants down.

My intent is not to negative here, as I enjoy watching colonial re-enactors along with the best of them. I admire the people who are into that period of re-enacting. I just don't understand why there is such a range in prices for those bayonets, or any difference in quality.

I suppose that if being a re-enactor REQUIRES you to stab bales of hay with your bayonet, yank it out, etc.,a better made bayonet might be required. But, I have seen no such use other than in movies.

So, guys, what gives? Am I obviously missing something here???

 

[10 gauge]

I just want to have the accessories that would of been issued to a troop with a Brownbess like also having the correct period cartridge box. I like quality built items. They dont have to be the finest in the world but in the same hand I dont want junk. But to answer your question, a friend of mine asked me why would I spend a $1000.00 on a Pedersoli Brown bess when a $100.00 single shot H&R 12ga will do a better job? ANSWER, Because thats what I want!

 

[J.D.]

I used to attend military competitions where the bayonet was a requirement. Points were awarded for skewering a small melon suspended on a cord that was swinging in the breeze, aided by the scorer,or course. You would be surprised as to how deeply those old bayonets will penetrate a melon.

A coupla other competitions also required the use of the bayonet. So, yeah, if anyone is planning on reenacting with a military, or quasi military unit, it is a must.

I found an original Bess bayonet at a gunshow at a reasonable price that just happened to fit my Ped bess. It is a 3rd model bayonet, but it is an original bess bayonet.

 

[trent/OH]

I picked up a bayonet off a trade blanket, and it fits kind of sloppy on the muzzle of my Japanese Bess, but not too badly. I found that hanging an old shirt on the clothes line provides a good target for bayonet drill purposes.
Remember, thrust one off to the right when your line is attacking shield-wielding Scotsmen.

 

[gjkershul]

The best period correct use for my Brown Bess bayonet I found in my reeacting was using it as a roasting skewer.
I used the vertical support of a bird fork, put a fowl or roast of beef on the bayonet, put the tip of the bayonet in the roasting fork support hole and watched dinner cook. This was favorite with the tourists and got me out of fatigue duty. Until Von Steuben trained American troops in the use of the bayonet at Valley Forge some sources indicate that use as a roasting skewer was the most common use Americans made of the bayonet. Mine was soft Indian bayonet I still have and occasionally use at Rondezvous as a roasting skewer.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I have seen bayonets used as roasting skewers, but did not know about the melon Stabbing games. I can think of better things to do with melons, but to each his own. :surrender:

Thanks, guys for all the info. I hope none of you ever are in a situation where you actually have to use that bayonet in combat. :shocked2: :thumbsup:

 

[mikee51848]

Unless it's scripted, and previously arranged, the bayonet never leaves the scabbard in a scenario (safety rules). I have a Pedersoli Bess, so I bought their bayonet because I was told, correctly, the India bayonets are a very poor fit. Plus I'm very rich. :blah: :bull:

 

[paulvallandigham]

I have witnessed enough re-enactors, and visited their camps on many occasions, so that I am aware that safety rules prohibit the bayonets from being put on the guns during re-enactments. That was the reason for my question. I was not aware of the melon games, or stabbing straw manikins. I did know about bayonets being used as roasting spits, and have seen it done.

MY father had an original bayonet for a French rifle, but it was from the 19th century, and we never were quite sure which gun it was suppose to fit. It was a pretty thing, dull as a butter knife, but with a strong point. It may have been an officer's sword, because it had engraved writing on the blade or backstrap.

 

[tmdreb]

Bayonets have all manner of uses to reenactors that the original soldiers would have found as well.

They are great for placing and removing cookware on a fire, they make excellent candle holders, they can be used to dig, club snakes, and are quite useful as tent stakes or otherwise erecting a shelter.

It was in this last use that I bent a cheap bayonet at an event. A benefit to using an original or good repro bayonet is that they are very difficult to bend. In fact, you really won't have to worry about messing them up.

 

[J.D.]

I can think of better things to do with melons, but to each his own.

Normally, I can think of allot better things to do with a melon too, but these were cantaloupes. I hate cantaloupe. My Mom was one of those mothers that insisted that I try every type of food. And since she liked cantaloupes, I ate enough of bites of 'em to last a life time. I burned off a lot of hostility toward cantaloupes with that bayonet. :thumbsup:

 

[Many Klatch]

I bought a bayonet that had been built wrong really cheaply. Whoever built the bayonet wasn't paying attention, so with the bayonet on the gun, it covered the ramrod. I had a buddy cut the bayonet off and weld it in the correct position. My Bess is a Pedersoli Carbine and the barrel is a different size than normal and it takes a differently sized bayonet.

I guess what I am saying is buy the cheaper bayonet and have someone cut it down to fit and reweld it.

By the way, some old military folklore that I came across says that a soldier should never use his bayonet for cooking because it would take the temper out of the steel and the bayonet might fail him when he really needed it. The thing to cook with was the steel ramrod, as temper wasn't important.

Many Klatch

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

Many Klatch, you are right about the bayonet - temper could be lost if it was used in the fire for cooking, no one under military discipline would be allowed to use a bayonet for cooking. But the ramrod would not be used for cooking either. Ramrods were tempered steel as well, not iron. If a rod were used in the fire and it lost its temper then it could be bent and no longer fit in the ramrod channel. This would effectively leave the soldier unarmed.

 

[JackAubrey]

Ah,bayonets.I truly have to wonder if ANY of the bayonets offered nowadays are in fact actual bayonets,meaning having the proper temper.I'm inclined to think they are just for reenacting.I had two of the cheap Indian( as in India)bayonets for my rifled muskets.Very poorly tempered.I ended up tempering them myself.I do have the Pedersoli bayonet.I bought it about ten years past.I thought it was expensive then at 90.00!I have handled original bayonets and they just "feel" different.I tempered the Pedersoli bayonet, which incidentally, removed all the shiny stuff from it.It appears to be made from two separate pieces brazed together at the base of the blade.I still don't trust it though,I think I'll try to find an original.Why have a bayonet when not a reenactor any longer?Simple,I want to hunt wild hogs.I know nothing about wild hogs or feral hogs,I believe they are called.I have read they can be rather pugnacious and me having only one shot it would seem prudent to have a pointy tip to ward him off should things not come off well.However,there is the bayonet lug to consider.A few friends of mine lost the front sights off their 1853 Enfields due to the bayonets.They were reenactors and were putting it through the paces.Not difficult to fix with a new front sight and some silver solder but makes one wonder how effective it would really be,especially for a porker.Best regards,J.A.

 

[Muskeg Stomper]

My only question would be "What do you want to use the bayonet for since you posted asking for the best value?" If it is just to be used as a hanger at your side or as a skewer, the TOTW bayonet would be fine. I had one and while it fit my Indian-built Bess just fine, my buddy had one and it fit sloppily on his Pedersoli. In either case, it didn't much matter to either of us since they were mostly hangers/skewers anyhow. You know, you can always make a hacksaw cut to the bayonet throat and re-weld it as well. That would be my fix but I'm a cheap-sonnava-gun.

 

[tmdreb]

But the ramrod would not be used for cooking either. Ramrods were tempered steel as well, not iron. If a rod were used in the fire and it lost its temper then it could be bent and no longer fit in the ramrod channel. This would effectively leave the soldier unarmed.

Even so, the amount of documentation for soldiers cooking with their ramrods for just the ACW era is staggering. It was a very widespread practice.