Here’s an interesting item we ran across recently – a combination bayonet and shoulder stock made by the Chinese for the C96 “Broomhandle” Mauser (and also the TT33 Tokarev, I believe). This design is relatively recent, judging from the plastic handle, but shoulder stocks on pistols were very popular in China prior to WWII. The laws in place made pistols much more readily available than rifles, and did not limit the use of shoulder stocks on them. A pistol with a stock isn’t a real substitute for a true rifle, but it’s a decent compromise when rifles are unavailable. A great many of the pistols made in China have slots in their backstraps to fit stocks – C96 Mausers and copies, Astra 900s, Browning 1900s, and so on.
I’ve used a wooden holster stock on a C96 before (check out the C96 Mauser Showdown video if you haven’t seen it), and this bayonet stock doesn’t feel any less functional to me (although we have not shot a pistol using it). Clever idea, isn’t it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2bNh9O5YtQ
Legal Implications
Sadly, this is a bit of a legal gray area. Typically, a pistol with a shoulder stock becomes a Short Barreled Rifle, subject to the NFA. However, ATF edict exempts Astra 900 and pre-1945 C96 Mauser pistols from this when used with original shoulder stocks (not reproductions). This stock is original insofar as it is not a reproduction of anything, but the regulations were clearly not written with any knowledge of its existence (not that we should assume that knowledge of guns is considered relevant when writing gun regulations). So would it be legal to use on an unregistered pistol? We don’t know, and don’t feel like dealing with ATF to find out. We just used an airsoft repro to demonstrate it in this video.
If one did feel like registering an SBR, this item could make a neat piece of survival kit if you cut something like a Ruger MkII to use it. A very compact pseudo-rifle with a built-in knife. Just a thought…
This stock / knife is made for the Type 80 machine pistol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_80_(pistol)
http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg/ch/type-0-e.html
Kinda “Modular Bayonet System” by modern measures :)))
Thanks! Really nice stuff and video !
If it doesn’t fit on the barrel of a rifle, it is not a bayonet, it is a knife.
Fair enough.
I really don’t understand the logic of short barreled rifle legislation in the US. You can have a rifle if the barrel is over 16 inches and the same firearm as a pistol but stick a stock on the pistol it somehow becomes a more dangerous weapon sorry I am at a loss for the logic involved and someone where you would think the legislators might work out how stupid this all is?
Yes I know logic and firearms law do not go together.
The law was originally written to ban pistols as well as machine guns, and the AOW and SBR elements were in there to prevent people from making pistol-like guns. The pistol ban was removed before passage, but nobody bothered to remove the the other elements, and that’s how we got the law we have now.