By Tim Stetzer
I’m going to start off with a confession: I have a bit of an obsession with bayonets. I have a good sized collection of military ones for the various US service rifles including the M1903’s, M1 Carbines, and M1 Garands, and of course the M16. In addition to the basic US issue ones I like collecting the various foreign models that were made to fit US arms as well. Every once in a while I’ll find a civilian produced one that, while it may not have been a military issue item, is worth adding to the collection. That was the case with SOG’s BAR15 bayonet.
The BAR15
SOG surprised me with the release of their original BAR15 last year. It’s a very modern tanto design with an aggressive tip angle. It was a stout looking blade and I decided it was worth grabbing one. I’ve had that one for a while now and SOG followed it up with a clip point model this year. I had to get one of those as well.
The BAR15 may not be a military issue item, but it was designed by veterans with the needs of tactical professionals in mind. When compared to issued bayonets, the BAR15 reminds me more of an M9 than an M7. It’s a hefty blade that should put up with some serious use. Overall length is 12.2 inches, and weight is a substantial 19.2 ounces. The 7 inch blade is made from AUS8 stainless steel, which is a good choice for toughness and corrosion resistance. Not everything needs to be MagnaCut, and for a bayonet/field knife I think SOG made a good choice. The blade and metal components are finished in a black finish.
The handle on the BAR15 are made from textured G10 affixed over a full tang. The Tanto model is available with black, OD and FDE scales. The Clip Point model is only listed with black scales currently. Since I got my Tanto model early on before the other handle colors were released, it’s basic black.
The guard has a bayonet ring sized to fit a standard A1 or A2 flash hider. The pommel has a locking mechanism that engages a standard M16 style bayonet lug. That means it’ll work with any AR-15 series with a mil spec flash hider and bayonet lug. It’ll also work with non AR pattern rifles that will take a NATO bayonet.
On a fit note, keep in mind that you need the proper distance from the muzzle to the lug on the front sight base for a bayonet to fit. A 20 inch barrel with rifle length gas system works, as does a 14.5 inch barrel with a carbide gas system. A 16 inch barrel with a mid-length gas system also works, but a 16 inch barrel with carbine gas system does not. In the latter case the ring will slide past the flash hider and rattle around loose on the barrel. I’ve seen folks mount them on 16 inch carbine gas system guns and it makes me cringe when I see it. I assume it’s only for pictures because it doesn’t lock on securely that way. Plus there isn’t much blade sticking out past the end of the barrel at that point.
SOG’s BAR15’s come with a rugged polymer sheath with nylon belt loop. The blade is secured by a lip that locks on to the guard of the bayonet as well as a retention strap secured by a thumb snap. MSRP for either model BAR15 is $79.95. Compared to M9 and OCK3S bayonets that’s a [pretty good deal. You’re even hard pressed to find surplus M7’s much cheaper these days. The SOG bayonets are made in China, which I know some folks aren’t a fan of, but they do appear to be well made.
Testing
The first thing I did was try the bayonets on a variety of rifles. I don’t have any shortage of military rifle clones so I had plenty to pick from. The SOG bayonets locked up fine on my M16A4 and M16A2 clones, as well as my M4 and my mid-length home brew carry handle builds. They also fit my Taiwanese T91 clone rifle. That isn’t always the case with commercial bayonets. I’ve messed with a few over the years that are more bayonet shaped objects than functional bayonets. Sometimes the ring isn’t sized correctly. Other times the spacing between the ring and locking mechanics is wrong. Or the locking mechanism doesn’t fit correctly, or lock up securely. The SOG BAR15’s didn’t suffer from any of those issues.
On a sad note, I did find that the BAR15 didn’t fit my favorite bayonet platform, the Mossberg 590A1. The mag tube is too thick, and it doesn’t provide enough clearance for the bayonet handle to allow the ring and locking mechanism to line up correctly. It’s odd because the 590 works with an M7, M9 and OCK3S but despite my best efforts the BAR15 didn’t fit. Still, the bayonets did fit all of my rifles correctly.
I’d love to have a bayonet course like I had in Army Basic in my backyard, but my wife frowns on the idea. I had to content myself with stabbing some stacked cardboard duct taped together. Unsurprisingly the clip point penetrated a bit easier and deeper than the steeply angled Tanto blade. With that said I still got better penetration with the Tanto than I thought I would. With its chisel point I was a little skeptical of how well it would do. Don’t get me wrong, I like the looks of it and thought it was a neat design, but I did question how well it would penetrate. With the mass and momentum of a rifle behind it, it still works pretty well.
As field knives go, both BAR15’s qualify as rugged, heavy camp tools. You aren't going to be doing fine whittling, or delicate bushcraft work with these, but they’ll certainly work for hacking firing stakes, clearing a blind area, or making shelter poles. The AUS8 blades come with a decent factory edge although there’s room for you to fine tune it. I’m never an advocate of prying with your knife, but I will say if you had to, you’d be hard pressed to break the point on the tanto model in particular.
A Bayonet's Utility in the 21st Century
Okay, if you made it this far you may ask what utility a bayonet has in the 21st Century. From a military perspective they still fill a niche. There are a number of cases where bayonets still came into play during the Gulf Wars and the Global War on Terror. They were used when clearing buildings and caves. There was even at least one documented case of a British bayonet charge when a squad ran low on ammo. A bayonet can be handy in crowd control and civil unrest situations as well. A great way to keep someone from grabbing your gun is to have a piece of sharp, pointy steel on the end of it.
From a civilian perspective, uses are a lot more limited. Possibly the civil unrest scenario. Realistically though, as a civilian and a collector, bayonets are just kind of neat. It’s a nice crossover piece if you're both a gun and knife guy. Whatever the reason you might have for wanting one, the SOG BAR15’s offer a solid choice for a modern bayonet that will also serve as a heavy duty field knife.
https://www.sogknives.com/
