Sunday Gun Day Vol. II Ep. XLIX - Cool AR-15 Add-Ons

But I understand the appeal. It’s an easy rifle to shoot well; it has great ergonomics, at least if you’re right-handed. And best of all, it’s endlessly accessorizeable. Just the stuff you can attach to the underside of the forearm makes up a considerable list. Some of these items are practical, some are fun, some are just plain awesome, to the point where I’m looking at this list, counting the pennies in my hobby fund, and wondering why I’m not online ordering one or more of these right now.

So, let’s take a look at some of those items.

The Bayonet

This is the grand original, when military shoulder arms were single-shot muzzleloaders, and having a device to transform your musket into an improvised lance was a pretty good idea. Also, even today, something is intimidating in that shiny, glittering edge on a honed blade. As far as I know, the last bayonet charge ordered by a member of the United States armed forces was in World War 2, but that doesn’t mean bayonets aren’t still useful, for a variety of things ranging from opening up an MRE packet to opening up a bad guy. Probably not surprisingly, this is the one item on this list that I already have: A good old, genuine U.S. military M7 bayonet, honed, sharp, ready to impale – or to cut open an MRE packet.

But the standard bayonet is just a simple blade. Some of the other devices one can hang on a bayonet lug are more, shall we say, creative.

The Shotgun Bayonet

The first time I saw a rig like this was in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film “Predator,” but it wasn’t the last time I saw one. I don’t know whether the movie started the trend or just took advantage of it, but there are several options nowadays for attaching a 12-gauge pump gun, usually a Mossberg 500 or an 870 Remington, under your AR’s barrel. It would, I admit, make a great door-knocker.

This is a real thing, and in use by the United States armed forces, no less, as the M26-MASS (Modular Accessory Shotgun System). This is a combination of M-16/M4 with a 12-gauge, and may be the most bad-a** thing the USA has fielded since the Great War’s 1897 Winchester trench gun and its sword-length bayonet. In fact, the only downside of this rig is that there’s no place for the original bayonet to go – although, if a bad guy gets through a hail of 5.56mm bullets and 00 buckshot to get within melee range, you’re probably screwed anyway.

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See Also: Sunday Gun Day XL: The Legend of the Trench Gun

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The Chainsaw Bayonet

This one started as a joke; as usual, it originated with a clueless anti-gun media outlet, following a mass shooting. My friend and colleague streiff brought us that story at the time:

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See Also: Either USA Today Is Dumber Than We Thought or They've Pulled the Most Epic Twitter Troll of All Time

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A company called Panacea makes a no-kidding chainsaw bayonet for the AR-15, and they call it the Kill-Saw, which is a name that would make Bruce Campbell shudder in delight.

Oh, the company notes that, for safety purposes, the Kill-Saw is sold with a chain with no teeth, for safety purposes, claiming that this is only a novelty. But I think we all know the typical action-minded American gun twist will come up with to get around that; they are modified from a regular trimmer saw, and replacement chains are available for those.

A chainsaw bayonet would be just the thing for a variety of purposes, like clearing brush, cutting firewood, and remaining prepared for any manner of trouble while doing so. The only problem with Panacea’s device is that it’s electric, and presumably not solar-powered. In any real end of the world as we know it scenario, this under-barrel chainsaw will only last as long as its batteries, so you’ll want to get your armed brush-cutting done early – I’d advise clearing firing lanes from your principal residence out to cover all high-speed avenues of approach.

But if it’s brush-clearing that you have in mind and want to be well-armed while doing it, there’s a hotter option.

The Flamethrower Bayonet

I think this is my favorite. Because, of course, you shouldn’t have to walk that far to set something on fire. I’ve been trying to convince my wife for some time now that I need a real flamethrower, as opposed to the oversized cigar lighter I use to clear weeds. Why? Because if I’m over here, and the thing I want to set on fire is over there, how else am I to do it? Being able to mount one on my AR-15 just seems like a handy bonus.

Amazingly, you can get one of these, too, right now. A company delightfully named ExoThermic makes a flamethrower to mount on the AR-15 pattern rifles, and it looks like great fun, and just the ticket for clearing weeds, or setting an unwelcome intruder alight. Oh, I suppose you could use it to light a cigar, but unlike my butane-powered pocket lighter or even my propane weed-burner, the ExoThermic uses a combo of gasoline and diesel fuel to ensure that you can set afire anything in your area out to about 20 yards, and gasoline and diesel are not anything you want on the end of your $10 Arturo Fuente.

What Else?

There are more such accessories, of course, and I haven’t even hit on the standard old 37mm “flare guns” that look a lot like the M203 40mm grenade launcher. You have to make your own ammo for those “flare guns,” and I expect there’s a lot of good old American ingenuity going into some of those ammo recipes. And, of course, you can attach lights, lasers, probably a can opener if you want.

The AR-15 platform is one of the most versatile platforms available to the American shooter. Properly tricked out, it can accomplish a lot. Now, I’m just waiting for someone to come up with a bayonet-mounted taser or tear gas dispenser, for the next time some nitwit at the next station at the gun club covers me with the muzzle of his Hi-Point.