Originally posted by culero
What I am having trouble with here is this - if you have any rounds left in the magazine, why would you want to whack someone with the butt? If there are no rounds left in the magazine, why not eject it?
When a guy wearing the wrong uniform jumps into your foxhole with you, or you walk around some shrubbery or a tree and again some guy with the wrong uniform is right there in your face, you may not be able to physically get the rifle pointed at the guy. In those cases, butt stroke, butt smash, bayonet stab could be the most appropriate drill.
Then when he's lying on the ground, back off a few feet and empty the mag into the bastage.
It's a bit like air to air combat... you carry around missiles and don't PLAN on getting into a visual BFM engagement where you have to use your gun, but things don't always go according to plan and if you arrive in a knife fight and you're the one dude without a knife...