A buttstroke or butt-stroking is the act of striking someone with the stock of a long gun, and is one of the most common types of the use of firearms as blunt weapons. Buttstrokes are the most prominent offensive technique available while using long guns in hand-to-hand combat and is the recommended method of close combat by the United States Marine Corps if no bayonet or sidearm is available.

Effectiveness

Despite technological changes, modern soldiers continue to report that hand-to-hand combat is a continued occurrence in the field, with soldiers stressing the importance of training in grappling and the use of weapons in hand-to-hand combat.

Techniques

Buttstrokes are implemented by a variety of combatants, often trained in a series of transitioned movements to prevent wasted motion and ensure that the aggressor is able to make repeated attacks or quickly parry or guard following a failed attempt. Buttstrokes can be combined with kicking and kneeing an opponent's lower body to further increase effectiveness and provide more variety to routes of attack. Buttstrokes carry the risk of damaging one's weapon, and, by some schools of thought, are considered best a method of last resort, recommending the use of bayonets, if possible, when engaged in close quarters combat. Even if relying primarily on bayonets, a buttstroke may still prove effective as a transitional move following a failed bayonet charge, bringing the butt of the gun in a vertical, upward swing into the combatant's groin. Part of the butt stroke training regimen involves hitting padded dummies, alongside working through drills with partners in order to avoid damaging one's weapon.

United States Techniques

The 1918 United States Navy Landing-force Manual describes the following techniques of buttstroking which would be adopted by the United States National Guard and other branches of the military:

Trench or Vertical Butt Strokes

Open Ground or Horizontal Butt Strokes