11/44 ROF(F) No5 MkI with MkII rear sight

[RobD]

What is interesting to me is how many military rifles are carried cocked in historic pictures.
In photos of Boers holding rifles, (Anglo Boer War 1899-1902) about 1 in 3 Mauser or Martini rifles is cocked.
http://winegoggle.co.za/files/2013/01/boers.jpg
Indeed, in the famous picture of Louis Botha (while General in command on the Natal Front) which forms my avatar, his Boer Mauser carbine is cocked.
http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol017cb.html
I haven't systematically looked at long Lee Enfields in pictures of Imperial soldiers from the ABW to compare habits, but one suspects they would have been more disciplined.

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[browningautorifle]

military rifles are carried cocked

Well that's true Rob, but when in possible contact with the enemy, or even the chance of contact it's the habit to have one up the pipe and ready...safety applied. You do get variations where people want an empty chamber and loaded mag but that can come back to bite too.