Half cock

[Ridolpho]

On a historical note, the Magazine Lee Metford Mk I* and II had only the half-cock or bent, having lost the SMLE style safety of the MLM I. Later the MLM Carbine Mk I introduced the cocking piece safety that lasted though MLE production. It would be interesting to see the reasoning that went into removal then reintroduction of the safety.

Rudolph

[5thBatt]

It does! According to the Military Training Regime, especially if there are proceedings to follow. Just think about 'MAKE SAFE'. Comments Gil?

I am meaning in general, a mechanical safety has no guarantee to be 100% fully functional 100% of the time, so good luck with just applying the 'safety' on a loaded rifle at a range when the RO says "make safe", "make safe" to me means unload the chamber & magazine & if available, insert a chamber flag, just remember members here are not all current or ex-service personnel, so army doctrine does not/should not apply

[Strangely Brown]

on a loaded rifle at a range when the RO says "make safe", "make safe" to me means unload the chamber & magazine & if available, insert a chamber flag, just remember members here are not all current or ex-service personnel, so army doctrine does not/should not apply

Make safe in a service rifle competition in the UK means something slightly different:
Remove the magazine, unload/remove any round from the chamber (if any) and fire the weapon on an empty chamber. Then apply the safety catch and reattach the magazine. The magazine will be assumed to be charged ready for the next phase of the competition.
All done with the rifle pointing at the back stop of the range.

[Sentryduty]

In CF use it is similar but does not reapply the safety as the C7 (AR, M16) series will not allow selection of SAFE unless the hammer is cocked.

Our MAKE SAFE is an UNLOAD as Strangely has it, followed by a LOAD and sights reset to 200m.

[5thBatt]

Make safe in a service rifle competition in the UK means something slightly different:
Remove the magazine, unload/remove any round from the chamber (if any) and fire the weapon on an empty chamber. Then apply the safety catch and reattach the magazine. The magazine will be assumed to be charged ready for the next phase of the competition.
All done with the rifle pointing at the back stop of the range.

Rules do vary from range to range here but i dont recall any that require mags to be removed (might be the case with semi's) but certainly when a rifle is cleared to be removed from the firing line, if you dont have a chamber flag bolts are to be removed

[30Three]

For our service rifle competitions; make safe is bolt open, chamber emptied and a flag put in place.

[CINDERS]

Ours is; Cease fire & unload, remove bolts ready for inspection prior to removal from the firing line, rifles pointed down range until the R/O physically looks through the bore and says clear to remove bolts are normally not allowed in rifles behind the firing line unless you have a chamber flag in there and the bolt is drawn fully to the rear the Martinees of course always have to be open with a flag.

[mike16]

safe fire arms handling is as much a state of mind as a mechanical contrivance on a rifle.

range handling and hunting handling are like comparing apples and oranges.

why not remove the bolt and lock it in one safe and lock the rifle in another safe, perhaps on another planet and dont possess any ammo...just in case. this mindless one upmanship does nothing to help understand how to operate the enfield safely.

range safety is the set of rules you agree to play by when on the range.

hunting may be the same set of rules or another set...

the rules are in place because idiots dont know what they are doing. safely handling a fire arm is a mind set that starts with a clear understanding of the capabilities of your weapon. stoopit idiots will always endager others no mater what the rules say.

I've been to a range where you must remove the bolt from the fire arm , unload it, and put a red flag in the chamber, step back from your weapon behind a designated white line and hold both arms in the air and are not allowed to go neer the rifle until the RO says so. thats how stoopit some idiots are. vendors even sell wool lined pouches for bolts so its not just lawyers who capitalise on idiocy. I know of a range officer who insisted on putting a rod down the barrel. If you refused to allow him to rod your gun you were invited to leave the range.You could not convince him that it damaged the muzzle and rifling. Or rather "safety" took priority over damage to the rifle. This jerk actualy tried to get Bullet traps set next to each table so you would put the barrel in it while you essentialy disassebled your rifle and waited for him to strut over and damage it further with his phalic rod. That idea was nix'd. it got so bad that we boycotted the range while he RO'd it. He made such a fool of himself during several competitions that within 7 months he was DX'd. too safe is just as bad as not safe enough.

I have always embraced Darwins theory on stupidity.

I carry a loaded enfield on half cock and pointed in a safe direction, without my finger on the trigger. havent had a missfire so fare but again , its pointed in a safe direction just in case. I am very conscieous of whom I am around when it comes to safe handleing of fire arms. zero tollerance for fools and idiots.