...witty i know, so anyways. That's the question. There were times when muskets obviously were not fixed during battle and sometimes they were. Charges and field encounters in the open obviously were usually (at least it seems) with fixed bay. but were there times when having bayonets on the muskets would actually be a detriment? Maybe they would get in the line of sight or something? It seemed as if troops that were defending behind some protection a wall or something would not fix bayonets. Maybe it was to reload faster and easier as they passed the muskets back quickly without having to worry about sharp pointy things sticking them?