Meaning of "Lock and Load"

[yosel]

Does any one know the origin and the actual meaning of the instruction "lock and load one round of ball ammunition"

The tower always told us to "lock and load" but it is non-nonsensical. It seems it should be "load and lock". It also seems that it started with the bolt action rifles in the early 20th century.

Does anyone know the history behind this expression??

[theblackknight]

Our commands are "load" and "make ready". John Wayne must work at your range.

[l3mon]

Our commands are "load" and "make ready". John Wayne must work at your range.


is this you john wayne? is this me?

[orionz06]

working the google on the internet machine:

http://www.sproe.com/l/lock-and-load.html

[Combat_Diver]

I believe it goes back to the start of the American Army with muskets. You would lock the action and then load the musket. Also your "ball ammuntion" would be a round ball with powder rolled in paper, hence one round of ball ammunition. It was used way before matellic cartrigdes came about. We have used pointed projectiles for the last 100+years but the term "Ball" still remains also.

CD

[Armati]

My dad was a Korean War vet. He told me it meant lock the bolt to the rear and load the 8rd clip in a Garand. This is the only way to load the M1 Garand.

Still today, the deliberate load sequence for the M4 and M9 pistol is to lock the bolt/slide back then insert the magazine.

[rob_s]

Still today, the deliberate load sequence for the M4 and M9 pistol is to lock the bolt/slide back then insert the magazine.

We had a T&E gun from a now-defunct maker. Could not load a magazine with more than 5 rounds on a closed bolt unless it was a Pmag. Owner of the company checks with his "armorer" and supposed former Ranger & Army marksmanship instructor who informs him that the gun is *always* loaded with the bolt locked to the rear.

The only way we were able to make the manufacturer agree that the gun(s) had a problem was to tell him that IPSC 3-gun shooters speed-load on a closed bolt all the time. They agreed it was a problem but before we could diagnose what was causing it they got pretty pushy about getting the gun back.

[maximus83]

More background from Wordorigins.org:

http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/comments/lock_and_load/

This imperative phrase originally referred to the operation of the M1 Garand Rifle, the standard U.S. Army rifle of WWII. Its meaning is more general now, referring to preparation for any imminent event.

To load a Garand, the bolt would be locked to the rear and a clip of ammunition loaded into the receiver. The command lock and load was immortalized by John Wayne in the 1949 movie The Sands of Iwo Jima:

Lock and load, boy, lock and load.

There are earlier uses of the command reversed, load and lock. This command, primarily used on firing ranges, referred to the loading of a single round into the Garand (or into another weapon). In this case, the lock referred to striking the bolt handle with the heel of the hand to ensure it was fully closed and locked into place. From Gene Gach’s 1942 In The Army Now:

One round, ball ammunition, load and lock!

There is even an instance of this usage going back the Spanish-American War; although it’s not certain if this was a phrase current at the time or just a coincidental use of the words. From the Annual Reports of the War Department, 1900, a dispatch from the Philippines, 15 June 1899:

The line was under strong long-range fire and the order was given to load and lock the pieces; investigation proved that the white objects seen were the marines returning to their ship.

The term lock in this phrase is a different use of the word than in references to the firing mechanism of a weapon, as in flintlock.

(Source: Historical Dictionary of American Slang)

[bubabootie]

i learned something today!

Our guys typically would say "Lock and load one 20 round magazine, targets coming up! knock 'em down!"

[lalakai]

i had also heard it referenced to the manner of carrying the 1911's, one in the chamber, hammer back with safety on (this was also referenced by another term "cocked and locked").

[John_Wayne777]

is this you john wayne? is this me?

...yet another occasion to curse my own stupidity for the stupidest screen-name choice in the history of the internet.

[Spiffums]

...yet another occasion to curse my own stupidity for the stupidest screen-name choice in the history of the internet.

See that is why I picked something fluffy and not really reveling......... unless you play the same games I do on the same servers.

Can't even tell if I have "somewhere to tie the string or not" with this name.

[Magic_Salad0892]

My screen name is amazing.

[DaBears_85]

...yet another occasion to curse my own stupidity for the stupidest screen-name choice in the history of the internet.

No way, not even close. You underestimate the stupidity of the Internet, pilgrim...