# Origin of the phrase "Lock and Load" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 13, 2000, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-lock-and-load/41033 "2000-11-13T17:55:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-lock-and-load/41033/21 "2000-11-15T09:09:09Z")
I know that! I know that! - or at least one example. The M-1 Garand (M/50, as we called it) uses clips - sort of a metal brace that keeps 8 rounds clipped (doh!) together, gripping their bases. No oving parts in the clip itself, the spring that pushes the rounds upwards is in the rifle itself. When you fire the last round, there’s a \ sound as the clip is ejected and it’s time to load another clip. The real fun lies in screwing it up and getting your thumb caught as you load, especially if the rifle is hot. S. Norman ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-lock-and-load/41033/22 "2000-11-15T09:10:51Z")
No **moving** parts in the clip itself, OK ? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-lock-and-load/41033/23 "2000-11-15T15:24:23Z")
Someone beat me to “cocked and locked” (the condition of a 1911-type pistol where there is a round in the chamber, the hammer is cocked, and the safety is on), and someone pointed out that M-16 magazines are called “magazines”. I think the M-1 Garand clip is also called an “8-round magazine”. So… Stripper clips. These are little strips of metal that hold rounds in a line by their rims. Some rifles, e.g., a Mauser, have a “guide” milled into the receiver. The rifleman opens the bolt, inserts the stripper clip, and pushes the rounds into the magazine. When the stripper clip is removed and the bolt closed, a round is chambered. (I think the bolt might be able to be closed while the stripper clip is stil in place, and it knocks it out as it’s closed.) M-16 ammunition is often carried in stripper clips. A cheap, cloth bandolier holds two 10-rd. stripper clips in each of seven pockets. A magazine can be reloaded by putting the stripper clip guide (which is pinned to the bandolier) onto an empty magazine and pressing the rounds in with the thumb. It’s lighter and less cumbersome than carrying a bunch of magazines, but it does increase the reload time by several seconds. But it’s quite a bit quicker than reloading a magazine round by round! ---
**Author:** ![spazo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spazo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spazo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-lock-and-load/41033/24 "2000-11-15T16:26:26Z")
Does not sound like anyone really knows how long this statement has been around,so I’ll throw my 2 cents in.this is just a WAG mind you. Remember the od flintlock rifles,it could mean lock down the flint and load the rifle. Could also refer to lock the door and load the guns.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-lock-and-load/41033/25 "2000-11-15T16:29:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jman \* > \*\* > Safety. The only time you hear “Lock and Load” is when you’re on the range. In that case, you always have the bolt locked to the rear, with the safety on. That way, the range guys can check your weapon to make sure it’s clear of a round before you all walk down range to check your targets (unless it’s a pop-up range, of course). You then put in the next magazine, and release the bolt forward. In the field, you’re changing magazines, and the bolt stays locked back when the magazine is finished…simply load a new one and release the bolt. If you’ve got the bolt forward and no magazine in, you can just load and pull the charging handle, but most of the time, it’s already locked to the rear. > > Jman > > Jman is proud that he’s an Army qualified Expert on the M-16. 🙂 \*\* I guess it’s just a case of different armies, different regs. The the IDF, the range guys (usually the unit’s own officers and NCOs) insist on doing a manual as well as a visual check - in effect, sticking a finger into the barrel to make sure a round hasn’t gotten stuck inside. Considering the fact that the M-16 is a relatively delicate weapon, and the release latch has a tendancy to snap under the slightest push or shake, it’s best just to hold it back manually. Breaking your Sergeant’s finger is bad for just about everyone. ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-lock-and-load/41033/26 "2000-11-15T16:33:20Z")
Going with the John Wayne conjecture, in which movie did he reverse the phrase? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-lock-and-load/41033/27 "2000-11-16T01:36:07Z")
**Johnny LA** , The M-1 Garande uses stripper clips. But the Carbine version and the latter M-14s use magazines. **warmgun** , sorry brother. I wasn’t trying to scold or even come off mean. (Rereading it looks like I did. Nothing personal) I realized you were just saying IIRC about the clip thing. I was just trying to point out what was correct. Don’t mind me, I am an asshole!! BTW, I am a firearms dealer and a certified GLOCK armorer, so if there is anything you guys need, or questions you have, just let me know. (That is not advertising is it?) ---
**Author:** ![warmgun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecccb3/32.png) [@warmgun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/warmgun)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-lock-and-load/41033/28 "2000-11-16T08:30:55Z")
Bear\_Nenno, Thanks, man. No harm done. The world needs more like you. ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-lock-and-load/41033/29 "2000-11-16T17:25:04Z")
First, let’s clear up the definition of clip and magazine. All single-chamber repeating firearms have a magazine. Simply put, the magazine is the part of the firearm that holds cartridges at the ready. In a traditional lever or pump action firearm, the magazine is the tube under the barrel. In most bolt action and automatic firearms, the magazine is directly under the bolt or breechface. Most automatic rifles have a removable, or box, magazine. Anti-flame disclaimer: I am quite aware of many exceptions to the above statement. I happen to own a Browning .22 automatic, aka “Takedown .22”, and a Browning Light Twelve automatic shotgun, both of which are semi-automatic firearms with tube magazines. I also have a S.M.L.E., a bolt action rifle that also has a detachable magazine (it also has a “clip feeder” in the receiver). A clip is a device that “clips” cartridges together by the base or rim. The clip is then attached to the magazine or receiver (the part of the rifle that contains the bolt) and the catridges are then loaded into the magazine. The Garand is somewhat unique in that the clip is placed inside the magazine and is retained there until all the cartridges are expended. In short, a clip feeds a magazine, and a magazine feeds a rifle (M1 Garand exception noted). Also, clips don’t have springs in them. On the topic of the OP, I believe “Lock and Load” predates the Garand since, IIRC, the same phrase was used to instruct soldiers firing 1903 Springfield bolt-action rifles. John Wayne was probably not the first person to reverse the original phrase. I’ve heard anecdotal stories attributing the reversal to US Army and/or Marine rifle instructors during WWII (which would predate Wayne’s supposed gaffe in “The Sands of Iwo Jima”). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-lock-and-load/41033.md?page=1)