[ExI] lock-and-load

[spike]

 > ...On Behalf Of Damien Broderick
> Subject: [ExI] lock-and-load
> 
> At 03:12 PM 5/15/2009 -0700, the spikester wrote:
> 
> >The right guard will
> >do whatever it is that they do, the lock-and-load crowd will... I 
> >suppose lock and load
> 
> As a don't-have-a-gun guy, I've always been puzzled by this phrase...

Ja me too.  I asways assumed it meant something to do with the mechanism of
the device, everything that isn't the stock (the wood part) or the barrel,
as in the phrase which means the entire weapon: lock, stock and barrel.

> ...
> In which case, shouldn't the manly cry be "load and lock!"?

One would think so.

> ...
> Must try one of those gadgets some day, I hear they're heaps of fun.
> 
> Damien Broderick

Oh my goodness yes.  It is a sport which does not require any particular
athleticism, yet promotes hand-eye coordination, etc.  It isn't particularly
expensive if you don't go for the exotic stuff, there are plenty of good
indoor target ranges in metropolitan areas, and the skill even has real
world applications.  Consider the nutria, an imported beast which is a
threat to the flora of Oregon and other areas.

http://www.nutria.com/site.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coypu

These entries do not express actual the size of these beasts, which is
larger than a very well fed house cat.  They have a bad habit of gnawing
trees, similar to the way of the beaver, which eventually slays the trees
and causes them to fall into the stream, causing the water to back up, which
creates an opportunity for a nice den, again much like a beaver, which tends
to flood one's newly built expensive pump house, dammit.

Oregon farmers don't like having their trees gnawed, and so they take the
expedient action of slaying the beasts, which usually requires a rifle and a
steady aim, for these are non-native pests are wiley bastards.  They will
not enter a trap, they will not devour poisoned bait, and they are difficult
to sneak upon. Or rather to upward and onward sneak.  They must be slain
from a good distance with a rifle.

spike