When was 'cocked and locked' invented and by whom?

Concealed carry for defense is much different than using a sidearm in the line of duty. One never knows when a self defense situation could occur, so one must always be prepared. In the line of duty, usually officers know when they're going to be heading into a dangerous situation. As an aside, police and other law enforcement also carry with one in the chamber. On a military base (especially stateside) things are quite a bit different.

Edit to add: To put it in a different perspective, would you expect a criminal who's attempting to mug you at gunpoint to wait while you load and charge your weapon?

I'm not exactly sure when, but my grandfather was a pilot during Korea and was issued an M1911A1. He said that he was instructed to carry with a mag in, but with an empty chamber, hammer down. He actually does use the term "cocked and locked" when referring to 1911's, but not with any other guns so I assume that he heard in from his time in service.

Some GI invented it in a trench in WWI I betcha.

Then Jeff Cooper had more to do with it then anyone else lately.
He and a few friends started the first modern combat pistol competition in Southern California during the late 1950s.
Through it all, a Cocked & Locked 1911 was the ticket to get in the door if you wanted any chance of winning. No other gun or carry method was as fast & accurate while still making major caliber.

Cooper went on to write for several gun magazines of the 60's & 70's, as well as start the Gunsite training facility.

rc

The 1911 carry condition was born out of Browning's testing and US Army demands. It was not designed from the start to do that.

"Cocked and locked" was always an option with the M1911/A1 pistol, but the military chose not to use it except in limited circumstances, such as the need to control a horse in the old days. The few police or civilians who carried the pistol often did so with the hammer down on a loaded chamber or with the chamber empty. Some, though, did carry "cocked and locked."

It was probably Jeff Cooper or some other of the 1911 aficiandos who coined the term, as they popularized other terms like the "conditions".

It is a safe enough way to carry that pistol, but in some cases, when the gun is carried openly, it makes folks nervous and is not good for an image. For that reason, the few police departments that allow carry of the 1911 often mandate that the hammer be down.

The common myth is that John Browning intended the pistol to be carried "cocked and locked" but there is no evidence to support that. The manual safety, like the grip safety, was added at the demand of the Army; the manual safety at the behest of the cavalry who needed to be able to make the pistol safe while the rider controlled his horse or if the gun had to be holstered temporarily. Browning apparently felt that the half-cock notch was the best way to carry a gun with the chamber loaded, and that is the only safety he put on any exposed hammer gun, pistol, rifle or shotgun.

Jim

A bit of followup, on the "lock and load." That command makes no sense with the 1911 pistol, since the slide cannot be operated to load the gun if it is locked (safety on).

It actually comes from rifle shooting, where the command with the M1, M14 and M16/M4 is "lock and load" since those rifles can be loaded with the safety engaged. With the M1903 Springfield, the command was "load and lock", so the bolt would be operated to load the first round from the magazine, then the safety applied. When the M1 was adopted, the order was reversed.

Jim

Concealed carry for defense is much different than using a sidearm in the line of duty.

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The question is NOT.. how you should carry today. It's when was "cocked and locked" born.

Some GI invented it in a trench in WWI I betcha.

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I wouldn't bet against that.

We all know "official" training material generally lags, common practice that proves to be effective. In some cases official rules against practices, that prove to be deadly, but usually only after several deaths.

We've had several people stating that during their military service, WWII, Korean, Vietnam that the official Army protocol was, magazine inserted, hammer down on a empty chamber UNLESS action was imminent. At what point did the army (US service) issue instructions that in IMMINENT need that the 1911 be "cocked and locked"? Did they ever use those terms? Condition 1? Or Round chambered and no mention of the thumb safety????????

Jim K said:

A bit of followup, on the "lock and load." That command makes no sense with the 1911 pistol, since the slide cannot be operated to load the gun if it is locked (safety on).

It actually comes from rifle shooting, where the command with the M1, M14 and M16/M4 is "lock and load" since those rifles can be loaded with the safety engaged. With the M1903 Springfield, the command was "load and lock", so the bolt would be operated to load the first round from the magazine, then the safety applied. When the M1 was adopted, the order was reversed.

Jim

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To clarify: The AR-15/M16/M4 can be loaded with the safety engaged, but the safety CANNOT be engaged unless the bolt is locked back or the weapon is cocked. Thus "Lock and Load, one 20rd magazine!"

Greg528iT said:

The question is NOT.. how you should carry today. It's when was "cocked and locked" born.

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I didn't advise anyone on how they should carry today. I made a comment that could be a part of the origins of the term, and the reason for the difference that the OP noted in his original post. Thanks and have a nice day

Cooper and his followers are the reason that the 1911 has the popularity today as a carry weapon. If the gov. manual of arms were used it would serve very little purpose in todays civilian SD roll.
I'm sure references of what is commonly known as condition one can be found that predate Cooper but he was the one who vigorously promoted and trained that doctrine. I grew up on his writings and he made me a believer, I do not often carry the 1911 for personal defence but when I do it is in the manner he described.

Condition 1

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All the 1911 "Conditions" was another of Jeff Coopers inventions in the 60's.

I never heard the term Condition used in referance to a 1911 in all the time I was in the Army.

I did hear or say Cocked & Locked or Lock & Load a gizillion times though.

Not only applied to the 1911, but every other weapon in the inventory.

It was a command to put the safety on and load, or visa versa, and every swinging Johnson understood it.

Whether you could actually do it in that order or not depended on the type of weapon you had in your hands at the time.

rc

A bit of followup, on the "lock and load." That command makes no sense with the 1911 pistol, since the slide cannot be operated to load the gun if it is locked (safety on).

It actually comes from rifle shooting, where the command with the M1, M14 and M16/M4 is "lock and load" since those rifles can be loaded with the safety engaged. With the M1903 Springfield, the command was "load and lock", so the bolt would be operated to load the first round from the magazine, then the safety applied. When the M1 was adopted, the order was reversed.

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Originally it was load and lock. It was a command that came about in the musket days. You loaded the patch and ball, then locked the hammer back.

The term got switched around in a John Wayne movie because it was easier to say for him.

Lock and load has nothing to do with the 20th century US firearms manual of arms.

There are a awful lot of words, terms, phrases, and acronyms that are commonly used in the U.S. Military that do not appear in the firearms manual, or any other manual I betcha!

rc

Sorry, Rhino, the command has nothing to do with, and was not used in the musket days. In the command, as used, the word "lock" always meant to "lock" the firing mechanism, in other words, to put the safety on.

And no, it was not changed because John Wayne couldn't pronounce it (where to these ideas come from??) it was changed because the rifle changed.

Rail Driver is correct, I didn't cover the detail.

FWIW, someone once did a bit of satire on "conditions". I don't remember them all, but Condition 12 was "In the hand of your wife who has just had a phone call from your girl friend."

Jim

You should read journals of the men who fought during the formation of our country to gain insight on the term. Load and lock was used long before the 1903 Springfield.

I didn't say he couldn't pronounce it, I said it was easier for him to say "lock and load" than "load and lock".

Wow Shoobee
A Californian, shooter, Marine who hasn't heard of Jeff Cooper and the conditions?? Where you been living under a rock? How about the colors?

Condition 12 was "In the hand of your wife who has just had a phone call from your girl friend."

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It just needed repeating.

At the point where the 1911 was manufactured and issued, or out into the publics hands, I can't imagine it would have been to long before someone thought it was a good idea to carry it with one in the chamber, hammer cocked and thumb safety engaged. They may not have refered to is as "cocked and locked". I don't know when the first person would have decided to teach this as the standard manner of carry to a group, law enforcement, or someone else. Mark

Many users of the M1911 justify carrying the M1911 in “condition one” by stating that the pistol was designed to be carried "cocked and locked".

Unfortunately this claim is not correct, the M1911 was not designed to be carried cocked and locked.

John Browning’s Models’ 1900, Model 1902, 1903 Pocket Model, Military Model 1905, M1909, M1910 did not have thumb safety locks. There are safeties; early on there is a hammer blocking device. It was a sight safety. The user pushed the back of the rear sight down, and that blocked the hammer from the firing pin. It did not last long. The grip safety was added later and stayed all the way through to the M1911.

I recommend buying “The Government Models” by William H.D. Goddard to see the wonderful pictures and progression of Brownings automatic pistol design. I also recommend the “Colt .45 Service Pistols Models of 1911 and 1911A1 Charles W. Clawson”, but the pictures are not as good.

The first thumb safety lock appears on the Model 1910 slant handle. It was added because the Cavalry apposed the adoption of a semiautomatic pistol because of their concerns about multiple accidental discharges while mounted. The Cavalry wanted to stay with their revolvers. As the primary user of a handgun, the Cavalry had the biggest vote at the table. John Browning’s thumb safety lock was needed to overcome the Cavalry's objections against a semi automatic pistol.


On this page is a long extract from a 1910 Board of Officer’s evaluating two mechanical locks submitted by John Browning on the 1910 prototype. I am using only the bit pertinent to this discussion:

From Pg 56, Colt 45 Service pistol

The board is of the opinion that the safety device for locking the slide and hammer when the latter is in the cocked position is necessary for this kind of pistol, especially as as the majority of the pistols will be used by the mounted services

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Pg 51, Cavalry Board Test, 11 March 1910, excerpts from the Cavalry Boards comments on the M1909 semiautomatic pistol (which did not have the thumb safety)

In the hands of the expert and in the hands of an officer accustomed to pistols of all classes the automatic pistol appears to be a wonderful weapon, but it is too complicated, or apparently so, and there is too much to learn about it to make it a desirable weapon for the ordinary soldier.

When used mounted there is a certain amount of uncertainty and nervousness apparent in the rider which militates greatly against its usefulness and which would confine it to the very best riders with unusual self control. For the ordinary trooper it would be dangerous even at the usual mounted pistol practice, where with the ordinary pistol, in spite of the most watchful precautions, accidents frequently occur, and where fatalities are only averted by the nimbleness of the onlookers

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These pistols, and the M1911 were designed to be carried in “Condition two”, that is a round in the chamber with the hammer down. The thumb lock safety was to be engaged to make the pistol safe when the user’s other hand was occupied. The manual of arms from 1913 clearly shows that the hammer was to be lowered (using two hands) when the M1911 was holstered.

Army 1913 Small Arms Manual:








If you cannot read the text on the bottom of pgs 91 and 92:

Pg 91. If the pistol is to be kept in the hand and and not to be fired at once, engage the safety lock with the thumb of the right hand. If the pistol is to be carried in the holster, remove safety lock, if on, and lower the hammer fully down.

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Pg 92. (Caution) The pistol must never be placed in the holster until hammer is fully down.

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Italics are in the original.

So why did the Army change the regulations?:Hatcher’s Textbook of Pistols and Revolvers, page 95, provides the clue:

“It is the danger of accidental discharge when thus lowering the hammer with one hand while on horseback that caused the Army to change the regulations some years ago so as to require the automatic to be carried with the hammer cocked and the safety on.

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It is obvious that accidental discharges occurred trying to put the pistol in "condition two". The Army had to find an alternative, something that did not require redesign of the M1911, and so the Army changed the procedures so that the pistol was carried in the flap holster, "cocked and locked".

Jeff Cooper was a WWII veteran and so were many of the participants at the early leather slaps. It is my belief that they justified carrying 1911's cocked and locked by pointing at WW2 manuals.

Eventually this morphed into a religion, with basic tenents and beliefs.

When Moses came down from the mountain top
Bearing the one true gun
Commanding that every trooper and every Cop
Shall carry it in Condition one

Thus sayeth the Lord.

This image is in the 1913 manual. This pistol has features of early M1911 prototypes, and no thumb safety. It is obvious that the manual writer had access to the test board, test articles, possibly to John Browning himself.

Magnificent post.
Thank you Slamfire.