He states, "This is a 30 caliber M1 Garand rifle and it looks brand new"... So how is he familiar with weaponry from before his time?

Didn't he play some sort of War game in his dead end job, way back in Season 1? It was a game like Risk, as I recall...

If you remember, at lunch time in his office at the box company, he played soldier with someone...he probably studied up some on those military type things as part of his fantasy war games. Just a guess...but it fits.

One can study up and be familiar with weapons made and used prior to their birth. Locke is a military buff.

War games is one thing. But knowledge of weaponry? Just throwing out new questions.

How does Locke know about f'ing EVERYTHING would be a better question?

Apparently the month he spent hunting birds with Anthony Cooper turned him into an expert tracker and hunter? Do you believe that either?

I mean his whole character is completely implausible. At this point I'm just going on suspension of disbelief because this is, after all, a TV show.

I guess it's possible he spent his boring unproductive years at the box company self-teaching himself everything about weapons, outdoor survivalism, history, etc..

If you remember, at lunch time in his office at the box company, he played soldier with someone...he probably studied up some on those military type things as part of his fantasy war games. Just a guess...but it fits.

He was playing with Mikhail who was sitting in the Flame station!! LOL :grin:

But seriously, I think there is much about his story we don't know. Remember in his old run down apartment he had a big frame with a bunch of patches or medals? He must have learned a lot about something to receive all those...

He states, "This is a 30 caliber M1 Garand rifle and it looks brand new"... So how is he familiar with weaponry from before his time?

Anyone who watches the Military or History channel might know that. Heck, most gamers might know from Call of Duty or similar WWII games: http://callofduty.wikia.com/wiki/M1_Garand

I could see Hurley making the same statement. When Sawyer asks him how the heck he know's what era the rifle is from, Hurley would just say "Call of Duty bro. My gamerscore was 950."

He was playing with Mikhail who was sitting in the Flame station!! LOL :grin:

But seriously, I think there is much about his story we don't know. Remember in his old run down apartment he had a big frame with a bunch of patches or medals? He must have learned a lot about something to receive all those...

yeah, they are from when he was a Weeblo :rolleyes:
all of his amazing knowledge came from when he was in the boyscouts!

My father knows a lot about guns from before he was born. It's not that much of a stretch at all.

Locke obviously didn't have much of a social life, so I'm sure he studied this kind of stuff especially after getting his walkabout mission.

Watching a half dozen shows on the nature channel and the history channel and you can learn a lot of what Locke knows.

I'm not an expert, and I'd recognize a brand new M1 Garand if I saw one.

I guess it's possible he spent his boring unproductive years at the box company self-teaching himself everything about weapons, outdoor survivalism, history, etc..

This is my guess, although:

Locke though is becoming more and more interesting as time goes on (he was already one of my favorite characters). We dont know everything yet. He seems to be the first original lostie to have figured out the non-scientific side of the time travel happening on his own, is aware of it without Daniel's help, tells Richard to come find him when he is born, and may well yet develop into somehow learning all these things in a similar way to the way Daniel communicated with Desmond to find his mother in the future. Would explain some of the precocious and "special" qualities of Locke when he was young. Could also be a combination of both of these things. Its his destiny, afterall, as he has always maintained.

he is a perfectionist.

he probably was a loner all through his childhood and then into his adulthood. so, he may have had a lot of hobbies and he'd get all wrapped up in them. know everything.

don't tell me what i can't do.......

i mean i know that abbadon told him to go on a walkabout, but he got really into it and really thought that in a wheelchair that he could do it.

lots of people are interested in guns

there are gun shows and museums and the internet and as others have said the history channel

I am not at all surprised he knew what that gun was

I am not at all surprised he knew what that gun was

Well, I have to admit the Garand was not all that hard to identify. I dont know anything about guns and was able to find out what it was last week. He did know it was an older rifle that was inexplicably (he was suspecting why though) looking brand new. This can be attributed to being a military buff, as in WWII, it was a pretty well known rifle. Perhaps as has been said he studied some military history in the context of being the "Colonel."

That said, I think the question raised earlier was interesting too. How does he seem to know everything? Pretty interesting to think about too. I think we might find its part of his "travels" on the island in time before he gets there later that also helps inform him, if that makes any sense.

Well, I have to admit the Garand was not all that hard to identify. I dont know anything about guns and was able to find out what it was last week. He did know it was an older rifle that was inexplicably (he was suspecting why though) looking brand new. This can be attributed to being a military buff, as in WWII, it was a pretty well known rifle. Perhaps as has been said he studied some military history in the context of being the "Colonel."

That said, I think the question raised earlier was interesting too. How does he seem to know everything? Pretty interesting to think about too. I think we might find its part of his "travels" on the island in time before he gets there later that also helps inform him, if that makes any sense.

Are you suggesting that perhaps he is familiar with a good number of mysteries based upon his future... errr... past... ?

Does no one remember his flashback where he picked up the undercover cop, hitchhiker kid? Before he takes him back to the weed growing militia he is pulled over by a cop and the cop discovers a whole bunch of guns under a blanket in the back of Locke's pick up truck. Locke tells the cop that he has liscences for all of them.

Close this thread! :)

You're so funny, Meano! Close this thread you say. lol

Wait, I got a totally different thought when I heard him say, "this is a brand new gun..." We know that he was looking for clues to tell what TIME/YEAR it was. When he found the gun, it wasn't that he noticed it was "new" as in "barely used" but more NEW as in made in 2004. So the gun inititally told him that he was in the present time.

Then, when he saw the military uniforms he was confused, and thus asked Richard what year it was.

Anyone with an interest in history (or military history in particular) would recognise an M1 Garand at first glance, I know I did. In fact, if you remember back to encounter between Dharma and the Hostiles, I'm sure I wasn't the only one to notice that the weapon Olivia pulled was an M1 carbine.

The Garand is one of the most mass-produced weapons in history. If you've ever seen a film depicting WWII then you've probably seen thousands of them. Oh, and I think Locke was definitely remarking upon the fact that the weapon was brand new rather than at least forty years old, as any Garand encountered ~2004 would almost certainly be.

I don't think its that significant that he recognized that gun. Its quite a bit older than I am and I recognized it as well. What caught my attention is that he mispronounced it. GARAND is pronounced GRAND not GA-RAND.

Watching a half dozen shows on the nature channel and the history channel and you can learn a lot of what Locke knows.

Did you know that Fritos corn chips make excellent fire starters? Learned that from survivor guy show. Tried it, he's right.

What surprises me about Locke is how bullied, timid, niave, and unsure of himself he is off island, but on island, his inner Rambo is starting to come through. Kinda

if it matters, i named the weapon the calibre of the bullet and the year it came out putting o ur losties sometime around WWII and Korea my gf said how the hell do u know that..Easy i like weaons. the girl who had the weapon had an M1 Carbine used in ww2 for paratroopers because they were easy to manufacture and light weight . Its not hard to know your countries weapons i know the weapons our military uses up to know and ones we plan on using in the future. Locke knows history
100%
Wait, I got a totally different thought when I heard him say, "this is a brand new gun..." We know that he was looking for clues to tell what TIME/YEAR it was. When he found the gun, it wasn't that he noticed it was "new" as in "barely used" but more NEW as in made in 2004. So the gun inititally told him that he was in the present time.

Then, when he saw the military uniforms he was confused, and thus asked Richard what year it was.

no new as in the gun has only been developed for about 20 years the US military used the m1 Garand up to and during Korea where we switched to the M14

Did you know that Fritos corn chips make excellent fire starters? Learned that from survivor guy show. Tried it, he's right.

What surprises me about Locke is how bullied, timid, niave, and unsure of himself he is off island, but on island, his inner Rambo is starting to come through. Kinda

I noticed his increase in confidence during this episode especially. He strutted into the camp with his chest out and calling out Richard's name.

And yes, fritos make a good firestarter.

Are you suggesting that perhaps he is familiar with a good number of mysteries based upon his future... errr... past... ?

Yeah, suggesting the possibility that some of the experience with survival and tracking, familiarity with the island, that he had when first arriving could be attributed to some form of memory on an unconscious level from his experiences traveling around there in the past. He also has that acute sense of knowing when it will rain, and for how long, which I would say comes more from his "feeling" the island than it would knowing ahead of time it was going to rain. I'm not implying that. Rather, he is like a walking de ja vu, and only ever so slightly aware of it during seasons 1-4, possibly because of what we're beginning to see. Just thought I'd throw it out there. Wasnt (and still isnt) a fully refined thought.

Anyhow, his knowing the Garand can be explained a lot of ways. As Meano pointed out, it could simply be that he had an old one in the truck on the way to the commune. It could also be he was a bit of a WWII buff while at the box company playing Colonel. It didnt turn out to be that obscure a weapon. If you know a bit about WWII armament, you're going to know the Garand, and if you see one new while you are questioning when in time you are, you're also going to know its likely the 40's to the 50's.

I don't think it's a big deal. Even I knew what it was, but I don't know anything about guns really. I've played almost every FPS game since Doom/Wolf 3D though, and in the CoD series and MoH the WW2 guns are a staple.

I think it's not far fetched for any 1990-2004 person to know several guns by their name simply from video games alone, which Locke did play.