First published by Money Metals here: https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2020/09/22/gold-and-silver-locked-and-loaded-002130

In military terms, the phrase "locked and loaded" refers to "locking" a magazine or cartridge into a firearm and loading a round into the gun's chamber. A variant is to "lock the safety" and then load a magazine into the weapon. The analogy in his essay is that from a technical (chart) standpoint, the price of gold and silver are building energy to the point that they are getting closer and closer to breaking out of a consolidation pattern, and beginning the next impulse in the bullish sequence of higher highs and higher lows.