by Michael Bane constantly reminds his listeners that in times of unrest or natural disasters that “you are on your own.” Reliance on police or emergency services to save you can be futile. Many Israeli civilians have just learned that fact. The Times of Israel estimates that the death toll from the Hamas terror attacks this weekend has reached 800 with many more wounded. If you were to scale that number up in the United States like blogger Cdr Salamander did, the number would approach 25,000 in a day.
We often think that Israel is an armed country. We have all seen the pictures of off-duty IDF women carrying their issued M-16s. The reality is much different. It is estimated that only 2.5% of Israeli civilians have gun permits. Those permits allow them one firearm and 50 cartridges.
As Stephen Gutowski of The Reload reports, this crisis has forced the government to relax the requirements.
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir announced on Sunday he has ordered officials responsible for issuing gun licenses to broaden its standards. As the death toll inflicted by terror group Hamas grew to over 600, Ben-Gvir said he wants more Israelis to be able to legally arm themselves.
“Today I directed the Firearms Licensing Division to go on an emergency operation in order to allow as many citizens as possible to arm themselves,” he posted, according to a Google translation. “The plan will take effect within 24 hours.”
Ben-Gvir also increased the amount of ammo that one can have from 50 rounds to 100 rounds. To my mind, both amounts are insignificant when faced with terrorists armed with full-auto AK-47s.
Tom Gresham on his Sunday Gun Talk Radio broadcast devoted time to the attack on Israel and its people by suggesting an “imagination exercise”.
Today on GTR: Imagination Exercise. 1. Do you have an AR-15? 1.a. How many AR magazines do you own? 1.b. How many are currently loaded? Exercise: Your door gets kicked in by 6 armed men. There are 20 more behind them. Turn on the news for more inspiration.
— Tom Gresham (@Guntalk) October 8, 2023
While there is no magazine in my ready AR-15, this is what is next to the AR along with a ready bag with more filled magazines and a first aid kit. In retrospect, I think I need to add a set of shooting muffs to the setup.
I can’t say my idea is original. I got it from author Matt Bracken who first wrote about how to make duplexed magazines in 2010. I modified mine a bit from his in that I used a piece of dowel instead of a pencil for the spreader and I didn’t fill the space in between with silicone caulk. If you decide to make your own, use GI-type metal magazines. I think mine were either C-Products or D&H. P-Mags just won’t work for this. You could just get the 60-round drum mag from Magpul but the duplexed mag is a lot cheaper and works just as well.
I don’t expect to be attacked by Hamas, Hezbollah, or Mexican drug cartels. But then again neither did most of the Israeli citizens who were killed or kidnapped this past weekend. That said, home invasions with multiple attackers are on the rise. Being prepared doesn’t mean you are paranoid. It just means you are prepared for something you hope will never happen. If you are prepared, then it will be one less thing to have to worry about.
