Your Militia Rifle. Semiautomatic rifles with detachable magazines can no longer be made if they possess two or more prohibited features (i.e. folding or telescoping stock, protruding pistol grip, bayonet mount, flash suppressor, threaded barrel, grenade launcher). While the "assault weapons" ban did not outlaw sale and possession of military style firearms or magazines made prior to September 13, 1994, it did prohibit further manufacture and new high capacity magazines must have a serial number, date of manufacture and be marked "For Law Enforcement or Export Only." The Clinton Crime Bill has frozen the available supply of military style rifles and high capacity magazines which are suitable for Militia use and artificially inflated their price. If you do not already own a semiautomatic Militia rifle and a sufficient quantity of high capacity magazines, your goal should be to acquire them now while they are still available.

Spare Magazines. How many spare magazines are enough? The answer is as many as you can afford and carry. The current U.S. military basic load consists of six 30-round magazines in ammo pouches and one in the weapon. However, the last thing you need to be doing in the middle of a firefight is to be loading magazines. Soldiers and Marines armed with the M-16 rifle in Vietnam regularly carried 300-500 rounds in loaded magazines while on patrol. A British Royal Marine Captain after the 1982 campaign in the Falklands stated, "There are two things you need in your equipment: ammunition, food and more ammunition." A British paratrooper in the Falklands started an attack with 14 20-round magazines for his 7.62mm NATO FN FAL rifle and a sandbag slung around his neck containing a further 200 loose rounds and 200 rounds of belted 7.62mm machinegun ammo. He spent most of the attack skirmishing forward on his belly, used all of his ammunition, and ended up rummaging through dead Argentines' ammo pouches for spare FAL magazines. A one stop shopping source (with prices not terribly inflated) for legal pre-ban high capacity magazines for the AR-15, Mini-14, AK-47, FN FAL, M-14, M-1 carbine, HK-91, and AR-180 is the company Delta Force (P.O. Box 1625, El Dorado, AR 71731; credit card orders 1-800-852-4445; catalog requests 1-501-862-4984).

Post-Ban Military Style Rifles. The Clinton gun ban has also created a new class of firearm; the post-ban politically correct assault rifle. The post-ban rifles can be recognized by such odd features as a thumbhole stock and their lack of a flash suppressor or the dreaded bayonet lug. Pre-ban high capacity magazines may still be purchased and used in post-ban rifles. Although nothing in the law allows such a view, some gun magazines have reported that the BATF has threatened to prosecute anyone who uses a legal pre-ban high capacity magazine in a legal post-ban rifle (the Yakima BATF office denied this on February 27, 1996). Since regulations interpreting the law and having the full force of the law are published by unelected bureaucrats in the BATF, we are only one pronouncement in the Federal Register away from having more of our gun rights stolen. Being in technical violation of federal firearms law could result in imprisonment or worse. Remember the Ruby Ridge and Waco atrocities perpetrated by the BATF Gun Gestapo and Federal Bureau of Incineration. The best protection against such an unconstitutional infringement of your rights by an out of control bureaucracy is to vote anti-gun politicians out of office and replace them with statesmen who will repeal the ban and reign in federal law enforcement agencies, especially the BATF.

Self Defense Handguns. The Clinton Crime Bill also prohibited further manufacture of high capacity handgun magazines for civilian sales. A .45 ACP or 9mm semiautomatic pistol with a high capacity magazine is highly desirable for Militia duty. High capacity pistol magazines manufactured before September 13, 1994 are still available in limited quantities, but with higher prices. Stock up while you can. Like the U.S. armed forces, the majority of law enforcement agencies have adopted high capacity 9mm semiautomatic pistols. Since law-abiding citizens face the same adversaries as law enforcement officers, if magazines holding more than ten rounds are needed for law enforcement, they are also needed for civilian self defense. Criminal assailants are often are not alone; the words "muggers" and "looters" are plural and the word "gang" implies more than one bad guy. Criminals are often anesthetized to the effect of bullets with drugs or alcohol, which requires you to shoot them many times in defense of your life.

Overcoming the Magazine Limit. An article in the October 1995 "Handguns" magazine entitled "How to Beat the 'Rule of Ten'" advises the following five strategies for living with the new ten-round magazine capacity limit: use a support weapon, use a heavier caliber, use hotter ammo, carry multiple magazines, carry an extra handgun. A support weapon like a 12 gauge shotgun or a 5.56mm rifle loaded with soft point or hollow point ammo by far exceeds the stopping power of any handgun for home defense. Using a heavier caliber means select something like a .45 ACP instead of a 9mm. Hotter ammo means you should select the ammunition with the best stopping power (usually a light weight high velocity hollow point). Carrying extra magazines or speed loaders and practicing quick reloading of your self defense handgun helps overcome the handicap of the magazine ban. So can carrying a backup gun since the quickest reload is a loaded second gun. There are other strategies for dealing with the ten-round limit. For over 150 years revolvers, especially powerful ones, have adequately served for police duty or citizen self defense, but the average police officer hits an assailant with only one out of every four shots fired from a revolver. Semiautomatics are easier to shoot than a double action revolver, which moves the average up to two hits for every three shots fired. If you are worried about magazine capacity for your semiautomatic defense pistol, you already have a hit probability advantage over a revolver, assuming you are properly trained. You should get professional training and plenty of practice to become a better shot. More hits per round fired means that a high capacity magazine may not be required. You should also alter your defensive shot placement from the center-of-mass (which is commonly taught) to the high chest or armpit level for better stopping power.

An even better strategy than dealing with the high capacity magazine ban and the "assault weapons" ban is to get them repealed. Write or call your elected representatives in Washington, D.C. and let them know that infringing your rights is intolerable and demand repeal of the ban. Join and support gun rights organizations like the NRA, Gun Owners of America or the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Be sure to register and vote only for legislators and Presidential candidates who will support your rights and respect the Constitution.