As more than 10,000 incidents of antisemitism have been reported around the country since Oct. 7, 2023, an unconventional movement has taken root within Jewish communities: Jewish gun clubs.
In January 2026, the Twin Cities will have its own chapter of Lox & Loaded, the gun club that started in Chicago in April of 2024, and has grown to 31 nationwide. Lox & Loaded will hold their initial meeting on Jan. 12.
Leslie Chudnoff of Eagan spearheaded bringing a local chapter to the metro area. She’s a retired librarian of 30 years who takes her own safety very seriously.
“It gives you confidence,” Chudnoff said. “If you don’t look like a victim and you carry yourself with confidence, you’re less likely to become a target for somebody. And I don’t see why people shouldn’t have the skills.”
She said she and her instructor, Deano Kaye at Stock and Barrel Gun Club of Eagan, have witnessed firsthand the recent growth of curiosity and enthusiasm surrounding firearm proficiency in the local Jewish community.
“Deano told me that after October 7, he got about six new clients. They were all Jewish,” she said. “They had never touched a gun or considered firing a gun in their whole lives, but the Jewish clients were interested in learning about gun laws [and] gun safety. They wanted to shoot. They wanted to practice,” Chundoff said.
Chundoff says she wanted to find a way to make firearm training more accessible to Jews in the Twin Cities who feel apprehensive. In October, she reached out to Lox & Loaded owner Gayle Pearlstein.
“October 7 happened, and it broke my heart,” Pearlstein said. “The range of emotions that I was going through, it’s very hard to describe.”
Pearlstein, the owner of Lucky Star Tactical out of Chicago, has been shooting her entire life.
“I wanted to suit up and go to Israel and join the IDF,” she said. “I really sat and marinated about how I could really make a difference.”
In the aftermath of October 7th, Pearlstein took it upon herself to launch the first Lox & Loaded chapter.
The first meeting took place within weeks of the 2023 attack by Hamas.
“With the rise of antisemitism, if I can help people defend themselves, at least I’m doing something,” she said.
Pearlstein grew up shooting with her grandpa, who escaped the pogroms in Ukraine as a child.
“He shot with his World War II Jewish buddies,” she said. “They had an informal club; I was 8 or 9, and it was on the weekends at an old shooting range.”
She says at a very young age, her grandfather explained to her the best he could that she needed to know how to protect herself.
“His family left Ukraine when he was very, very young, because of what was happening,” she said. “The first thing they did is they took the guns away. He said, ‘Don’t tell people you have a gun,’ and keep it very quiet. And he said, ‘You never let anybody take this away from you.’”
Pearlstein says her grandfather’s message was so powerful that it stayed with her, making the rest of the noise fade away.
”I don’t care about stigmas. I don’t care about politics. I wanted to take the political aspect out of it and I did. We’re all Americans,” Pearlstein said.
Chundoff said that there’s a need for Jews to find empowerment through safety training, but understands that some members of the Jewish community may feel uncomfortable talking about or being around firearms simply because they are unfamiliar with them.
“Part of the purpose of this organization is to help people educate themselves,” she said. “When they’re educated about firearms and firearm laws and safety, maybe there won’t be such a stigma or so much fear.”
She also said she hopes if inexperienced Jews take the leap to learn about firearm laws and safety, maybe stigma and fear will diminish.
“You don’t have to walk around with a gun in your hands, but just the fact that you know that you could protect yourself, your home, your family, if you had to, it does, it gives you a feeling of empowerment,” Chudnoff said.
Chundoff adds that walking out of the range with skills and confidence carries more weight than outside opinions.
“It feels athletic,” said Chudnoff. “After my shooting lessons I get an endorphin rush and it makes me feel confident.” People who are confident and take care of themselves are less likely to end up victimized or less likely to be afraid. And fear is a big problem right now.”
She says it’s better to learn how to help yourself when waiting around for help may not save you.
“With the rise of antisemitism, you can’t wait for the police to get there,” Chundoff said. In Minneapolis, the median response time for police in 2024 on priority 1, or life-threatening crime-related phone calls in Minneapolis, is 10 minutes 6 seconds.
Finding an instructor
One of the requirements for opening the local chapter was hiring a designated firearms instructor. Chundoff chose her trainer at Stock & Barrel Gun Club, Deano Kaye, who noticed an uptick in Jewish students following October 7th.
“As we can’t magically rid the world of hate, what we have to do is love ourselves enough to empower ourselves to take our own personal safety in our own hands,” Kaye said.
Turning fear, lack of training, and lack of familiarity into preparedness and community safety is what they aim to achieve at Lox & Loaded. That starts, Kaye emphasized, with responsible gun ownership and safe storage practices – which includes showing up for training.
“When you respect the firearm and have trained with it sufficiently, that tool may be your last line of defense to defend yourself or loved ones whether that be in the home or in public,” he said.
Both Chudnoff and Pearlstein hope that practice leads to making new Jewish friends, building community and camaraderie, and fostering a sense of security.
“This is a chance to bring the whole of Minneapolis as Jewish community together, maybe in a way that they hadn’t experienced before,” said Pearlstein.
Pearlstein says Lox & Loaded isn’t just another training club; it’s a movement aimed at making Jews in the community safer and stronger, together. She says she’s proud to be a part of an effort that empowers local Jewish communities and transforms fear into strength.
“We’re not soft targets anymore,” Pearlstein said.
The first Lox & Loaded meeting January 12th at Stock and Barrel Gun Club in Eagan. After that, training sessions will take place the second Monday each month.
Experience or prior knowledge isn’t necessary and those interested do not need to own their own firearm.
For more information, go to the website and choose the Twin Cities Chapter or reach out to Leslie Chudnoff at [email protected]
I didn’t grow up in a home with firearms. I served in the US Army, learned to enjoy recreational shooting. I own several shotguns for trap shooting and bird hunting. Why does every story about owning firearms have the same tired trope about keeping weapons for home defense? I don’t have any paranoid fantasies about “defending my home” from invaders. I keep my weapons locked up, with the ammunition stored separately. A weapon in the home that is unsecured, and especially one kept loaded, is a tragedy waiting to happen.
Can’t we just have a group of people who enjoy shooting sports for the challenge and the self discipline it takes to become proficient?