As cries for new gun control laws continue to echo from the tragic shooting in Las Vegas earlier this month, some Republicans and Democrats appear to be in harmony on a gun control proposition. However, even though most people had not heard the words “bump stock” before this month, there appears to be almost no effort on either side in coming to a meaningful understanding of what a bump stock is or what it does. Some representatives, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., mistakenly believe that the devices turn a semi-automatic weapon fully automatic.
This is misinformed and a ban on the devices would be meaningless because, at the end of the day, they are only incidental to the process of rapid “bump firing.”
Bump stocks are so called because they are designed around bump firing. So first, let us demystify what bump firing is, as compared to fully automatic fire.
Bump firing uses a weapon’s recoil to rapidly actuate the trigger. After each shot, recoil moves the weapon rearward enough for the trigger to reset and then the forward pressure of the left hand moves the gun forward again, against the stationary trigger finger, firing off another shot in rapid succession. Put simply, bump firing is letting the weapon move back and forth under recoil about an inch while the trigger finger stays in one place. The traditional method involves a finger stuck in a belt loop, but can also easily be done from the shoulder with no modifications.
Read more at the Washington Examiner.
