What is a “bump stock” and how does it work? | WETM

(WETM) – With Friday's decision by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) regarding “backup stocks,” there is a lot of information circulating about the devices, and some of it is false.

Today's SCOTUS decision focused narrowly on a single question: Do Bump Stocks turn a semi-automatic rifle, one that fires one shot every time the shooter pulls the trigger, into an automatic weapon, which continues to fire as long as the trigger is pressed?

The answer is no.” Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority in the 6-3 decision, made clear that the court ruled this way because the evidence and testimony received did not show just a humped stock transformed a semi-automatic rifle into an automatic rifle.

A bump stock works by absorbing the recoil of the rifle after each shot. Most high-powered rifles have a significant recoil effect, or “kick” when fired. This is caused by the explosion of gunpowder in the bullet which forces the bullet out of the barrel and forces the weapon into the shoulder.

A bump stock can allow a shooter to shoot much faster than a rifle that does not have one. The recoil of a rifle can cause the barrel to pop out, usually upward and to one side. By absorbing recoil, a shooter can hold the rifle more stable, and therefore pull the trigger faster and, theoretically, have better aim because recoil does not blow up the rifle's sighting device by a significant amount, which can be simple sights or a laser. distance from its previous objective.

Here's an article from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives website from around the time President Donald Trump ordered his attorney general to order relief stockpiles illegal in the USA.

Bump stocks are currently legal in over 30 states. As of this writing, no announcement has been made as to whether the National Rifle Association, or other pro-Second Amendment organizations, might use today's SCOTUS decision to challenge state laws which currently prohibit bump stocks.

The man who fatally shot 60 people and injured 413 at a Las Vegas concert in 2017 used a gun, and police say he fired more than 1,000 bullets during his attack from the upper floors of a hotel.