When legislators at the state or national level call for restrictions of firearms, ammunition or accessories to firearms, it’s not uncommon to see a jump in sales. But in the case of bump stocks, potential customers may find their access cut off — at least temporarily — by sellers and, in one case, a manufacturer.
WASHINGTON — In the week following the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas, the National Rifle Association has released a statement urging restriction of bump stocks, saying it “believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations.”
The shooter in the Las Vegas killings, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, had 24 guns in the hotel suite he used as a base to carry out his attack. A number of those weapons were fitted with bump stocks.
Shooting instructor Frankie McRae aims an AR-15 rifle fitted with a “bump stock” at his 37 PSR Gun Club in Bunnlevel, N.C., on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017. The stock uses the recoil of the semi-automatic rifle to let the finger “bump” the trigger, making it different from a fully automatic machine gun, which are illegal for most civilians to own.
(AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
AP Photo/Allen G. Breed
Shooting instructor Frankie McRae illustrates the grip on an AR-15 rifle fitted with a “bump stock” at his 37 PSR Gun Club in Bunnlevel, N.C., on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017. The stock uses the recoil of the semi-automatic rifle to let the finger “bump” the trigger, making it different from a fully automatic machine gun, which are illegal for most civilians to own.
(AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
AP Photo/Allen G. Breed
In this Oct. 4, 2017, photo, a device called a “bump stock” is attached to a semi-automatic rifle at the Gun Vault store and shooting range in South Jordan, Utah. The National Rifle Association announced its support on Oct. 5 for regulating the devices that can effectively convert semi-automatic rifles into fully automated weapons and that were apparently used in the Las Vegas massacre to lethal effect. It was a surprising shift for the leading gun industry group, which in recent years has resolutely opposed any gun regulations. Immediately afterward the White House, too, said it was open to such a change.
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
Clark Aposhian, chairman of the Utah Shooting Sports Council, attaches a little-known device called a “bump stock” to a semi-automatic rifle at the Gun Vault store and shooting range Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, in South Jordan, Utah. Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock bought 33 guns within the last year, but that didn’t raise any red flags. Neither did the mountains of ammunition he was stockpiling, or the bump stocks found in his hotel room that allow semi-automatic rifles to mimic fully automatic weapons.
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
FILE — In this Feb. 1, 2013, file photo, an employee of North Raleigh Guns demonstrates how a “bump” stock works at the Raleigh, N.C., shop. The gunman who unleashed hundreds of rounds of gunfire on a crowd of concertgoers in Las Vegas attached what is called a “bump-stock” to two of his weapons, in effect converting semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic ones.
(AP Photo/Allen Breed, File)
AP Photo/Allen Breed, File
FILE — This Feb. 1, 2013, file photo shows a “bump” stock next to a disassembled .22-caliber rifle at North Raleigh Guns in Raleigh, N.C. The gunman who unleashed hundreds of rounds of gunfire on a crowd of concertgoers in Las Vegas attached what is called a “bump-stock” to two of his weapons, in effect converting semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic ones.
(AP Photo/Allen Breed, File)
AP Photo/Allen Breed, File
FILE — In this Feb. 1, 2013, file photo, an employee of North Raleigh Guns demonstrates how a “bump” stock works at the Raleigh, N.C., shop. The gunman who unleashed hundreds of rounds of gunfire on a crowd of concertgoers in Las Vegas attached what is called a “bump-stock” to two of his weapons, in effect converting semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic ones.
(AP Photo/Allen Breed, File)
When legislators at the state or national level call for restrictions of firearms, ammunition or accessories to firearms, it’s not uncommon to see a jump in sales. But in the case of bump stocks, potential customers may find their access cut off — at least temporarily — by sellers and, in one case, a manufacturer.
Outdoor sports retailer Cabela’s has issued a statement saying bump stocks, the devices that allow semi-automatic firearms to fire more like fully automatic weapons, will no longer be sold in their retail outlets or online.
In the statement, issued with Bass Pro Shops (which recently purchased Cabela’s), the outlets referenced the mass shooting in Las Vegas, saying, “Like all Americans, we are shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific tragedy in Las Vegas.”
Slide Fire, a manufacturer of bump stocks, has temporarily suspended sales. A message on Slide Fire’s website makes no reference to the massacre in Las Vegas that left 58 people dead and hundreds injured, but explained that the makers of the bump stocks was suspending new orders “in order to provide the best service with those already placed.”
WTOP called Slide Fire, but got a voicemail with a recorded statement that said, “I’m out of message space and can’t record anymore.”
Several local gun shops in Maryland, when asked about bump stocks, said they don’t stock the accessories. One shop staffer called the accessories “a nuisance.”
Kurt Burdine at Gilbert Indoor Range in Rockville said clients can use bump stocks when shooting at the Rockville facility, but added that they do require practice to get used to.
Burdine said that without proper training “they can get out of control.”
“I mean, we hear a lot of people who say you should or should not have them,” said Burdine when asked if bump stocks should be restricted in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting.
“We’re for guns here at our range, so I would say they’re fine in the proper hands … As long as they’re in the proper hands, the public should still have access to them.”
As a member of the award-winning WTOP News, Kate is focused on state and local government. Her focus has always been on how decisions made in a council chamber or state house affect your house. She's also covered breaking news, education and more.
