fbpx

A Semi-Automatic Rifle is Not an Assault Weapon — Except When It Essentially Is

[additional-authors]
June 22, 2016

With the recent mass shooting in Orland, Florida, an age-old debate between the pro-gunners and anti-gunners has shown up again.

The pro-gunners are quick to point out that rifles, like the “>Bump Fire. Though an AR-15, outfitted with a Bump Fire stock fires hundreds of rounds per minute, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms found the device doesn’t turn a semi-automatic rifle into a machine gun. The Bump Fire stocks remain just this side of legal.

Bump Fire owners on YouTube often smile and giggle like little girls when they start blasting as if to say, “I can't believe we are getting away with this.”

Bump Fire for the Home

Several years ago, Slide Fire presented a stock that permits the user to simulate full auto fire — easily. Just after that, another manufacturer produced a copy, at a lower cost, and was sued. A similar version can be made and home and there are a variety of how-to-guides online that show the how-to.

But, do the add-ons really have a place in home defense?

As sure as the sun comes up, someone will try to make the argument that using something scary, or different, will put you in jail, but that is not how use of force laws work.

If you act in a safe manner and use deadly force only when it is determined to be truly necessary, you are not likely to go to trial. Nonetheless, using a device like a bump fire stock will present you with some problems.

“As controllable as it is, you are more apt to miss with a round or two from a burst,” said “>need to accessorize their rifles to completely communicate their virile self-image.


Gimmicky Toy

Even some gun specialists challenge the efficiency of bump firing. In his analysis of the stock for The Truth About Guns, Leghorn said the “entire idea is a gimmicky toy.”

“There’s zip you can use if for,” says Leghorn. “It isn’t adequately stable  to use in self-defense, and it is not going to give any benefit while hunting.”

Likewise, Leghorn couldn’t find a practical use for bump fire stocks other than the fun of burning through as many rounds as possible without having to go through the bother of getting a true automatic weapon.

Bump firing is a costly distraction. Online ammo shop, Lucky Gunner, invoices $240 for 1000 rounds of its cheapest .223 bullets, the most popular round for AR-15s.

Shooters employing bump fire stocks can shoot between 500 and 800 rounds a minute. They can easily throw away $500 worth of ammo in under five minutes.


The Slide Fire Solutions bump fire stock is almost a twin of the Bump Fire. The shooter in this video, around the 20-second mark, the shooter stops, look at the camera and says, “The Slide Fire Solutions bump fire stock essentially gives you full automatic capability.”

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Difficult Choices

Jews have always believed in the importance of higher education. Today, with the rise in antisemitism across many college campuses, Jewish high school seniors are facing difficult choices.

All Aboard the Lifeboat

These are excruciating times for Israel, and for the Jewish people.  It is so tempting to succumb to despair. That is why we must keep our eyes open and revel in any blessing we can find.  

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.