bump stock

[ buhmp stok ]

noun

1. a replacement gunstock that enables a semiautomatic rifle to discharge bullets at a much higher rate of fire, nearly that of a fully automatic machine gun.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bump stock¹

First recorded in 2005–10; short for bump fire (from its use of the recoil to bump the trigger against the trigger finger) + (gun)stock ( def )

Example Sentences

Cargill, a case also decided this term, in which the court invalidated the Trump administration’s bump stock ban, which would have helped rein in the proliferation of machine gun–like capabilities, on an extremely narrow and unconvincing reading of the 1934 National Firearms Act.

From Slate

A bump stock does not alter the basic mechanics of bump firing, and the trigger still must be released and reengaged to fire each additional shot,” reads the ruling.

From Salon

“A semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock does not fire more than one shot by a single function of the trigger,” he wrote in Garland vs.

From Los Angeles Times

“That event demonstrated that a semiautomatic rifle with a bump stock can have the same lethal effect as a machine gun, and it thus strengthened the case for amending. Now that the situation is clear, Congress can act.”

From Los Angeles Times

In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that a bump stock does work like a machine gun.

From Los Angeles Times