bump stock

American  

[buhmp stok] / ˈbʌmp ˌstɒk /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of bump stock

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

Prior to 2017, ATF said bump stock devices were not machine guns because the shooter had to press forward on the barrel as the recoil bumped or triggered another shot.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2024

When a person fires a semi-automatic weapon fitted with a bump stock, it uses the gun’s recoil energy to rapidly and repeatedly bump the trigger against the shooter’s index finger.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2024

The shooter is not consciously pulling the trigger, she suggested, but the bump stock is effectively making him pull the trigger.

From Slate • Feb. 28, 2024

For Michael Cargill, a fierce defender of gun rights who sells firearms in Austin, the accessory, a bump stock, was until 2017 a niche item on the shelves of his store, Central Texas Gun Works.

From New York Times • Feb. 28, 2024

It said the bump stock device functions as “a self-acting or self-regulating mechanism that allows the firing of multiple rounds through a single pull of the trigger.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2023