March 28, 2019|RIFLES, OPINION
Pictured: WASR-10 with a bump-stock
I support President Trump and by no means blindly; With conviction where I agree and with opposition when I feel he has infringed upon the Constitution of the United States. Part Two of this article is mostly going to discuss the latter and Part Three will delve into Socialist Ideals as they pertain to the 2nd Amendment and our Republic. But for now, Part One is going to simply discuss the differences between machine-guns and bump-stocks as well as what categorically differentiates them.
Pictured: My Colt M16 Machine-Gun
When I was a child my uncle had an M16 rifle, he was a Police Officer and I remember staring at that machine-gun sitting in its padded case in the hallway. It was so cooland I was too young to ever have the opportunity to fire it. This is probably a major contributing factor as to why I decided to pony-up and buy my own.
Living in rural Northern Wisconsin as a child I was very much an outdoorsman. I enjoyed hunting, fishing and camping but always, most of all, I loved firearms. Not because I wanted to take life. As a matter of fact, in my adult life, I prefer not to kill game unless I’m going to eat it, all of it. I liked the mechanics of firearms and the precision and math utilized to create one. I liked the fact that I was holding this insanely powerful explosion in my hands and my ability to reach out and touch things beyond my natural human vision capabilities was just the icing on the cake.
I mention my Uncle’s M16 because, of course, it’s a machine gun and the title of this article should tell you what I’m going to compare it to. For nearly as long as I’ve been alive machine-guns have been strictly regulated NFA items in the United States. I won’t go into the reasons why because those reasons are Unconstitutional in my opinion but what I will discuss is what makes a firearm a machine-gun as well as what differentiates that from a bump-stock.
Pictured: My Colt M16 Machine-Gun
Machine guns are just that, guns that are machines designed to mechanically perform a series of functions known as fully automatic fire. When you squeeze the trigger on a machine gun it will fire and then, on its own with no additional movement or thought, it will cycle and repeat until you decide to let go. It will even continue firing after you decide if you don’t actually let go of the trigger. One function of the trigger = multiple functions of the firearm = machine-gun. In contrast, a bump-stock, is a nothing more than a piece of plastic that allows a firearm to slide back-and-forth, causing the trigger to simply bump your finger. When you fire a bump stock the entire process is controlled by the individual, meaning that physical human energy has to be utilized to fire the weapon each and every single time by pulling forward on the forward grip. That is not a machine and therefore can never be a machine-gun. One function of the trigger = one function of the firearm = not-a-machine-gun.
Pictured: Slide-Fire Bump-Stock
Let me explain it this way; For years the ATF has reviewed and continuously approved these devices, concluding that the determining factor is in the trigger function. If one function of the trigger creates one reaction of the trigger mechanism it is not a machine nor a machine-gun. By simple reversal one can easily conclude that it is a machine-gun when one pull of the trigger creates more than one reaction of the trigger mechanism. When firing a weapon using a bump stock (or belt loop or rubber band or even your own unassisted human hand) you absolutely cannot make the firearm function as a machine; When you pull forward it always only shoots one round. Bump-stocks merely (and poorly) simulate automatic fire by allowing the userto function the trigger repeatedly and much quicker than an average person can simply fire a weapon. But again, this does not make it a machine any more than an Abacus is a Calculator.
How does this equate to slippery slopes and Socialist ideals? You’ll have to wait until next week to continue on but, in the meantime, please keep your sights on the Prescott Caliber Club website, our online store will be opening very soon!
To Be Continued…..