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Bump-stock sales soar in wake of Las Vegas massacre. And now some stores are pulling them.
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Bump-stock sales soar in wake of Las Vegas massacre. And now some stores are pulling them.

Gun and ammo stores have seen a spike in sales of bump stocks in the aftermath of the Las Vegas massacre, which claimed the lives of nearly 60 people and injured close to 500 more.

Las Vegas law enforcement has reported that the shooter, Stephen Paddock, had 12 bump stocks in his arsenal of weaponry.

What is a bump stock?

Essentially, bump stocks — an after-market add-on accessory — transform semi-automatic weapons into weapons capable of firing off hundreds of rounds of ammunition per minute by replacing the existing stock.

The bump stock replaces the stock on the semi-automatic rifle and uses the firearm's recoil to "bump" the trigger back into the finger, which causes it to fire more rapidly when compared to manual shooting.

While fully automatic weapons have been illegal since 1986, bump stocks are legal because the trigger is still manually pulled for each subsequent round.

Why could this be happening?

Every time a mass shooting occurs, politicization from both sides follows.

History has shown those on the left calling for further gun control and restrictions, while those on the right fear that their Second Amendment rights will be infringed upon.

It seems likely that gun owners could be concerned about stricter regulations after this shooting and are purchasing what they can, while they can.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced a bill on Wednesday that, if passed, would outlaw bump stocks that "easily and cheaply modify legal weapons into what are essentially machine guns."

What are stores doing about bump stocks now?

Both Walmart and Cabela's on Wednesday apparently pulled bump stocks from their websites.

When clicking on a bump stock that was formerly available on Walmart's online retail site, an error page populates, which reads, "We're having technical difficulties and are looking into the problem now."

Cabela's website simply redirects you to their shooting guns and supplies homepage when you try to click on a link that used to show the product description and purchase options for one of their bump stocks.

Slide Fire Solutions, a Texas-based manufacturer of bump stocks, posted a message on its website that it was "temporarily suspending" the filling of new orders on bump stocks, but offers customers the option to be notified when the bump stocks are again available for purchase.

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