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Firearms expert explains bump stocks as President Trump weighs ban

Posted at 11:02 PM, Oct 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-05 23:02:17-04

WYOMING, Mich. -- In the wake of the Las Vegas shooting massacre, President Donald Trump says his administration is considering whether bump stocks should be banned.

This comes afterthe National Rifle Association said the devices should be subject to additional regulations after police say the Las Vegas mass shooter used one Sunday when he opened fire

The bump stock doesn't make a weapon fully automatic, but it makes it pretty close.

"It is going to utilize the recoil of the firearm to push the gun back and with that forward pressure that you're putting on the gun, you're bringing the trigger back into the firing finger," said Mike Visser, the lead instructor of firearms training at Silver Bullet Firearms in Wyoming.

Bump stocks can be attached to a firearm, making it similar to a fully automatic weapon, which are illegal to purchase.  Bump stocks are currently legal.

"As far as the federal level goes, currently [bump stocks] are legal by federal standards because it is not converting the gun to fully automatic," Visser said. "It is still a semi-automatic firearm just using that recoil to reset the trigger for the next press."

Visser says they're not easy to shoot, either.

"Accuracy goes completely out the window at this point... This style of accessory on the gun does require a little bit of finesse to figure out the amount of pressure needed," he said. "If you don't push forward hard enough, you'll only go the one shot. If you push forward too hard it's going to maintain the trigger being pressed by the finger so you're still only going to get that single shot."

Visser says the average American citizen would use a bump stock simply for recreational purposes, not for hunting.

"For hunting purposes, you want to make a very clean, ethical clean take of the animal. The amount of fire that I just put down range, shooting at that rate is just not an ethical way to harvest an animal."

Online, prices have gone up hundreds of dollars with the possibility of a ban.  Bump stocks normally run around $300, but prices online are now averaging $500-$600.  Silver Bullet Firearms doesn't carry them, saying they're not too popular.

The ATF is going to review whether bump stocks comply with federal law. Meanwhile, U.S. Representative Carlos Curbelo from Miami is planning to introduce legislation to ban the use of bump stocks.

Michigan Congressman Bill Huizenga announced his support on Thursday for a discussion of bump stock regulations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report