Photos of two of the AR’s used by Stephen Paddock to shoot at a concert crowd assembled below the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas Sunday night have emerged. From dailymail.co.uk: “The photos, obtained by Boston 25, show two semi-automatic weapons, with one having a ‘bump stock‘ added to make it fully automatic. Fully-automatic weapons allow the shooter to unleash bullet after bullet simply by holding down the trigger.” . . .
With that weapon, Paddock would have been capable of firing hundreds of rounds per minute into the crowd. That gun also had an over-sized magazine attached so he wouldn’t have to pause to refill ammunition as often.
The other weapon has branding showing that it was made by Daniel Defense, a Savannah, Georgia-based company which produces variants of the AR-15 rifle, originally created for the American military. That weapon also has a bi-pod attached for stability and a telescopic lens for accuracy.
In the two pictures, the guns are seen laid out on the bed in Paddock’s hotel room. One of the rifles is seen next to a full magazine, dozens of spent bullets and a hammer – which the 64-year-old shooter allegedly used to shatter two windows in the room, which he then used to fire out of onto the crowd below.
The bumpfire stock on the Daniel Defense rifle in the photo above would account for the “automatic” gunfire heard in videos of the shooting. And given the typical journalist’s knowledge (or lack thereof) of firearms, reports of rifles on “tripods” were probably referring to bipod-equipped AR’s.
These are the only two firearms to have been positively identified from yesterday’s shooting so far. More details, including a full inventory of what was in that hotel room, will surely be revealed in time. Will there now be a push to outlaw bumpfire and other “work-around” solutions that simulate fully automatic fire? That seems a good bet.
I guess that puts to rest the speculations on this site regarding “bump fires” being used.
I was with the guys that were saying this from the beginning about cyclic rate not being consistent and this wasn’t true full auto and it was either bump fire or the GATT trigger
Yeah, I was thinking that when I heard the shooting on video, too.
So he used this little hammer to bust out these heavy duty windows? Interesting
Thatt looks to be a 2 pound sledgehammer. It maybe short handled, but it’s not “little”.
Using the AR to provide scale in the photo, I would guess it’s a 5 lb sledge.
I heard an interview by a former hotel worker (not Mandalay) that upper floor windows have a small area in one corner that fire fighters could strike to shatter the whole pane allowing the room to ventilate.
Even if a 2-pound sledge by itself was not adequate a couple of 8mm or .45 ACP through the window first would have assisted the breakout. Those windows are tough, they are not bullet-resistant.
Your first paragraph says the bumpfire stock “makes it fully automatic”. Later you correctly state that it “simulates” full auto. We must be incredibly careful of of words. The left is much better than us in playing with language and will take advantage of any of our slipups.
Can I respectfully request you correct that first paragraph ?
If you look carefully you will see that was a quote from the Fox25Boston telecast. It’s not really obvious who the quote is attributed to.
The first paragraph is a quote from Daily Mail. Their words.
The paragraph below is mine, stating that bumpfire stocks simulate full-auto fire.
Then put it in QUOTES or ITALICS. Simple HTML.
Also, it seems from the pictures that the large framed rifle (ar-10, if you will) is the DD rifle. Judging only by the furniture. The smaller frame rifle (ar15) seems to be equipped with the bump fire stock.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/10/03/president-trump-well-be-talking-about-gun-laws/
And so the betrayal begins.
Good point about Trump and whether you trust him or not, it is time to write your Congressman and your Senators. Congress has way too many Democrats, and check which way the wind is blowing Republicans to trust they won’t try to infringe on the Second Ammendment.
An lot can be read into that short statement. You can take it as he plans on being more restrictive or (as I would like to see) he wants to make it easier for law abiding citizens to protect themselves.
Im also in the had to be a bumpfire stocked gun. Yes it will eventually come up as the next have to ban item. Having a crank-bumpfire type trigger accessory myself on one of my carbines. I too expect that also to be mentioned eventuality before I get a chance to even try it.
Maybe the carpet was the motivating factor?
I know, right, it’s just plain ugly.
the gray pattern emulates a normal calm brain sine wave.
the orange pattern with its clipped peaks and valleys is the subliminal evil brain distortion.
of the duvet, which is the part that didn’t post.
If you want a bumpfire stock, you better buy it today (if you can). They won’t be available much longer.
Sadly, spraying lead into a crowd of people is about the only use I can think of for one of those things.
Well I think most owners just use them to spray bullets into a crowd of paper targets or 2 liter bottles. That’s seems to be what the bulk of their history tells us anyway.
This is why we can’t have fun things. Evil sick bastards ruin free societies. History is full of this, but we never seem to learn.
Sad, but true, little seems to deter them on their quest to destroy or inflict suffering.
You don’t go to a shooting range much, do you?
Ask the shooters there: most will tell you they shoot for fun.
We’re going to have to throw the bump-fire stocks under the bus here. Better to be proactive and add that to the SHARE Act.
I hate the idea of outlawing simple mechanical devices, but it’s what politics will demand.
It’s not even mechanical, it’s a piece of plastic that moves with recoil…
“We’re going to have to throw the bump-fire stocks under the bus here. Better to be proactive and add that to the SHARE Act.”
Spoken like a true POS (D) from the piss ant state of sh_t-ness, CT.
FTFU
That’s like someone saying “We need to find and sacrifice Anon on a huge pile of burning other POS (D). It’ll be cruel and inhuman, but satan will welcome them home.”
That sort of compromise failed up here in Canada (C-17 was rapidly followed by C-68, for example), so I’m not sure it will be a useful option in the US.
Not one more inch.
Because it’s never enough.
Exactly what ya’ll said after the Pulse nightclub in Fla a while back. That now we will HAVE to give up because “this is just SO bad now…”, that more gun controls are inevitable, etc.
It didn’t work that way though, did it?
Hate to see Daniel Defense’s name drug through the mud on this. I own one of these rifles and it is top notch. I hope Marty Daniel and his company are able to weather the inevitable legal storm that is sure to come out of this.
I’m sure somebody will try to sue them, but they should be okay but I’m sure will cost them some legal fees. Given that the Colorado couple who tried to sue after Aurora received a harsh wake up call from the court and was ordered to pay for Lucky Gunner’s legal fees (I understand their grief, but their anger was misplaced and they were used as political pawns) it should help deter similar endeavors.
Looking at the DD rifle, the selector is clearly in the semi position, indicating that it wasn’t (what you and I would call) converted to fully automatic. That should help, as well as the fact that the bump fire stock wasn’t on the DD weapon.
Based on the available evidence, DD’s rifle functioned as intended at time of manufacture, and legally sold.
Would you give up bump/slide fire fro suppressors and/or reciprocity?
Because I’m guessing it’s going to come to that. I would.
An actual compromise, rather than the traditional “compromise on common sense guns laws” wherein gun owners lose some of their ability to exercise their right in exchange for absolutely nothing? I’ve always been of the opinion that, while the NFA is unconstitutional and the ATF’s “rulings” about it are completely absurd and not legally valid, if a shoestring is a machine gun then a bump stock is a machine gun. Both require only a single, continuous motion to keep the gun firing.
So yeah, if adding them to the ban list got suppressors off the NFA list AND got us national reciprocity, that would be an acceptable compromise. The ATF can already change its mind and ban them on the exact same rationale they’ve banned other parts. They’re really only good for wasting ammo anyway — too inaccurate to be used in combat by the militia, and there’s really nothing else you need to spray lead for.
“if a shoestring is a machine gun then a bump stock is a machine gun”
Your understanding is lacking. The shoestring keeps it firing continuously without any further action on the shooter’s part (it basically makes it run away)… A bump stock requires continuously pulling the gun forward to keep it firing.
What it will ACTUALLY come to is you give up bumpfire stocks AND lose out on any kind of reciprocity. And we could be looking at magazine bans. Possibly an “assault weapon” ban. Universal background checks too.
Expect a full court press.
On the one hand, I really couldn’t care less about slidefire stock legality, except insofar as I would feel sorry for the people involved in their manufacturer losing their jobs through no fault of their own.
On the other, I really hate that almost every “compromise” is eternal and merely damages gun rights, that they will continue to occur gradually and each time liberties will be damaged, and they really don’t reduce the zeal of the anti-gun polis at all. Because of this, eventually, the Feinsteins of the world will get their wish, they just need to carve off bits of our rights whenever they think they can see the opportunity. As such, I’m loath to kow-tow to their demands, especially with no compromise on the other side of the aisle, and ESPECIALLY when it wouldn’t have done anything to prevent a situation like the one in question.
“Something must be done to prevent the dude who passed FAA pilot interviews and multiple FBI background checks from being able to own a weapon!”… well, whatever that something is, it seems likely that it would impact more than a few legal and non-evil gun owners.
So, yeah, I’m not in favor of any manner of compromise, unless it could be done in exchange for something significant, and we’re not going to get anything significant in exchange during this news cycle.
Understand this: on guns, the left does not compromise, other than to say, “We’ll only take *this* much for now.”
Looking up the definition of the word “compromise” will show what I mean.
“Would you give up bump/slide fire fro suppressors and/or reciprocity?”
Will you give up your rights of citizenship (if you’re even from here) and go live in a cage?
You will if we fing say so. Unless, maybe, you have a gun to protect yourself?
I WISH I could afford to shoot with a bump fire stock…ammo is expensive! Oh and no local ranges allow it.
I went to the gunshop yesterday and bought two 20 round mags for my 308. I ordered another AR15 lower receiver and a new replacement barrel. Next payday I’m stocking up on reloading components and powder. We are in for another dry spell.
That rifle in the second picture does NOT have a bump-fire stock on it.
AND THERE’S NO FING WAY THOSE 30 ROUND MAGS ACHIEVED THE STRINGS OF FIRE HEARD ON THE VARIOUS VIDEOS.
A sixty round mag (in the first picture) might have gotten close, but they are also the most likely to cause (temper mental operation of the weapon(s) and) failures to fire due to the magazine ‘sagging’ in the mag-well due to the additional weight.
There’s not enough brass on the floor (in that picture) either.
I think that’s a Surefire 100, not a 60
Somebody ever milk that smooth and repeated string of fire from either a 60 or 100 Surefire mag was a magician.
IMHO, there’s a window in which you could get it to function like that. You couldn’t do it with a brand new one, and you couldn’t do it with a very used one.
The pictures do not show all the firearms in the room.
I’ll take the patient approach on this incident.
you don’t get smooth long-strings of fire by changing out weapons in the middle.
Well we now know for sure that the guy was NOT a gun guy.
Who leaves the Laser Warning sticker on their holographic sight?
operators do. cause they are too cool to care.
Problem is … that mag doesn’t hold enough rounds for those prolonged Shot durations.
Better plant some drum mags. Oh and by the way. For a guy wearing pink pussy hats at marches he’s a pretty good shot from 400+ yds, 32 floors up … with a BUMPFIRE RIFLE???? Gtfoh!!!!!
That is a 100 round surefire quadstack magazine. So yes it does have the capacity for a long burst of fire.
Followed by seven minutes of reloading. . .
“In the two pictures, the guns are seen laid out on the bed in Paddock’s hotel room.”
Clearly they are lying on the floor. Oh, the stupidity never ends…
anyone ever seen kingsman and how they made people go crazy? seems like they may have actually figured out how to do that. more and more, we see normal run of the mill people just losing their minds for no particular reason. and im not even an Alex jones fan!! LOL
No brass melted into the carpet.
I just wnt to point out that the only weapon being shown with a bump-fir stock is also equipped with an unmagnified optic.
I have also seen three seperate videos clearly showing the location of the broken windows, while fire could be heard with no visible sings of muzzle flash – not in itself conclusive. I have also see more than three videos showing muzzle flashes timed to the shooting, coming from somwher around the 4th or 5th floor.
This thing stinks. It stinks really badly.
That bump stock on the first rifle looks like a Slidefire. BTW, thanks Boston 25 for putting your logo all over the picture.