Earlier this week, the Trump Administration, through the Department of Justice, unilaterally re-defined bump fire stocks as machine guns. The fact that the the ATF’s own earlier assessment of the stocks under current law reached the conclusion that they are “a firearm part and…not regulated under Gun Control Act or the National Firearms Act” doesn’t seem to matter. Bump fire stocks are now machine guns because the ATF says they are.
Now, however, a new product is being announced by a company called Lord Rockwell. And for now, they’re archly calling their product the Not-A-Bumpstock (that name may change).
TTAG spoke to the Not-A-Bumpstock’s inventor last night who told us that he invented this thing for a relative who was born with a deformed arm, loves to shoot, but couldn’t use a standard bump fire stock.
He said that while this product accomplishes what a bump fire stock does, it does it in such a way as to be different enough that the ATF’s latest ruling won’t apply. Details about those differences are being withheld until early January when a full rollout will happen with a press release and video that will show exactly how the Not-A-Bumptock goes about its business. For now, all we have to go on is the drawing above.
As we told him last night, we wish the enterprising inventor, who’s licensed his device to Lord Rockwell, good luck with his product. He said that he will be submitting it to the ATF for formal approval. But we certainly have our doubts.
If they ATF can waive its regulatory wand and magically designate an approved firearm part as a machine gun, it’s hard to see why another item that similarly increases the rate of semi-automatic fire would fare any better. But we’ll be watching.
Here’s Lord Rockwell’s statement:
Your eyes are not deceiving you.
This is not a bumpstock. That one piece stock and grip and whatever that mystery part there is just a couple parts in a new system of pew things, none of which are bumpstock.
The new rule that was issued reinterpreting what bumpstocks and machine guns are is actually pretty narrow. Lord Rockwell has provisional patents on new pew technology that supersedes the bumpstock, but also has a wider application and purpose in the market.
The Not-A-Bumpstock is not a bumpstock. And it’s most definitely not a machine gun. As is the timeless tale of regulation, governments ban things, and the marketplace replaces them with new products to comply with the law. For non-gun owners, it’s like that upcoming iPhone Jailbreak that you know is inevitable.
We chose to wait to announce the product until after the bumpstock ban so that regulators did not arbitrarily target our product too. That would have been particularly upsetting since it’s not a bumpstock. Among other things, the Not-A-Bumpstock aids injured veterans, the elderly, and others with disabilities to be able to shoot again, and shoot very fast.
While we’re poised to benefit from the bumpstock ban, we support the lawsuits that will are seeking to overturn it. Our product will have a place in the market with or without a bumpstock ban. We respect President Trump and his desire to keep Americans safe. A ban on bumpstocks does not improve public safety, but will make several hundred thousand people into potential felons.
We’re letting the market know an alternative product exists. The Not-A-Bumpstocks are a more complex system. More than just replacing a grip and stock. The Not-A-Bumpstocks will be available as conversion kits for existing firearms and as complete firearms with an integral Not-A-Bumpstock. More details on the operation, safety, and availability of Not-A-Bumpstocks will follow after Christmas. We will be following standard procedures of submitting the device to the ATF’s technology branch for review of compliance with existing law and the new bumpstock rule ahead of shipping them to customers and distributors. Let your heart be not troubled, it’s Not-A-Bumpstock.