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SHOT Show 2012: First Impressions on the Slide Fire
Reporting & Photography by Barbara Eldredge; images courtesy of Slide FireAfter a day of firing guns at the SHOT Show's "Media Day at the Range," one invention sticks out in my mind: the Slide Fire.
The result of good ol’ American ingenuity, the Slide Fire was conceived by Jeremiah Cottle as a legal way to increase the speed of fire for semi-automatic rifles. Fully automatic weapons have been heavily controlled in the US since gangsters' use of Tommy guns in the late 1920's, but many models like the M-16 or AK-47 can be owned in semi-automatic form.
When one pulls the trigger of a semi-automatic's trigger, it shoots a single bullet (as opposed to a fully automatic weapon where bullets are fired continually until the trigger is released or the bullets run out). Cottle's invention is a more sophisticated form of a technique called 'bump firing' that enables automatic-like firing speed. Bump firing typically means inserting a thumb through the trigger guard, hooking it on a belt loop and then pulling the firearm forward to engage the trigger. The recoil from each shot disengages the trigger but the forward pull of the left hand ensures fast, automatic-like fire. Shooting from the hip in this way is highly inaccurate and (let's be honest) steeped in machismo recklessness.
Replace a rifle's stock with a Slide Fire and one can get the same shot speed as bump firing but with all the control of shooting from the shoulder. The stock features a finger rest for the index finger to extend through the trigger guard and a stock butt with half an inch of give. When the trigger finger is properly placed, the left hand pulls the gun forward so that the trigger is engaged. The gun is able to recoil that half inch of give so the trigger resets with the next loaded round before the forward pull from the left hand causes it to fire once again. It is a simple and elegant solution which, Cottle estimates, can enable someone with an AK-47 to shoot between 400 and 800 rounds per minute.
I have fired an AK in both automatic and semi-automatic form but I never cared for the automatic; the kickback bruised my shoulder and the muzzle rise made it a little unwieldy. Shooting the Slide Fire, though, I had much better control over the muzzle rise because my left hand (the hand on the barrel) was doing all the firing work and my shoulder didn't ache afterwards (perhaps because of the half inch recoil slide?). I also had more control over the number of bullets spewing from the barrel. With a little practice, I could easily become proficient. The Slide Fire is easy to install and the gun can still be used in the regular mode.
What does the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms have to say about the "rapid fire" accessory? ATF Firearms Technology Chief John R. Spencer writes, "The stock has no automatically functioning mechanical parts or springs and performs no automatic mechanical function when installed... We find the "bump-stock" is a firearm part and is not regulated as a firearm under Gun Control Act or the National Firearms Act." Spencer's letter is included with every Slide Fire sale lest the legality of your rapid shooting is questioned at the local range.
You can read more about the Slide Fire here. We'll post video of Jeremiah Cottle and the Slide Fire in action in a few days so stay tuned!
SHOT Show 2012:
» Introduction
» First Impressions on the Slide Fire
» The Year of the Zombie
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Comments
When i was at the academy, one of the design lectors gave us a compelling speech about why no one of us could ever work for a company in the "arms business"....
and i concur, there are way more positive things to design...
seeing al the options people already have to kill (one another), or shoot stuff
A device to facilitate bump-firing will enjoy a short life. It takes advantage of a regulation loop-hole that will be later closed once it receives enough attention. Someone will freak-out and it will be banned.
I think it unwise to not study designs like these because even though they may not fit with in your ethics does not make it any less innovative or creative.
So please, get off your freakin high horse.
"Why are Americans obsessed with guns? What is the point of owning a gun like that? Madness."
Aside from hunting and recreational shooting?
First and foremost because we understand that an armed citizenry is the best way to ensure individual liberty and prevent the establishment of a tyrannical governing body.
Secondly, until we have a pre-crime division of law enforcement akin to minority report, armed individuals remain the greatest deterrent to violent criminals. Police forces aren't able to prevent most crimes, they generally solve them after they've been committed and then apprehend the culprits. A criminal who intends to steal, rape, harm or kill you probably won't get too hung up on the morality of using a weapon their not supposed to. Law abiding citizens, however, are left at a far greater disadvantage, defenseless and vulnerable to attack or assault.
In short, to prevent more horrendous crimes like this:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/connecticut_doctor_whose_family_eWPz3N9foeiSbXiWwlizKJ
...and end up with more people like this who can defend themselves avoid becoming victims.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/okla-woman-shoots-kills-intruder911-operators-shoot/story?id=15285605#.TxYqE_nntCM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-el_BlWWEFc
For dozens of other examples...
http://gunssavelives.net/self-defense/video/11-year-old-girl-defends-home-with-22-rifle/
@Peace-This is not a weapon, it is an upgrade. The phone has been doing it's job of allowing humans to communicate over great distances for awhile now, but there is a new one out every other day basically.
@A.P.- If we want to start a list of things that are invented, designed, thought-up, redesigned or made that we don't "need", then you better get some snacks cause this will take awhile. Not everyone has the same thoughts on what is important, and they might not match up with your ideals or morals. But just because YOU wouldn't use this product, doesn't make is unimportant or a waste.
@J-calm down there cowboy! SHTF may happen, and is more and more likey, but when it does there will be many reactions. Hopefully you won't view everyone as a threat, SHTF will be overcome by cooperation, especially of the design oriented.
@Mark-bravo
@Gio-every country has their past time activities, don't be to quick to jump on someones back about theirs
@greg- Generalize much? There are plenty of American who are anti-gun and would love to see the abolishment of all firearms. And your second question is also ill-concieved. "Why"could be asked about anything that is improved upon from it's first successful model. Why do we need another computer? why do we need another car? If we don't develope our designs then we have given up.
I say all this to point out the fact that while this article may be about a product that isn't on everyone's mind, it fits in because it is about the design, development and production of a product that fills a desire
What's next: electric chair design: an analysis of execution interfaces?
It really doesn't matter if we agree or don't agree with the "problem" in the first place.
All this product does is re-enabling a firearm to do what your government has stated should be illegal. Call me a wine-sipping treehugger, but at the very least, in these carbon footprint-aware times, this a product the world certainly don't need.