At this point, there’s little need for us to explain what a bump-fire stock is (but if you need a refresher, feel free to click here). TFB has been covering the industry standard bump-fire stock, the Slidefire SSAR-15, since at least 2010 which you’ll note at that time retailed for $319.

The price came down on Slidefire stocks considerably over the years, and Slidefire AK variants were recently selling as low as $50. AR variants had been selling consistently around $100 to $150. Immediately after news broke that bump-fire stocks were used during the recent Las Vegas tragedy, the market changed.

The common rules of Supply and Demand apply, of course. Demand can rise from speculation of retroactive bans (outright removal of supply), a grandfathered ban (freezing current supply), or simply an increased public knowledge of the product. For obvious reasons, Google Trends indicates a dramatic spike in web searches for both the Slidefire brand name and the generic technology:

Google Trends data on Bump-fire and Slidefire searches

While speculation about legislation runs rampant (which we won’t cover), let’s take another direction and look at what’s happening around the industry.

• Slidefire has stopped taking orders altogether.
• Cheaper Than Dirt appears to have taken the entire product offline.
• Bump Fire Systems’ entire website is down (503 error, possibly due to increased web traffic). Update: Website is back up, but the firm has stopped taking orders “Due to extremely high demands”
• Midway USA has removed the product entirely. 
• Other retailers, much more believably, are simply sold out.

Cheaper Than Dirt Removes Slidefire Listing

The answer, then, is to seek out the community: People who own a bump-fire stock and don’t mind selling. As of this writing, we’re seeing as much as a 10X markup on an otherwise-common firearms accessory with sale prices reaching as high as $1,500 USD:

Gunbroker Completed Auctions – Slidefire Stocks

Gunbroker is hardly alone in this regard. Florida Gun Trader shows listings ranging from $500-800. Texas Gun Trader is showing listings as high as $950 with alarmist titles like “Soon to be banned” and “Its days are numbered”. ArmsList users are taking part across the country.

Moments ago TFB’s Adam Scepaniak reported that Gunbroker is banning the sale of all Slidefire and bump-fire stocks going forward. In an email, the website politely writes:

The Management of GunBroker.com has made the decision to no longer allow the listings of Bump/Slide Fire stocks or similar items on the site. All existing listings have been removed without winning bidders. Please do not relist these items. Thank you for your cooperation and continued support.

TFB has also been informed of rumors that the issue of price gouging or rapid inflation isn’t limited to online or personal sales. Some big box stores have allegedly been taking advantage of the recent spike in demand.

Like any commodity, it’s impossible to know which direction bump-fire stocks will take next. They will either become rare collectors items, contraband, or expensive impulse buys with an interesting story.