ATF Gets Triggered

Rare Breed’s FRT is Now Legal Again. Here’s What Happened, and Why the Company Still Hasn’t Resumed Selling Its Controversial Triggers.

by Richard Baimbridge

The Rare Breed FRT-15 (Forced Reset Trigger) has generated a lot of attention since its debut in December 2020, both from firearm enthusiasts and federal agencies, alike. Similar to bump stocks, the FRT-15 drop-in trigger enables a firearm to reset the trigger almost instantly after each shot, allowing a rate of fire “equal to or faster than an M-16 machine gun” while still technically remaining semi-automatic.

If you’ve never seen an FRT-15 in action, check out this video comparing the trigger action of an M-16 versus an FRT-15 in slow-motion.

FRT stands for “Forced Reset Trigger” and the “15” refers to the fact that it’s designed for the AR-15 platform chambered in 5.56 NATO or .300 Blackout. The design sparked ongoing debates over its legality, as well as confrontations with the ATF, which, while currently unable to pursue any action against FRTs, still hasn’t given up its legal fight in the court system.

Rare Breed consulted with legal experts during the design phase to ensure that the FRT-15 did not meet the legal definition of a fully-automatic weapon. But the ATF didn’t share this interpretation, and by 2021, it classified the FRT-15 as an illegal machine gun, subject to NFA regulations and prohibitions.

Rare Breed challenged this interpretation, arguing that the FRT-15 remains compliant under the law since it requires individual trigger actions to fire each round.

In a case against the ATF brought by National Association of Gun Rights (NAGR) and Texas Gun Rights Foundation (TGRF), Rare Breed cited the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), saying that the agency acted outside its authority and circumvented Congress by expanding the definition of a “machine gun.” In July of this year, Federal District Judge Reed O’Connor of North Texas ruled in Rare Breed’s favor, citing not only the APA, but the recently decided Cargill v. Garland Supreme Court decision that overturned the bump stock ban.

According to the ruling, the ATF can no longer interfere with the manufacture, sale or possession of FRTs, and must also return any confiscated triggers to their rightful owners by February 2025, along with a letter of apology. FRT owners who either handed their mechanisms over to the ATF or had them confiscated also have the right to contact the ATF pre-emptively to demand that their triggers be returned immediately – and the ATF must comply with those requests.

Based on the ruling, the triggers were never “illegal” to begin with – and the ATF acted in a rogue, unauthorized manner by expanding the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA), without consulting Congress. Basically, they got their asses handed to them and were forced to back down… But the fight isn’t over yet, as the ATF has appealed the decision to a higher court, with a possibility that it could eventually reach the Supreme Court.

Understanding the Rare Breed FRT-15 Trigger

Unlike a standard semi-automatic trigger, where the shooter must release the trigger completely after each shot before pulling it again, the FRT-15 uses mechanical force to reset the trigger after each shot. This enables the shooter to pull the trigger much faster than normal, achieving a rapid-fire effect.

The FRT-15 uses a patented hammer design that, as it’s cocked by the bolt carrier, forces the trigger forward to the reset, along with the shooter’s finger, as the bolt moves forward to chamber the next round. A locking bar prevents the trigger from being pressed again until the bolt cycle is complete. By maintaining pressure on the trigger, the shooter can take advantage of the hammer-assisted reset to dramatically increase the rate of fire.

Rare Breed is said to have sold approximately 100,000 triggers while in operation, taking in an estimated $39 million. But eventually, the ATF began taking enforcement actions against individuals and dealers who sold or owned FRT-15, asserting that anyone found with one was in possession of an unregistered machine gun.

The ATF’s crackdown on FRT-15 users sparked heated debate about the agency’s authority and their ever-changing interpretations of firearm regulations.

Current Status of FRTs

Purchasing or possessing an FRT-15 trigger might still be a risky proposition due to ongoing, unresolved legal issues. A felony conviction in federal court can result in a lifetime ban on firearm possession. Buyers should also ensure compliance with State-specific laws that may define a “machine gun” based not on functionality, but on rates of fire or other characteristics.

But despite the favorable ruling and subsequent retreat by the ATF, Rare Breed has yet to resume selling FRT-15s due to a separate case by a federal court in New York.

The company’s website currently has a notice that says, “Due to the Preliminary Injunction issued by a federal court in the Eastern District of New York on September 5, 2023, ALL official Rare Breed Triggers Forced Reset Triggers (FRTs) are unavailable until further notice.”

Companies that produced their own versions of FRTs, such as the Big Daddy Unlimited Wide-Open Trigger (WOT), were also forced to cease operations due to ealier lawsuits brought on by Rare Breed for patent infringements, as was Hoffman Tactical – a 3D printing website that provided free printing files for FRTs (the files have since been removed).

Until Rare Breed resumes operations, it’s advised that consumers refrain from buying FRTs online, as many of the fake sites are run by scammers. Check in with the official Rare Breed website for updates, as well as their Facebook community page.

The good news is that Rare Breed is still very much intent on returning to the market, and has plans in the works for an updated trigger system with even better functionality. So stay tuned…

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