The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has taken another swipe at one of its favorite Second Amendment targets: forced reset triggers, or FRTs. These triggers, which the ATF is convinced are machine guns, have been a source of controversy and ongoing court battles with the company that pioneered the tech, Rare Breed Triggers, and its drop-in AR trigger, the FRT-15.
Last week, the ATF sent a surprising and vague letter to firearm retailers telling them that some FRTs are now considered machine guns under federal law and are therefore illegal to possess or sell under National Firearms Act (NFA) and Gun Control Act (GCA) regulations. But the agency never bothered to specify which ones.
The lack of specificity and the fact that the letter indicates the ATF is seemingly rewriting definitions in federal legislation willy nilly has caused some to accuse the agency of plainly attempting to intimidate and frighten FFL holders, who are accountable to zero-tolerance ATF inspections, while grossly overstepping its legal reach.
“This latest effort by the ATF to punish and stoke fear among peaceable people who purchase protected-arms components specifically designed to comply with federal law is further proof of the agency’s abusive overreach of statutory and constitutional bounds and a manic desire to expand its dominion.”
—Firearms Policy Coalition
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The ATF Letter
The letter sent by the agency, dated March 22, was signed by George Lauder, assistant director of enforcement programs and services for the ATF.
“The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) recently examined devices commonly known as ‘forced reset triggers’ (FRTs) and has determined that some of them are ‘firearms’ and ‘machineguns’ as defined in the National Firearms Act (NFA), and ‘machineguns’ as defined in the Gun Control Act (GCA),” the letter states, before providing a skewed legal definition of a machine gun before citing the section of the NFA and GCA that it contradicts.
ATF-Forced-Reset-Triggers-LetterDownload
“ATF’s examination found that some FRT devices allow a firearm to automatically expel more than one shot with a single, continuous pull of the trigger. For this reason, ATF has concluded that FRTs that function in this way are a combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun, and hence, ATF has classified these devices as a ‘machinegun’ as defined by the NFA and GCA,” the letter continues.
“Accordingly, ATF’s position is that any FRT that allows a firearm to automatically expel more than one shot with a single, continuous pull of the trigger is a ‘machinegun,’ and is accordingly subject to the GCA prohibitions regarding the possession, transfer, and transport of machineguns,” the letter warns. “They are also subject to registration, transfer, taxation, and possession restrictions under the NFA.”
Retailers were surprised, freaked out, and understandably confused since the letter says some FRTs are machine guns but does not bother to specify which ones.
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After pulling a conventional semi-automatic trigger, the shooter must manually release it and allow it to travel to its reset point under light spring pressure before the trigger can be pulled again.
As its name implies, the FRT-15’s trigger is forced to reset quickly after a shot is fired when the bolt carrier group returns forward, whether or not the trigger is released. This allows for extremely fast follow-up shots, but the trigger must still be pulled by the user each time a round is fired.
In contrast, when a full-auto or machine gun trigger is pulled and remains depressed, the firearm will continue to fire repeatedly until it’s out of ammunition or the trigger is released.
Rare Breed’s FRT-15 was the first of its kind; there are a couple of other models on the market from different manufacturers, and RBT is embroiled in patent infringement lawsuits because of that.
FRTs should not be confused with binary triggera (another favorite ATF target of late), which allows a gun to fire when the trigger is pulled and again when the trigger is released.
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The Response From NSSF, FPC, and RBT
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade organization representing firearm dealers, quickly responded to the agency’s letter.
“The ATF letter does not advise industry which brands and does not inform FFLs what they are to do if they are in possession of these items. NSSF will be pressing ATF to provide the guidance necessary in order for FFLs to be in compliance and not at risk of a ‘zero tolerance’ revocation,” the NSSF said on its website.
This week, Mark Oliva, the NSSF director of public affairs, told Free Range American the organization is urging the ATF to provide better guidance to the industry to enable FFL holders to comply and inform their customers accurately about the letter’s contents.
“Rather than provide that guidance, ATF’s answer was to tell industry members — in an era of ‘zero tolerance’ — to call ATF,” Oliva said. “NSSF wants to ensure industry members remain in compliance with the National Firearms Act and Gun Control Act, in addition to ATF regulations. The lack of specificity, coupled with the Biden administration’s policy of instituting ‘zero-tolerance’ inspections, makes it extremely difficult for FFLs to call the ATF and seek guidance without deep concerns they could be risking their business and livelihood by trying to comply with this letter.”
“ATF should provide more detail as to which FRTs they are classifying as ‘machineguns’ to FFLs can ensure they, and their customers, remain in compliance,” Oliva added.
The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) response expressed similar concerns but was a bit more direct and accusatory while addressing the contradictions within the ATF’s letter.
“This latest effort by the ATF to punish and stoke fear among peaceable people who purchase protected-arms components specifically designed to comply with federal law is further proof of the agency’s abusive overreach of statutory and constitutional bounds and a manic desire to expand its dominion,” the FPC said in a statement.
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“Furthermore, by being purposefully vague in saying it ‘intends to take appropriate remedial action,’ the ATF adds to the unscrupulous nature of this action, leaving sellers and owners unsure if they’ll be subject to abuse.
“Unless the ATF doesn’t understand the difference between resetting and pulling a trigger, the statement is further evidence of the agency’s underhandedness. After citing the ‘single function of the trigger’ statutory definition of a ‘machinegun,’ the ATF claims ‘some FRT devices allow a firearm to automatically expel more than one shot with a single, continuous pull of the trigger.’ By virtue of its very namesake, ‘forced-reset trigger’ systems require an additional pull before firing another shot.”
The FPC statement then addresses the directive at the end of the ATF letter instructing gun dealers to contact a local ATF field office if they are “uncertain whether the device you possess is a machinegun.”
“Out of an abundance of caution, FPC suggests that individuals, entities, and businesses who are now or have been in possession of ‘forced-reset triggers’ consider the below measures through which you may be able to protect and preserve your rights should ATF contact you, visit you, and/or demand that you surrender any item in your possession,” the FPC statement concludes, before offering a bevy of advice that can be found here.
So what about the company that started all this, Rare Breed Triggers, and its product in question, the FRT-15 trigger?
The company is holding its ground, even though one of its suppliers was recently raided by the ATF. That’s no surprise, considering the ATF sent the company a cease and desist letter back in July 2021 and RBT told them to pound sand.
“The ATF alleged the FRT-15 to be a machine gun in July of 2021. We have disputed that claim in a very public manner and even sued the government over this misclassification. There is unrequited testimony in federal court by expert witnesses supporting the fact that the FRT-15 is NOT a machine gun. We have been working very hard to prepare for and file suit again in the near future,” wrote RBT founder and president Lawrence DeMonico on social media soon after news of the letter broke.
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“Our position has always been and continues to be that the FRT-15 is a perfectly legal semi-automatic trigger, so of course, we do not agree with their allegation that the FRT-15 is a machine gun,” the statement continues before reiterating the contradictions highlighted by the FPC.
In a Facebook video DeMonico posted on March 26, he says one of the several vendors that work with RBT as part of its manufacturing process received a cease and desist letter from the ATF on Jan. 12 “demanding they stopped manufacturing and turn over all FRT-15s in their possession.”
DeMonico says the vendor was told, “they would be notified why the products were illegal at a later time.”
“This morning, they rolled up to this vendor’s business with guns drawn and raided their facility. At this time, I have no idea what was seized. But with that said, I do know that they keep very little of our products on hand, so I don’t expect they got much. I also don’t know the full scope o what they took,” he said.
“I suspect they didn’t just stick to taking FRT-15s or their components as it appears the ATF’s goal here is the really make an example of anybody that dares not bend the knee,” DeMonico added. “My guess is that they probably hope if they can make an example of enough people, others won’t stand up to them. Well, that’s not me.”
When reached for comment on the raid, an ATF spokesperson told Free Range American, “The ATF executed a court-ordered search warrant in the 1400 N block of 200 W in Logan, Utah on Saturday, March 26. No one was taken into custody.”
While not specifically identified by DeMonico or the agency, 3rd Gen Machine, Inc. is listed as an FFL holder located at 1435 North 200 West in Logan, Utah.
So what now? Law-abiding citizens in possession of forced reset triggers and FFL holders with FRTs in their inventory must wait for a more detailed response from the ATF and additional guidance from the NSSF, FPC, and the trigger manufacturers.
We will bring you more on RBT’s battle with the ATF as it develops.
Additional reporting by Tim Cooper
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The United States also sought a temporary order immediately halting any sales of the FRT-15 or any forced reset trigger until and unless otherwise ordered by the Court. On January 25, 2023, United States District Judge Nina R. Morrison entered a temporary restraining order against Defendants.
A forced reset trigger does exactly what its name implies. It forces the trigger to reset itself. It literally moves your finger forward as it resets. Therefore, if you maintain a constant pressure on the trigger, it will reset and then your pressure will pull it again.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) calls binary triggers “forced reset triggers,” which are a device added to firearms to increase the speed of firing. ... Binary Trigger Legal States 2023.
“Accordingly, ATF's position is that any FRT that allows a firearm to automatically expel more than one shot with a single, continuous pull of the trigger is a 'machinegun,' and is accordingly subject to the GCA prohibitions regarding the possession, transfer, and transport of machineguns,” the letter warns.
The ATF used its own discretion to determine that the FRT-15 is a machine gun. But Rare Breed Triggers claims the FRT-15 is a perfectly legal semi-automatic trigger because the trigger must be pulled for every bullet, so it is still semi-automatic.
The ATF, upon learning of the trigger, sent Rare Breed a cease and desist letter explaining that the ATF determined the FRT to be a “machine gun” and was, therefore, being illegally made, sold, and possessed by many Americans.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) generally prohibits bump stocks by classifying them as machine guns under the National Firearms Act (NFA).
The ATF ruling went into effect on January 31st and any weapons with “stabilizing braces” or similar attachments must be registered no later than May 31, 2023. If not, you could be charged with a felony. “If you have one of these guns, you can either destroy your weapon.
update: ATF announced at FIC that they intend to disable pistol brace forbearance applications at 12:01 a.m. on May 31. The Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted its “Final Rule” on pistol stabilizing braces to the Federal Register on January 13, 2023.
The device is illegal under federal law, carrying a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, NewsNation affiliate WOOD reported. According to ATF, the number of guns with switches seized has increased more than five times from about 300 in 2020 to 1,500 in 2021.
Unlike traditional triggers and binary triggers (sometimes referred to generally as “FRTs”), the subject FRTs do not require shooters to pull and then subsequently release the trigger to fire a second shot.
It is completely legal, very expensive, tedious. Burst Fire is legal, some weapons are made ONLY for Burst-Fire. Anything that pulls more than one cartridge per trigger is considered an automatic weapon and is therefore illegal unless you buy a predator.
Trigger cranks attach to a firearm's trigger guard and similarly enable a shooter to repeatedly pull the trigger in very rapid succession by simply rotating the crank. Unlike bump stocks, trigger cranks are not classified as 'machine guns' by the ATF, and are thus still legal to own in most states.
The short 2mm reset makes the Zero trigger one of the fastest on the market. The reset is also positive, which facilitates even faster shooting during training or competition.
As of now, we are only offering the rare breed frt 15 trigger for sale™ which has been designed and produced to operate in the standard AR-15 running 5.56 or 300BLK. The FRT-15 will NOT operate in an AR-10 or an AR with a 22lr conversion kit. In some but not all cases, the FRT-15 ™ will run in an AR-9mm.
Yup, you can buy them online and have them ship to your house. It's not considered a firearm, buuuuut it won't do anything for you unless you already have a receiver with a full auto pocket.
Texas law prohibits intentionally or knowingly possessing, manufacturing, transporting, repairing, or selling a machine gun. However, it is a defense to prosecution if the machine gun was properly registered under federal law.
Owning a fully automatic M16 is legal for civilians, but the government paperwork required to acquire one takes more than a year, and the purchased M16 must have been manufactured prior to the 1986 ban.
“ATF does not maintain a federal gun registry, therefore, records are not kept on the sales of firearms, private sales or information on individual purchasers,” an ATF spokesperson told ABC News.
Such stabilizers were used in a 2021 mass shooting at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, where 10 people were killed by a single gunman. Pistol braces are often paired with AR-style firearms, which were used in several mass shootings in 2022.
In California, a gun purchase is often denied because the purchaser has been detained under Welfare & Institutions Code §5150, which provides for detention and a 72 hour mental health evaluation of a person considered a danger to himself/herself or others.
A pair of companies have been temporarily ordered to stop selling machinegun conversion devices, after a federal court in New York said there was probable cause to believe the defendants conspired to circumvent firearms regulations.
The above statement clearly describes our Binary design as it is engineered to fire only one round on pull of the trigger and one round on release of the trigger. This further illustrates why Binary® triggers are federally legal and not regulated by the NFA or GCA.
Rare Breed Triggers has sold more than 80,000 “forced reset triggers” nationwide, including to residents of New York City and Long Island, according to court documents.
Legislation Aims to Improve Safety & Reduce Deadly Mass Shootings in the U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) announced introduction of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2023. The bill, cosponsored by Higgins, prohibits the sale, transfer, manufacture, and importation of semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines.
A binary trigger increases a weapon's firing speed. Unlike a bump stock, it is legal in most states. It allows a firearm to shoot one bullet when the trigger is pulled and one when it releases. A 30-round magazine can be emptied in about three seconds.
The ban was instituted after a gunman perched in a high-rise hotel using bump stock-equipped weapons massacred dozens of people in Las Vegas in 2017. Gun rights advocates have challenged it in multiple courts.
The rule would reclassify pistols as short-barreled rifles if they have a stabilizing brace attachment, even though many disabled veterans and other Americans rely on these braces to use their firearms. “The new rule on pistol braces is a gross violation of Americans' Second Amendment rights.
Can I still legally purchase/own an 80% lower? Yes, depending on your state and local laws you can still purchase and possess an 80% lower. Individuals prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under the gun control act of 1968 may not purchase or possess 80% lowers.
Because of the nature of operations conducted by a gunsmith, he shall not be required to have business premises open to the general public or to have regular business hours.
Air guns, pellet guns, starter guns and flare guns provided they are not firearms as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3) and do not have tear gas dissemination capability. Firearm accessories such as gun cases, slings, and cleaning kits.
If you've got one on your AR or AK pistol, it's now a short-barreled rifle which requires ATF permission, registration and a $200 tax stamp. And if you want to pass that registered weapon down to your children you'll also have to pay an attorney to create a “gun trust.”
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker said possessing one of the devices is a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. A man was recently sentenced to three years in prison for having one installed on his Glock, which he said he fired in self-defense.
A Glock switch or Glock auto-sear is a small device that can be attached to the rear of the slide of a Glock handgun, converting the semi-automatic pistol into a machine pistol capable of fully automatic fire.
The idea behind riding the reset is to improve speed and accuracy by making it so your finger doesn't have to refind the trigger each time you take a shot. This also helps keep your weapon from moving around unnecessarily, which helps you keep your eye on the target.
This in effect doubles the rate of fire of a firearm with a normal trigger, thus making it a device used to increase the rate of fire faster than possible for a person to fire unassisted. Seems like this too would fall under the definition of bump-stock under Florida law.
In automatic firearms, burst mode or burst-fire is a firing mode enabling the shooter to fire a predetermined number of rounds, usually two or three rounds on hand held weapons and 50-100+ on anti-aircraft weapons and autocannons, with a single pull of the trigger.
Just having an auto-sear is a federal offense. “Just the switch by itself is considered a machine gun under federal law even if it's not installed in a firearm. It's illegal to possess and you could be charged,” said Briggs.
4 The trigger pull weight shall have the following characteristics: — Trigger pull weight shall be no less than 4.5 pounds nor exceed 8.0 pounds. — Pistol shall fire with 8.0 pounds of pressure and shall not fire with less than 4.5 pounds of pressure.
A “trigger crank” or “gat crank” attaches onto the trigger guard, and the shooter then rotates the crank, which will the pull the trigger about 3x per rotation. … You can't modify the internal components of the gun to make it fully automatic, but these workaround accessories are perfectly legal.
Further, despite being federally legal, a number of states explicitly or implicitly prohibit binary triggers. Residents of CA, CT, DC, FL, HI, IA, MD, NJ, NY, RI, and WA may be prohibited from possessing or selling one, so take care to research your state's laws carefully and thoroughly before buying one.
This means that you'll need a full-auto bolt carrier in your AR platform for it to work properly. The Fostech trigger is easy to assemble, but there are some aspects to consider.
For example, you cannot legally possess, manufacture, or sell a machine gun in California, Illinois, or New Jersey. To summarize, you can't be a prohibited person, the machine gun must have been made and registered before 1986, and it needs to be legal according to your state's laws to own a machine gun.
Can police officers own automatic weapons? Anyone can own an automatic weapon if the have the the proper Federal permit and their state permits it. Cops often have access to department autos, so the can have the fun without the obligation.
Five states—Idaho, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming—regulate the possession of machine guns in other limited circ*mstances such as prohibiting the possession of machine guns by minors. Five states—Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and New Mexico—do not have any state-level regulations of machine guns.
An automatic rifle fires repeatedly as long as the trigger is held down, until the magazine is exhausted. That fully automatic firing is achieved by weapons such as the machine gun and submachine gun.
AR-15 and other semi-automatic rifles are NOT “assault weapons” or “assault rifles.” An assault rifle is fully automatic — a machine gun. Automatic firearms have been severely restricted from civilian ownership since 1934.
The ATF, upon learning of the trigger, sent Rare Breed a cease and desist letter explaining that the ATF determined the FRT to be a “machine gun” and was, therefore, being illegally made, sold, and possessed by many Americans.
Modern firearms, even replicas of antique guns, have safeties specifically designed to prevent them from firing without the trigger being pulled. It only really happens when the gun's firing mechanism is damaged, or there is a significant design flaw.
Introduction: My name is Allyn Kozey, I am a outstanding, colorful, adventurous, encouraging, zealous, tender, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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