The ATF has been battling the gun industry over FRTs for years, and in 2022, Rare Breed Triggers started selling the FRT-15. The FRT-15 is a forced reset trigger. In an FRT, the bolt carrier group forces the trigger forward after a shot is fired from an AR-15-style firearm. This action causes the trigger to reset, allowing the user to increase the rate of fire.
In the spring of 2022, a Washington, DC, ATF employee saw a video of the FRT-15. Convinced that it was an auto sear, he sent the footage to ATF’s Firearms and Ammunition Technology Division (FATD) in Martinsburg, West Virginia. A firearms examiner watched the video and stated that he believed the FRT-15 was a drop in auto-sear (DIAS). Due to the popularity of the FRT-15, the ATF could not get their hands on one to test it to confirm it was a machinegun conversion device (MCD).
The DC employee didn’t give up and continued to reach out to FATD but kept getting rebuked due to the trigger’s lack of availability. The employee contacted a Florida field office that was interested in taking up the fight. The ATF field office acquired two FRT-15 triggers from Gun Broker and sent them to FATD for testing.
A firearms examiner from FATD would test the triggers. The test consisted of zip-tying the trigger back. The ATF claimed that the firearm fired multiple shots. The problem with the test is that the zip tie is elastic, so it is possible that the trigger reset before the second shot was fired. That would mean that one round was expelled per function of the trigger. According to federal statutes, a machine gun must fire more than one round per the function of the trigger.
The ATF would issue a cease-and-desist letter to Rare Breed to force the company to stop selling the trigger. Rare Breed would continue to sell the trigger, disregarding the ATF’s notice. Big Daddy Unlimited (BDU) would start selling what the courts would determine as a knockoff of the FRT-15 called the Wide Open Trigger (WOT). The ATF would visit BDU and confiscate all WOTs from the company.
Rare Breed would relocate from Florida to North Dakota and sue the ATF. The case would be dismissed because the ATF claimed that the company wasn’t really located in North Dakota, and the courts believed them. It was ruled that Rare Breed didn’t have standing to sue in North Dakota. The ATF would file their own case against Rare Breed in New York City, where they would receive an injunction against the company.
The ATF celebrated the win, but their victory would be short-lived. Rare Breed Triggers would team up with the National Association of Gun Rights (NAGR) to sue Merrick Garland and the ATF in a Texas Federal District Court where Judge Reed O’Connor heard the case. Judge O’Connor would issue a preliminary injunction to block the ATF from taking enforcement action against FRT owners and sellers.
Both sides would argue the case before Judge O’Conner, but the defendant’s argument did not persuade the judge. He would grant a motion for summary judgment for the plaintiffs and ordered all FRTs to be returned to their owners. The ATF asked for a stay, claiming that it was impossible to track down all owners, but their plea was denied. The ATF appealed the decision but agreed to return the triggers.
On Friday, AmmoLand News was notified by Jordan Vinroe of Gideon Optics that owners of FRTs that the ATF seized started receiving letters from the Bureau with instructions on reclaiming their triggers. Owners who want their triggers back can email the ATF at [email protected] to arrange the return of their property.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
