ORLANDO, FL –-(Ammoland.com)- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) filed the criminal examination of the Rare Breed FRT-15 trigger in District Court today.
The Rare Breed FRT-15 is a forced reset trigger. The shooter must pull the trigger with each shot. Because of this, the company claims a firearm with the FRT-15 trigger is still a semiautomatic firearm. The drop-in trigger forces the trigger to be reset. The force reset dramatically speeds up the rate of fire of a gun. Rare Breed claims its trigger is similar to the 3MRC TAC Con trigger, which has an ATF approval letter. Still, the company does not have an approval letter for the FRT-15 from the ATF’s Firearms and Ammunition Technology Division (FATD).
The company has been selling the trigger by the thousands for months. The ATF took noticed and acquired the trigger to examine because the agency was concerned it was a machine gun. If a part turns a firearm into a machine gun, the ATF considers the item to be a machine gun itself. Lighting Links and Drop-In Auto Sears (DIAS) must be serialized because of the ATF’s determination that they are machine guns. The ATF ruled that bump stocks are machine guns, although Gun Owners of America (GOA) has successfully pushed back against this determination.
The Firearms Enforcement Officer (FEO) wields enormous power over the firearms industry. Special Agent Michael Nuttal sent the Rare Breed FRT-15 to FATD’s Firearms Technology Industry Services Branch (FTISB) to be examined in early June of this year. FEO David Smith was assigned the case. FTISB is the branch within FATD that determines if a gun is a machine gun or semiautomatic and issues letters to companies.
The FEO notes that the patent for the FRT-15 states that the device “causes the trigger to be forcibly reset,” and “once reset, movement of the trigger is blocked by a locking bar and cannot be pulled until the bolt has returned to battery, thus preventing “hammer follow” behind the bolt or bolt carrier. “
The FEO claims that is not true. He states that the trigger does not function by “hammer follow.” The agent states, “A device designed to prevent the hammer from positively resetting could cause a firearm to shoot automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger, and would also be classified as a combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun; thus a ‘machinegun’ as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b).”
The agent cites Staples v. the United States in his findings. In the case that was heard by the Supreme Court, it was found that a gun is considered a machine gun when the “trigger is depressed, the weapon will automatically continue to fire until its trigger is released, or the ammunition is exhausted.” Rare Breed argues that the gun does not fire automatically.
During the bump stock ban, the ATF changed the definition of “single function of the trigger.” For many years the ATF held fast that this term meant a single movement of the trigger. After the bump stock ban, the ATF started interpreting the term to mean the action of pulling the trigger and all follow-up actions. This change widely affected what is and isn’t considered a machine gun.
The FEO also states that any gun that uses a “spring, electric motor or non-manual source of energy which assists in the automatic resetting of the hammer and causes a firearm to shoot automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger, such an item or device would be classified as a combination of parts designed and intended, for
use in converting a weapon into a machinegun.” It is unclear what this means for other triggers that use similar methods to reset the trigger.
The FEO installed the trigger into a Bushmaster AR-15, and test fired it at the ATF’s Martinsburg, WV facility. The FEO claimed that the rifle fired automatically, making it a machine gun. The agent fired two rounds twice out of the firearms. Smith then inserted five rounds and fired the gun again. He claims all five rounds were expelled from the Bushmaster automatically.
The examination was completed on July 15th, and the cease was served on July 26th. Rare Breed has vowed to fight the ATF in court and has enlisted all-stars like former ATF employees Dan O’Kelly and Rick Vasquez in its defense.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
The ATF are only going after them because they’re successful. Simple as that.
Who proof read the “examination”? Typos, syntax errors, factual inaccuracies, and obviously false and illogical conclusions were rampant.
Further… A slow motion video proves the trigger is actuated repeatedly in order to fire repeatedly. A consistent pressure on the trigger will NOT result in automatic and continuous firing- pressure must be regulated higher and lower in order to actuate the trigger and achieve repeated firing.
The F squad is conducting mental gymnastics and redefining words in order to categorize this as a machine gun, which per the 2nd amendment and SCOTUS protects military grade militia weapons specifically.
this will turn in to a shooting war if scotus does not tell the government what for
Death by a thousand cuts to weaken the entire Firearm body attacking it organ by organ(component by component).
It’s not rocket science to see it transpiring.
Time to fight. All the bs the gov does and Americans remain silent. Can’t REVOLT, here comes football season! Lol….America used to mean we had a backbone. Now people are more married to their 401ks and pensions than their legal rights. Where’s the outrage? Companies think outside the box over illegal laws and the gov still drops the hammer. When the Fck are we going to drop the hammer on the federal idiots? We have become a nation of pathetic sheep. Standing in line to be constantly sheared of our wealth and further controlled by our overlords. We better do… Read more »
Who do you put documents behind a pay wall. Scribd is not free after one opens 3 documents. Just publish the material in the body of the article or use a free document server. But please end the use of Scribd
I call bullshit. The firearms examiner’s verbage is all over the place, twisting and misusing terms and language. It’s glaringly obvious he does not like the product (Rare Breed trigger) and was determined to find it to be a machinegun. This case is very important, much moreso than bump stocks. The bump stock ban is primarily idealogical; but, my opinion anyway, this type of trigger is a quality technological advancement that helps to level the plsying field in reclaiming our rights, and we cannot continue to allow ourselves to be cut off at the knees by ATF. Also, even before… Read more »
There are tons of single stage triggers that function like they’re advertised to, and tons that when held in have hammer follow on the BCG causing it to continue to strike. Weather this is on purpose or if it’s just a natural side effect of the design is moot.
I suppose the constant ranting and bickering back and forth is the protocol on Ammoland and far more effective and important rather than attempting to formulate a solution, deployment of and follow through in coalition action against those that abrogate the law to further erode our rights, freedom and liberties? Aside from the Rare Breed issue, WE, The People are being attacked by the federal government from ALL angles, so much so “they” rely on OUR ignorance, lack of backbone and apathy in order to win against US… Last Push Needed for Comments on ATF Rule Change ~ “What’s a… Read more »
A well regulated militia being necessary to the free state, the RIGHT of the people to keep and bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED. Militia implies the use of military firearms/equipment. Yes joe, that means full auto firearms, cannon etc. Necessary to your free state, your freedom, my free state, my freedom etc. Our free state. Every free American citizen has the LEGAL RIGHT and MANDATE to keep and bear arms. The 2A instructs all free Americans to keep and bear arms. SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED refers to the government and what they are not legally able to do. Sooner… Read more »