{"id":143452,"date":"2021-09-28T07:00:25","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/?p=143452"},"modified":"2025-08-05T14:39:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T19:39:20","slug":"the-rare-breed-frt-15-trigger-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/the-rare-breed-frt-15-trigger-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rare Breed FRT-15 Trigger: What is It and How Does it Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By now, you\u2019ve probably heard of the Rare Breed FRT-15 Trigger, if only because of the company\u2019s coming fight with the Feds over the attempt to brand the trigger a \u201cmachine gun.\u201d If you haven\u2019t heard about that mess, we have a separate follow-up article on the way to break it down. For now, though, let\u2019s look at exactly what the FRT-15 trigger is and what it does. If you already know this stuff, you\u2019re excused and can go to recess early. If not, read on.<\/p>\n

\"Rare
Rare Breed President Lawrence DeMonico puts the FRT-15 through its paces<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

FRT stands for \u201cForced Reset Trigger.\u201d<\/h2>\n

The \u201c15\u201d part means that it\u2019s designed for the AR-15<\/a> platform chambered in 5.56 NATO<\/a> or .300 Blackout<\/a>. It won\u2019t work in AKs, SCARs, or anything else. Its function is dependent on the design of the MILSPEC AR bolt carrier.<\/p>\n

\"Rare
The FRT-15 is designed especially for the AR-15 platform in 5.56 NATO and .300 Blackout.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It MAY work in an AR-9, depending on how the gun is set up. An FRT-9 (for AR-9s) and FRT-10 (for AR-10s) are in the works but not yet ready for manufacture. Rare Breed says that the FRT-15 will NOT work in an AR chambered in .22 Long Rifle, but I saw a guy who had one tuned to 80 to 90 percent reliability on YouTube. You decide for yourself, but when the manufacturer warns against it\u2026<\/p>\n

Rare Breed is careful to point out that the FRT-15 may require some tuning to any gun in which it\u2019s installed. \u201cTuning,\u201d in this case, refers to gassing and making sure you have the proper buffer and bolt carrier. More on that in a minute.<\/p>\n

The term \u201cforced reset\u201d is an accurate descriptor of how the trigger works. Your standard AR trigger resets when the shooter releases rearward pressure, thus allowing the trigger mechanism to move forward, whereupon another press of the trigger starts the whole process over. Like you didn\u2019t know that. <\/p>\n

\"Standard
The cycle of a standard AR-15 trigger system. This cycle is animated, with a verbal overlay, on the Rare Breed website.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The FRT-15 uses a newly designed hammer that, as it is cocked by the bolt carrier, forces the trigger forward to the reset, along with the shooter\u2019s 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. Or not. Based on what I have seen, with some practice, the shooter can manipulate the trigger to fire only one shot or the equivalent of a short burst.<\/p>\n

\"Rare
The cycle of the Rare Breed FRT-15. The brown component is the hammer. The green component is the locking bar. Note how the movement of the bolt carrier forces each to engage the trigger, controlling the reset. This cycle is animated, with a verbal overlay, on the Rare Breed website.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Keep in mind that the locking bar\u2019s pressure on the trigger prevents another press until the bolt cycles. Indeed, it is the completion of the bolt cycle that releases the locking bar. Between the hammer and the locking bar, the shooter cannot simply hold the trigger to the rear. It must execute its function for each round fired. So, while the FRT-15 is capable of a prodigious rate of fire, it is still a semi-automatic trigger.<\/p>\n

Now, back to the part about tuning your gun so the FRT-15 operates properly.<\/h2>\n
\"FRT-15
The FRT-15 is a drop-in system, but may require some tuning to each individual gun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here\u2019s what Lawrence DeMonico, Rare Breed\u2019s president, has to say about it:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • You must have a MILSPEC full-auto bolt carrier. This is non-negotiable. If you have a lighter weight or semi-auto carrier with the longer slot in the bottom, it will not actuate the locking bar and the trigger will not work. Period.<\/li>\n
  • Every gun is going to be a little different, based on barrel length, gas system, buffer, and bolt carrier weight. Some guns will run the trigger right out of the box. Don\u2019t be discouraged if yours doesn\u2019t because there are some simple things you can do.<\/li>\n
  • Lawrence recommends an H3 buffer with a standard carbine spring. This is dependent on the next point, which is\u2026<\/li>\n
  • You have to have enough gas. The trigger\u2019s design places a small amount of drag on the bottom of the bolt carrier as it cycles. So, you have to factor this in when working out the right combination for your gun.<\/li>\n
  • Ejection patterns can tell you where your gassing is before you install the FRT-15: If you\u2019re ejecting at 1 o\u2019clock, you\u2019re way overgassed; if you\u2019re ejecting at 4 o\u2019clock, you have the opposite problem and you\u2019re way undergassed; 2:30 or 3 o\u2019clock is the sweet spot and that\u2019s where you want to be before installing the trigger.<\/li>\n
  • The gas\/buffer interaction is something you can play with. If your gun isn\u2019t cycling properly, you have some choices: get a lighter H2 or H1 buffer; use hotter ammo; or open up your gas port. You can also speed up or slow down your rate of fire by adjusting these combinations.<\/li>\n
  • As noted above, part of the tuning is your own trigger pull. If you have a death grip on it, the bolt won\u2019t function properly, and your gun will malfunction. Keep your trigger pull between five and ten pounds.<\/li>\n
  • Finally, Lawrence acknowledges that some shooters may have to employ the services of a gunsmith or armorer. Again, there are several variables, and every gun is going to be different.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Are there any problems with the Rare Breed trigger?<\/h2>\n

    If you\u2019re researching the FRT-15, you may run across some folks who have had problems with the locking bar spring. There was an issue caused by stacking tolerances in some ARs, which resulted in the spring kinking when the locking bar traveled further than it was designed to. Rare Breed addressed the problem by modifying the housing. All FRT-15s shipped on or after 1 March 2021 have the modified housing, thus fixing the problem that some people had. Those with a trigger from before that time were provided with a modified locking bar which also solves the problem.<\/p>\n

    I saw several people who addressed the problem on their own with homebrew modifications and fixes. Some worked better than others. Do what you want, but it looks to me like Rare Breed has addressed the problem and will take care of anyone who has experienced it. Keep in mind that these folks are only a small fraction of those who bought the trigger, so, while it is a problem, it is not widespread and appears to have been fixed. I offer this more as a PSA than anything. I have no personal skin in the game when it comes to Rare Breed, but the problem with the locking bar spring came to my attention and they seem to have handled it conscientiously.<\/p>\n

    Having said that, the vast majority of customers have had zero issues with the trigger. While researching, I found a lot more people who loved it than people who didn\u2019t. And many of the folks who had the locking bar problem either fixed it themselves or let Rare Breed do it for them, resulting in the happy face.<\/p>\n

    All-in-all, the FRT-15 looks like a helluva lot of fun. But, as you might expect, the ability to achieve that higher rate of fire comes with some trade-offs. Accuracy is number one. If you think you\u2019re gonna roll out there and drive tacks with this thing\u2026well, you\u2019re not. Depending on your range to target, you\u2019ll be doing well to score a  hit 50 percent of the time. You\u2019re gonna have to practice. A LOT. Which brings us to the second point, this thing burns through the ammo. If you have it to burn, then good on ya. But it will take some time and some ammo to get the accuracy you want. Or should want. Finally, if you want to fire one round at a time, you will have to practice that too. I saw some guys who had gotten it down, but they had to put in the work.<\/p>\n

    Rare Breed has sold tens of thousands of these triggers and I\u2019m glad to hear that. Glad to hear that someone\u2019s innovation and hard work paid off. Glad that shooters who want a product like that can get it and, hopefully, benefit from it. Glad the company is backing up its product the right way. But, as I mentioned earlier, the AFT (snicker) is trying to throw cold water on everyone\u2019s fun. More on that soon. Hopefully, my editor will insert a link to that article HERE when it becomes available.<\/p>\n

    \"rare
    Is this a machine gun? We\u2019ll talk about that in the next article<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    You probably heard of the Rare Breed FRT-15 trigger and the company\u2019s coming fight with the Feds. Here’s a closer look at the trigger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":143455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2337],"tags":[1313,1601],"class_list":["post-143452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gunmagopedia","tag-triggers","tag-gun-accessories"],"small_media_thumbnail":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Rare-Breed-FRT-15-Trigger-AR15-300x160.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143452"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":441555,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143452\/revisions\/441555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}