Forced reset trigger

A forced reset trigger (or "hard reset" trigger) is a device that allows a person to fire a semi-automatic firearm at an increased rate. The forced reset trigger works by mechanically resetting the trigger's position after a shot is fired. This allows for an increased rate of fire. However, the shooter must still manually pull the trigger each time it resets for any subsequent shot to be fired.

An image of a forced reset trigger from ATF’s Ammunition Technology Division: Technical Bulletin 22-01.

Forced reset triggers are installed through replacement of the trigger control group. The preinstalled trigger of a particular firearm is replaced by the forced reset trigger's assembly. Typically, only one shot is fired per single function of the trigger. In the U.S., the ATF considered some forced reset triggers to be machineguns under the National Firearms Act.^[1] This determination by the ATF was litigated by gun rights groups in the United States, however in light of Cargill v. Garland, forced reset trigger ligitations were ceased making the item federally legal.^[2][3][4]

On July 24th, 2024, district judge Reed O'Connor, from the Wichita Falls division of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, issued a vacatur, under the Administrative Procedure Act, for the ATF's determination that some forced reset triggers are machineguns, finding that the determination was "arbitrary and capricious".^[5]

History

A patent for a forced reset trigger titled "Flex Fire Technology" was filed by Thomas Allen Graves in 2015. ^[6]

Graves states that he initially began developing forced reset trigger technology in the 1970s, focusing on modifications to Colt Navy action revolvers. Over the following decades, Graves continued refining this technology, applying it to platforms such as the Ruger 10/22 carbine and the Bersa Thunder handgun. In 2014, he claims to have invented a forced reset trigger specifically for the AR-15 platform, subsequently acquiring a patent for it in 2015. According to Graves, he later licensed his patented technology to two manufacturers of forced reset triggers.^[7]

See also

• Bump stock
• Hell-fire trigger
• Trigger crank
• Binary trigger