I’ve noticed there’s a disparity between SWAT cops and the “regular” patrol cops. (As if there’s anything regular about patrol work.) Yes, SWAT folks get more training in certain disciplines and tactics than patrol types. It’s more a specialization issue just like bomb techs, arson investigations, accident reconstruction or sex crimes investigation, but it’s all police work. So why are the SWAT people usually the only ones allowed to use full-auto patrol rifles? Why is patrol relegated to semi-auto? Is it the “powers to be,” (aka, admin types) drank the SWAT supplied koolaid and do they think of street cops as less capable? If there’s an issue of admin not having trust in the patrol folks, they need to look at their hiring practices and supervisor development programs. Pretty much all of us are selected for, among other attributes, our decision-making ability. So, to any admin type reading this, get a grip - patrol officers, deputies, agents or whatever you want to call them are the people most in need of the best equipment available. Patrol is first on scene and they make decisions based on experience and training. Those factors have the greatest impact on turning a bad situation into a good one or at least one the folks we work for can live with.
Work Around
I also note in 35+ years of being a cop that we are extraordinarily resourceful creatures. If we can’t think of a work around for a problem we will find someone who can. In this instance, that someone comes in the form of the engineers for Tactical Fire Control Inc or Tac Con. These folks have come up with a trigger that will allow you to fire your AR Patrol Rifle almost as fast as a full-auto version — and, it’s actually legal.
The TAC CON 3MR Trigger System comes with a beautifully engineered and constructed drop in trigger assembly and selector switch. The assembly is made in the USA and from the finest materials available. It’s EDM machined and finished with NP-3. NP-3 is an electroless nickel and PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene, aka: Teflon) coating process at the molecular level that provides exceptional wear-resistance and lubricity making lubrication unnecessary.
Mode one is safe; mode two is a match-grade, semi-auto single stage trigger with zero take-up, no over-travel and a 4.5lb pull. The average among LE organizations is a 4lb pull requirement for safety purposes. The trigger in mode two breaks crisply and very smoothly. There’s no creep or over-travel.
I’ve often heard the full-auto selector position referred to as the “fun switch”. Mode three of the TAC CON 3MR Trigger System should be called the “happy switch” as this is where the magic happens. Transferred force from the bolt carrier through the trigger assembly assists the trigger back onto the front sear. It’s like your finger is forced forward into a positive reset. It basically eliminates the process of letting off the trigger to find the reset position. It does it for you and it does it very quickly. Split times are drastically reduced. Very little range time is necessary for the transition and rounds can be accurately delivered at rates approaching full-auto.
Is it Legal?
Tac Con supplies a small copy of the letter dated 31 OCT 2013 from Earl Griffith, the Chief of ATF’s Firearms Technology Branch. Mr. Griffith writes on page 2 of the document: (excerpted)
“In the course of our evaluation, FTB personnel installed the submitted 3MR trigger into an AR-15 type rifle housed in the ATF National Firearms Collection for test firing. During this phase a function test was performed before live-fire was conducted. The 3MR functioned only semi-automatically during both the field test and live-firing.”
“In conclusion, FTB has determined that the 3MR trigger assembly is not a part or combination of parts that will convert a semiautomatic firearm into a machinegun.”
The National Firearms Act, 26 U.S.C Section 5845(b) defines a machinegun as any weapon which shoots or is designed to shoot more than one shot without manually reloading, by a single function of the trigger. So, the Tac Con 3MR from Tactical Fire Control Inc. will not bring the fed’s SWAT team to your door. That’s not my interpretation - it’s theirs.
