Tuning An AR for an FRT Just Got Easy

If there was ever one cure for every gun, this might be it.

With the proliferation of forced reset triggers (FRT), forced reset selectors (FRS), super safeties and all the the other names given to them, the question “What do I need to make my gun run reliably?” is one we get multiple times a day in the gun store.

The problem is, there is no simple answer as so many factors can affect how each individual gun performs with the chosen FRT/FRS. Barrel length, gas system length, gas port size, which buffer system is in the gun, what weight buffer is in the gun, even what ammo is being used. All of those factors combine together to affect how reliably and how fast an AR equipped with an assisted reset trigger system will run.

Add on top of that, tungsten has skyrocketed in price recently, and that is the metal that the heavy buffers use. I recently heard it had increased over 300%. If you haven’t priced an H2 or H3 buffer lately, I suggest you give it a google.

Light Strikes

The most common malfunction that people encounter, if it is only occurring in reset mode, is a failure to ignite. In other words, the gun chambers a round and the hammer drops but no bang. Most times, there will be evidence of a light primer strike. If this is only occurring in reset mode, then this is where you would traditionally start throwing money into tuning your gun.

Typically there are one of two reasons an FRT/FRS equipped gun will encounter light strikes. One is a timing issue that can be caused by out of spec parts, and it results in hammer follow. Hammer follow is when the hammer releases too soon and hits the firing pin before the bolt is fully into battery. The other is carrier bounce, and this usually occurs as carrier speeds increase and there is insufficient weight in the BCG/buffer system. The bolt slams forward very fast and bounces back, slightly unlocking and preventing the firing pin from making good contact with the primer.

In some instances, we might have an easy answer because we know all those variables for a certain model gun. In the case of the gun store in which I work, Boise Black Rifle, we have sold a ton of “Cheap Bastard” AR pistols. Most of the employees own one. and we have messed around with them enough that we know exactly what works in them (Geissele Super 42 H2 buffer and spring).

But we know that because we have thousands upon thousands of rounds of trigger time on that exact model firearm. When a customer brings in some random AR that they built, or some factory gun that we have never shot, we don’t have a clue where to tell you to start.

Until now that is.

Introducing the KAK DBC BCG

KAK Industry recently sent me a pre-production sample of their new DBC bolt carrier group. DBC stands for Dead Blow Carrier. It is called that because the carrier has a free floating weight added to it that functions in the same manner as a dead blow hammer. The weight does not have a ton of movement, but apparently it doesn’t need it. Additionally, the weight is made from steel so it avoids the crazy tungsten costs.

Kurt (the owner of KAK) told me it would fix any AR running an FRT.

To be honest, I was skeptical. Not because I don’t trust Kurt. In fact, I have found him to be extremely knowledgeable and very honest. I just could not wrap my head around one part solving the tuning issue in every gun, no matter the issue.

I have a plethora of AR’s equipped with all sorts of FRTs/FRSs. Nearly all of them required some tuning to get them to run right. Tuning involved trying different buffer weights and even different buffer springs until the right combination was found and the gun would run reliably. In some cases, it involved using an adjustable gas block because the gun was very over gassed.

That is easy for me to do as I have access to all those parts. It is not as simple a task for the average gun owner, especially for someone new to owning ARs.

Testing, Testing, One, Two, Brrrrrrt

I recently took a large number of those FRT/FRS equipped guns to the range. I detuned all of them, reverting them all back to a stock carbine buffer and spring, all except one gun that had a rifle buffer system.

Much to my joyful surprise, the DBC worked in every single gun I threw it in. In two of the guns I took with me that actually ran without tuning, a H&R 733 and a H&R XM16E1, the DBC made them run more consistently and in the case of the H&R 733, it slowed the rate of fire a bit.

To say I was impressed with the results is an understatement. I now have a simple answer for anyone trying to tune their FRT/FRS equipped AR. Just buy the DBC and it will run. There are multiple versions of the DBC available from a carrier with the weight installed on the low end all the way up to their top of the line K-Spec carrier with a dual ejector bolt.

You can even just buy the weight and roll pin if you have a pre-drilled carrier. If you are able and want to drill your existing carrier, KAK even has 3D printer files on their website for a drill jig to make that easier.

Enter The “What If’s”

After publishing my original DBC video on YouTube, the comments began to fill with people asking a bunch of different questions. Some of those questions were asked a multitude of times by different people.

“What if I use an H, H2 or H3 buffer?”

“What about an A5 buffer system?”

“What does it do to normal semi-auto fire?”

“What about different calibers?”

Since so many people had these questions, I figured I would do a follow up and see just how many of those questions I could answer.

The short answer is, yes, you can use the DBC with almost any buffer system (except folders as their carrier extension plugs into the carrier in the same location where the new weight lives. Just like before the existence of the DBC, if you want to tune your gun to run better, you can still do that.

If you have a 9mm AR that has a solid weight in the rear of the carrier, you can replace the existing weight with the KAK DBC weight, so long as the roll pin hole is located correctly. I attempted to test this, but my only 9mm AR does not run reliably in standard semi-auto, let alone with an FRT/FRS. I have been told it will work just fine, but I cannot confirm that.

Final Thoughts

The KAK DBC BCG, in my experience, really does make any gun with an FRT/FRS in it run. If you are like a lot of other people and have been fighting to get your gun running correctly, this might be the miracle cure. If you have a gun that runs, but you want to make it run better, in my experience adding the DBC and tuning on top of that can make finicky guns happier.

Other than having to cough up a little more money for a new part, I see no down side to the DBC.

I take that back. Your ammo expenses are going to sky rocket…