Hoffman Tactical Trigger Kicker: $43 Forced-Reset AR-15 Trigger

The Trigger Kicker is a $43 active-reset device that replaces the disconnector in an otherwise standard AR-15 fire control group. Hoffman Tactical calls it the simplest active-reset mechanism on the market, and the claim holds up: it is a single L-shaped part machined from hardened 4130 alloy steel that drops into the space a mil-spec disconnector already occupies. There is no proprietary trigger module and no modified safety selector. You pull out the disconnector and its spring and put the Kicker in. The catch is the hammer: it has to be a standard as-cast semi-auto hammer, not a demilled full-auto hammer.

Functionally it lands in the same category as a forced reset trigger. The cycling action does the work of resetting the trigger instead of your finger lifting off, so follow-up shots come faster and more positively than a standard trigger allows. Hoffman uses the term "repeat reset" for his mechanism, but the shooter experience is the rapid, driven reset that has made the FRT category the most talked-about segment in AR-15 fire controls.

The reset cycle hinges on three interactions: the hammer, the Kicker, and the standard safety selector. When the rifle fires and the bolt carrier travels rearward, the hammer is driven down and its cam surface contacts the Trigger Kicker. That contact pushes the trigger forward into the reset position while your finger is still on the trigger. A "lock step" machined into the Kicker then slides under the bottom of a standard mil-spec safety selector, trapping the trigger in reset.

That lockout is the safety logic of the whole system. While the bolt carrier is out of battery, the Kicker holds the trigger back so the rifle cannot fire out of sequence. As the carrier returns forward to a position where firing is safe, the geometry releases the Kicker, the trigger is freed, and the next pull drops the hammer. The continuous rearward pressure from your trigger finger supplies the friction that keeps the Kicker locked through the cycle, which is why the system only runs as fast as you keep pulling.

Because the entire function depends on standard hammer and bolt-carrier timing, the Trigger Kicker is specified for AR-15s running mil-spec carriers and fire control groups, and many aftermarket hammers, triggers, and selectors will not work. The hammer is the part most often wrong. The Kicker needs an as-cast semi-auto hammer with a full-radius tip; a demilled full-auto hammer has the auto sear ground off, leaving a lower rear surface that will likely malfunction. Hoffman sells Schmid semi-auto hammers as a known-compatible option. The carrier must be mil-spec, with the trip surface on its belly aligned with the top opening; a demilled carrier cut back at the rear is not compatible. The selector needs the standard central drum and 90-degree throw. The AR-9, LR-308, KF-5, and bufferless uppers are not supported. A properly tuned buffer and spring still matter, the same hardware logic that applies to any FRT build; our FRT compatible guns guide maps which platforms have a forced reset path at all. Our AR-15 FRT tuning guide covers the buffer and gas variables behind reliable reset timing. If you are assembling a lower around one of these devices, our rifle builder lets you spec a compatible fire control and carrier before you buy.

The Trigger Kicker is the low-cost end of Hoffman Tactical's active-reset work. His earlier Super Safety built the reset function into the safety selector; the Kicker moves it into the disconnector instead, the cheaper part to make and the simpler one to drop into a mil-spec fire control group. Hoffman's three-position Selective Trigger Kicker reached a working prototype in September 2026.

The pricing follows from the design. At $43 for a single hardened-steel part, the Trigger Kicker is an order of magnitude cheaper than a proprietary forced reset trigger module, and far simpler to manufacture. For the broader market context, see our Partisan Disruptor FRT review and our forced reset trigger buyer's guide, which cover the devices already on the market.

For most shooters we recommend a three-position forced-reset design over a two-position part like the Trigger Kicker. The Kicker runs off a standard two-position safety, so the rifle is in forced-reset mode the moment it comes off safe. There is no dedicated standard semi-auto setting short of pulling the part back out.

Three-position designs fix that. The AS Designs Arc-Fire V2 runs Safe at 0 degrees, normal semi-auto at 90, and forced reset (ARC) at a full 180-degree sweep. The Partisan Disruptor FRT uses the same logic with Safe, Semi, and Enhanced Semi positions. You keep a clean ordinary trigger for precise or controlled fire and engage forced reset only on a deliberate, separate selector motion that is hard to bump into by accident. Hoffman's own three-position Selective Trigger Kicker reached a working prototype in September 2026 after a from-scratch redesign, the clearest signal that the two-position layout is a starting point, not the destination.

That said, the Trigger Kicker still earns a recommendation on its own terms. At $43 it is the cheapest, most entertaining way into forced-reset shooting, an excellent range toy for a dedicated plinking lower. If your goal is a serious-use rifle that shoots normal semi-auto and forced reset on demand, spend up for a three-position Arc-Fire V2 or Disruptor. If you want cheap fun on a dedicated lower, the Kicker is the easy call.

Forced reset triggers are not machine guns under federal law. In May 2025 the Department of Justice settled its multi-year enforcement fight with Rare Breed Triggers, conceding that FRTs require a separate function of the trigger for each shot and so do not meet the machine gun definition.

State law is where buyers need to pay attention. Several states restrict or ban rate-increasing devices regardless of federal status, and Hoffman Tactical will not ship the Trigger Kicker to California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, or Rhode Island. Confirm your own state and local law before ordering. This is product information, not legal advice; the regulatory picture around reset triggers has moved quickly and can change again.

The Trigger Kicker is the most interesting product the FRT segment has produced this year. A $43 hardened-steel disconnector that delivers active-reset performance with a single drop-in part is a genuinely clever piece of engineering. For shooters who want forced-reset behavior without a several-hundred-dollar proprietary module, it is the cheapest entry point on the market.

The caveats are real. The legal ground under reset triggers is actively contested, and the shipping blacklist rules out 14 states and Washington D.C. outright. Buyers outside those jurisdictions get a simple, inexpensive part backed by a maker who has spent years iterating on this exact mechanism. If you are building a lower to run one, spec a full-auto carrier and a tuned buffer in our builder, and compare it against the FRTs in our buyer's guide before you commit.