Tippmann M4-22 ELITE FRT: First Rare Breed Rimfire Lineup

Tippmann Arms and Rare Breed Triggers announced a three-model .22 LR lineup built around the Rare Breed FRT-15L3 forced reset trigger: the M4-22 ELITE Rifle FRT, the M4-22 ELITE Pistol FRT, and the M4-22 Micro ELITE Pistol FRT. These are the first rimfire firearms engineered from the receiver out for an FRT, not an aftermarket trigger dropped into an existing gun. All three ship with the FRT-15L3 installed and an ambidextrous 3-position selector marked Safe, Semi, and FRT.

Forced reset triggers reset mechanically off the reciprocating action after each shot, delivering a very fast semi-automatic rate of fire, one round per trigger function. Pairing that mechanism with a low-recoil, low-cost .22 LR is the whole pitch: the FRT experience without centerfire ammo cost or recoil, aimed at recreational shooting, training, and competition. Dennis Tippmann Jr., President of Tippmann Arms, framed the release as a collaboration between companies focused on innovation and performance.

The M4-22 ELITE Rifle FRT lists at $1,578.00 and the M4-22 ELITE Pistol FRT at $1,608.95 direct from Tippmann. The Micro ELITE Pistol FRT rounds out the lineup as the most compact option; Tippmann has not posted its price or full spec sheet. For readers cross-shopping standard rimfire ARs and bolt guns first, our ranked best .22 LR rifle guide covers plinkers through precision rimfire.

A forced reset trigger is tuned to a specific host, and the FRT-15L3 was designed for the centerfire AR-15. In an AR, the FRT-15L3 requires a full-auto-profile bolt carrier group and an H2 or H3 buffer because it uses the carrier's rearward travel to push the trigger back into reset. A blowback .22 LR has no full-auto carrier and no AR buffer weight, so the reset timing that makes an FRT run simply does not exist off the shelf. Drop a centerfire FRT into a stock rimfire action and it goes dead.

Tippmann solved that with dedicated hardware: a Patent Pending anti-bounce bolt system, modified upper and lower receivers, and optimized buffer components engineered to actuate and reset the FRT-15L3 on a rimfire cycle. The anti-bounce bolt is the key piece. On a fast, light blowback action, bolt bounce and reset timing are exactly the failure points that cause an FRT to fire a round or two and freeze, so controlling carrier behavior is what makes forced reset viable in .22. This is the same class of tuning problem covered in our AR-15 FRT tuning guide, solved at the factory instead of at your bench. The result is a 5 lb 8 oz rifle that runs the FRT-15L3 on cheap rimfire ammo.

Both the rifle and pistol carry a 1/2x28 threaded A2 birdcage, so a rimfire suppressor threads straight on, a natural pairing for a high-rate .22 trainer. See our best .22 LR suppressors guide for cans that fit. For the broader forced reset landscape across platforms, our FRT buyer's guide ranks the current field.

Forced reset triggers are legal under federal law after the May 2025 DOJ and ATF settlement, which dropped the government's appeal and left standing the federal ruling that an FRT fires one round per trigger pull and is therefore not a machine gun, in line with the Supreme Court's Garland v. Cargill decision. The ATF agreed to return eligible seized and surrendered triggers to owners who can legally possess them. That settled the federal question that had frozen the category for years.

State law is where it still gets complicated, and it is the reason Tippmann restricts shipping. The FRT models will not ship to CA, CT, DE, FL, HI, IL, MA, MD, MN, NJ, NV, NY, OR, RI, WA, and DC. Note that Tippmann's no-ship list is a shipping policy and is broader than the set of states that statutorily ban forced reset triggers, so confirm your own state law and dealer availability before ordering. Federal legality does not override a state ban, and a state that permits FRTs may still sit on a manufacturer's restricted-ship list.

This is the first time a forced reset trigger has been engineered into a firearm from the receiver out rather than sold as a standalone drop-in, and doing it in .22 LR is the smart move: it turns the FRT-15L3 into a low-recoil, low-cost trainer instead of a centerfire ammo burner. The Patent Pending anti-bounce bolt is the real engineering story, because reset timing on a blowback .22 is precisely what kills an off-the-shelf FRT. At $1,578 for the rifle and $1,608.95 for the pistol, you are paying a clear premium over a standard M4-22 ELITE, but that price bundles a $450 FRT-15L3 and the receiver and bolt work that makes it run.

The buy case is strongest for shooters who already want the FRT experience and would rather train on rimfire than feed a centerfire FRT. Confirm your state allows forced reset triggers first. If you are weighing an AR-15 FRT instead, start with our FRT buyer's guide, and if you want to spec a rimfire or centerfire host from scratch, our rifle builder walks the compatible parts.