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Bore buddy FRT ready 22lr/rimfire upper receiver with Arc Fire trigger, 100% today, pics in OP (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 8/24/2026 2:03:33 PM EDT
[Last Edit: FreefallRet][Edited]
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Bore Buddy upper with a ARC Fire. This required no tuning. This is pretty much the $499 no tune upper they now sell. Arc fire FRT, BB arc fire trip and a BB yellow reduced power hammer spring Worked like a charm and required zero tuning.  Trigger kicker version from earlier, more difficult to tune. Specs: Used a second buffer as a buffer plug in front of the buffer. CMMG mag Trigger kicker PSA trigger Schmidt hammer red recoil spring yellow reduced hammer spring bore-buddy 16 upper with TK trip bore buddy bolt, metal weights and full steel rod weights Win 22 is 75% still. This is where the trigger kicker/trip sits with the hammer, and how the trip is adjusted.   |
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I've tried without success to get a 22 working with the Trigger Kicker. Albeit I was shooting subsonic Winchester 45 gr super suppressed and 40 gr SV CCI. Not saying it cannot be done but I tried many different things to get it to work with no luck. Some others have varying success. |
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Originally Posted By fulautotank: I've tried without success to get a 22 working with the Trigger Kicker. Albeit I was shooting subsinic Winchester 45 gr super suppressed and 40 gr SV CCI. Not saying it cannot be done but I tried many different things to get it to work with no luck. Some others have varying success. He said much of what was on the videos. I got the solid buffer and everything he suggested. Just under $800 with two day shipping, about what I have in my H&R 9mm upper. Will report when I get it. |
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Originally Posted By FreefallRet: Well I just ordered it after taking with a bore buddy rep. He said much of what was on the videos. I got the solid buffer and everything he suggested. Just under $800 with two day shipping, about what I have in my H&R 9mm upper. Will report when I get it. Starting around Who here is using a FRT with a 22LR. What is your setup? (Page 5 of 11) are my notes from getting a BB upper to run (albeit with a MARC, not a trigger kicker). The hotter CCI and Remington rounds seemed to help me get a purchase where I could start dialing things in. Federal and Aguila were more finicky. Winchester was absolute trash. If things run better dirty, try adding weight to the carrier. |
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Originally Posted By lugnutwrench2: Starting around Who here is using a FRT with a 22LR. What is your setup? (Page 5 of 11) are my notes from getting a BB upper to run (albeit with a MARC, not a trigger kicker). The hotter CCI and Remington rounds seemed to help me get a purchase where I could start dialing things in. Federal and Aguila were more finicky. Winchester was absolute trash. If things run better dirty, try adding weight to the carrier. |
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Originally Posted By ELittlefield: No experience using a trigger kicker with 22, but Bore Buddy is what I built 2 of my 3 AR22 FRT uppers as. Both with the Atrius/Rave140 combo. Update us with results! Gonna start with the trigger kiicker and they might order a second one and try another type of FRT. Bore buddy rep on the phone was polite and answered all my questions. |
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Originally Posted By FreefallRet: Will do Gonna start with the trigger kiicker and they might order a second one and try another type of FRT. Bore buddy rep on the phone was polite and answered all my questions. Originally Posted By FreefallRet: Originally Posted By ELittlefield: No experience using a trigger kicker with 22, but Bore Buddy is what I built 2 of my 3 AR22 FRT uppers as. Both with the Atrius/Rave140 combo. Update us with results! Gonna start with the trigger kiicker and they might order a second one and try another type of FRT. Bore buddy rep on the phone was polite and answered all my questions. I have a leftover trip from when I was trying to get a Rare Breed to work. I may try it with my trigger kicker. |
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Doesn't work, tried with a trigger kicker Edit I just figured out the timing. No It was late and just fired two mags of ten rounds each. It was 9pm, so thats all I fired. It was perfect, what I had to do is forward the trip and that requires me to push the partisan FRT lever forward to close the upper and lower. I will give it a full workout tomorrow, surprised it ran as it didn't have a drop of oil on the bolt. |
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Kind of figured this would be the case. I will get a TK ordered and see if I can get it to run with one of my uppers. Free, what brand lower/trigger do you have it installed in? Has the lower with trigger kicker ran well with other uppers such as 5.56? Have you tried different brands of .22LR ammo? |
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Originally Posted By FreefallRet: Doesn't work, tried with a trigger kicker and Partisan trigger. Getting the trip set perfect is the key with the Kicker. Once I hit the sweet spot, it started running good bursts with HV ammo. I then used weights to tune for standard velocity ammo with a suppressor. It now runs excellent. |
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Went out today and this POS wouldn't shoot for shit, didn't change anything and short bursts and sometimes a single round stop with a primer strike. Spent $800, and used 200rds and no success. I may try a ARC fire FRT, but think it's time to cut my loses on a FRT 22 AR For what I wasted thus far I could have bought 3000-4000rds of 9mm and shot in a reliable 9mm upper. Not sure I can recommend this upper for a trigger kicker or partisan |
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Originally Posted By Grinder: Getting the trip set perfect is the key with the Kicker. Once I hit the sweet spot, it started running good bursts with HV ammo. I then used weights to tune for standard velocity ammo with a suppressor. It now runs excellent. |
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Originally Posted By ARKAR: Kind of figured this would be the case. I will get a TK ordered and see if I can get it to run with one of my uppers. Free, what brand lower/trigger do you have it installed in? Has the lower with trigger kicker ran well with other uppers such as 5.56? Have you tried different brands of .22LR ammo? Both work with 556 fine. 22LR not so much, not sure what changed as it worked last night. Didn't change anything and this morning it didn't work. Using CCI mini mags. |
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Originally Posted By ARKAR: Awesome, good to hear. After following the recommendations of others here, all I use to lubricate my .22 setups is WD-40 dry lube. It doesn't attract the carbon and fouling to the action that .22 produces so much of. Also helps with clean up. |
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Ok, the bolt weight sounds about right. I don’t have any experience with a trigger kicker. Do you have other brands of ammo you can try? I know CCI is optimal but try another if you have some. Like yellow box Winchester or Remington Golden Bullet. Also, what color is the recoil spring? Nevermind, just saw your picture. Looks like the factory 5lb spring. I think a 4 orb3 lb spring might help get it running. |
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Wait They’re advertising it just runs? And it doesn’t run? With any FRT? Yikes man. I figured borebuddy cracked the code. That’s writing a check your ass can’t cash as a manufacturer. I mean it could be out of spec or defective. I hope they resolve it quickly dude. You paid 800 for it? |
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Originally Posted By HKH: Wait They’re advertising it just runs? And it doesn’t run? With any FRT? Yikes man. I figured borebuddy cracked the code. That’s writing a check your ass can’t cash as a manufacturer. I mean it could be out of spec or defective. I hope they resolve it quickly dude. You paid 800 for it? They just released a “no tune” upper. I think Free ordered his about a week before the release so I’m not sure if his is that version or not. On the product page it offers two options for the trip that is included with the upper: ArcFire trip or Atrius trip. Freefall mentioned that they told him that the Trigger Kicker uses the same trip as the Rare Greed/Partisan/Full Auto(M16). Some of the products they sell/advertise don’t exactly live up to expectations according to several members here that have called for support only to be told that it’s not due to their product. I don’t think a “no tune” upper can be produced due to tolerance variances between the upper and lower. Tippman teamed with Rare Greed and produced a complete carbine that is ready to run but at the cost of $1600 MSRP. It supposedly runs well but reports are limited. |
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Originally Posted By HKH: Wait They're advertising it just runs? And it doesn't run? With any FRT? Yikes man. I figured borebuddy cracked the code. That's writing a check your ass can't cash as a manufacturer. I mean it could be out of spec or defective. I hope they resolve it quickly dude. You paid 800 for it? |
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Originally Posted By FreefallRet: Well it was 670 and then I bought some other stuff. Which one did you buy? I ordered the $500 one. https://borebuddy.com/product/ar22-no-tune-frt-upper/?attribute_barrel-length=16.1%22 |
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Originally Posted By trails-end: Which one did you buy? I ordered the $500 one. https://borebuddy.com/product/ar22-no-tune-frt-upper/?attribute_barrel-length=16.1%22 Knowing what I know now I would have went to arc fire upper route like what you bought. |
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Originally Posted By ARKAR: They just released a "no tune" upper. I think Free ordered his about a week before the release so I'm not sure if his is that version or not. On the product page it offers two options for the trip that is included with the upper: ArcFire trip or Atrius trip. Freefall mentioned that they told him that the Trigger Kicker uses the same trip as the Rare Greed/Partisan/Full Auto(M16). Some of the products they sell/advertise don't exactly live up to expectations according to several members here that have called for support only to be told that it's not due to their product. I don't think a "no tune" upper can be produced due to tolerance variances between the upper and lower. Tippman teamed with Rare Greed and produced a complete carbine that is ready to run but at the cost of $1600 MSRP. It supposedly runs well but reports are limited. I have swapped bolt weights, moved timing back and forth and used feeler gauges for the right bolt gap and hammer drop. Only thing I haven't tried is a lighter recoil spring. I am using CCI mini mag 40gn ammo like they recommend. Could be there is no reliable way to get it to time reliably with a Partisan or trigger kicker. Could be I just suck and missed something. It fires fine on semi, FRT is just stoppages with light primer strikes. I am using a full power hammer spring. I tried the reduced power hammer spring with the trigger kicker and it wouldn't fire a single round. Only thing I can guess is the full power spring doesn't allow the bolt to reset the hammer reliably. Just gotta decide if a atrius frt and rave trigger combo is worth further investment in this project. I don't mind spending money, but at some point the ROI makes me question this project. I will call them next week, guy on the phone seemed cool, with as much as I invested I would think this product would work. I have been building ARs since the 90s, gotta be something I have missed while watching their videos. If I go the Atrius route thats another $500 Atrius FRT $300 rave 140 trigger $105 Atrius trip $74 One horse is now selling a RTF 22 FRT rifle, cost wise this may be better if it works. https://theonehorse.com/product/16 -22lr-one-horse-express-rifle-atrius-frs/ |
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Free, you need a reduced power spring. A yellow(4lb) or blue(3lb). I think it would get your gun running. I will have a trigger kicker here this week and can test it. I have all the springs, weights, trips, etc. I was going to try to get my .22 LR FRT carbines to market under $1,000. Waiting on my FFL. We will see. |
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I use the atrius/rave 140 combo with the BB atrius trip and it works fantastic. I too struggled with several other configurations with varying levels of success. This one works pretty much 100% with with mini mags and aguila HV. Mine is a homebuild with 16" dedicated barrel, full weights, and I do run a suppressor on it as well. All I can say is you're close, and you'll get it with a little more work. I'm a glutton for punishment and trying to get mine running with American 180 drums and an adapter so I understand your frustration 
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Originally Posted By ARKAR: Free, you need a reduced power spring. A yellow(4lb) or blue(3lb). I think it would get your gun running. I will have a trigger kicker here this week and can test it. I have all the springs, weights, trips, etc. I was going to try to get my .22 LR FRT carbines to market under $1,000. Waiting on my FFL. We will see. Well might order the spring set and the Atrius trip. My buddy has some Atrius frt lowers, might give it to him and see if the frt change makes a difference. |
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Originally Posted By TheFaz: I use the atrius/rave 140 combo with the BB atrius trip and it works fantastic. I too struggled with several other configurations with varying levels of success. This one works pretty much 100% with with mini mags and aguila HV. Mine is a homebuild with 16" dedicated barrel, full weights, and I do run a suppressor on it as well. All I can say is you're close, and you'll get it with a little more work. I'm a glutton for punishment and trying to get mine running with American 180 drums and an adapter so I understand your frustration I also wonder about using the heavier firing pin spring, not sure if that will make a difference. |
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Originally Posted By TheFaz: I use the atrius/rave 140 combo with the BB atrius trip and it works fantastic. I too struggled with several other configurations with varying levels of success. This one works pretty much 100% with with mini mags and aguila HV. Mine is a homebuild with 16" dedicated barrel, full weights, and I do run a suppressor on it as well. All I can say is you're close, and you'll get it with a little more work. I'm a glutton for punishment and trying to get mine running with American 180 drums and an adapter so I understand your frustration |
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Originally Posted By FreefallRet: Does the rave 140 trigger need any mods when using a Atrius FRT? Originally Posted By FreefallRet: Originally Posted By TheFaz: I use the atrius/rave 140 combo with the BB atrius trip and it works fantastic. I too struggled with several other configurations with varying levels of success. This one works pretty much 100% with with mini mags and aguila HV. Mine is a homebuild with 16" dedicated barrel, full weights, and I do run a suppressor on it as well. All I can say is you're close, and you'll get it with a little more work. I'm a glutton for punishment and trying to get mine running with American 180 drums and an adapter so I understand your frustration No, none. |
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Originally Posted By ELittlefield: No, none. what weights did you use? What recoil spring red or yellow? Did you use the lightweight or heavy firing pin spring? what trigger and FRT? My setup 16" FRT ready upper with trigger kicker/Partisan trip red recoil spring light firing pin spring steel weight will all steel rods sold buffer rod to keep the bolt in place Black dog mags Used on a trigger kicker and a partisan FRT lowers. |
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Originally Posted By FreefallRet: So you got your bore buddy upper running? what weights did you use? What recoil spring red or yellow? Did you use the lightweight or heavy firing pin spring? what trigger and FRT? My setup 16" FRT ready upper with trigger kicker/Partisan trip red recoil spring light firing pin spring steel weight will all steel rods sold buffer rod to keep the bolt in place Black dog mags Used on a trigger kicker and a partisan FRT lowers. Originally Posted By FreefallRet: Originally Posted By ELittlefield: No, none. what weights did you use? What recoil spring red or yellow? Did you use the lightweight or heavy firing pin spring? what trigger and FRT? My setup 16" FRT ready upper with trigger kicker/Partisan trip red recoil spring light firing pin spring steel weight will all steel rods sold buffer rod to keep the bolt in place Black dog mags Used on a trigger kicker and a partisan FRT lowers. I have two uppers that I use with my 22 lower, the lower is a Rave 140 and Atrius combo. The two uppers are both 12" Bore Buddy, one with a silencer and one without. I don't remember the exact details of the weight kits... I'm pretty sure they are both the steel weights, with steel rods. One of them might be aluminum rods. I'll check the springs this afternoon, I think they're both red 6 pounders. |
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Originally Posted By ELittlefield: I have two uppers that I use with my 22 lower, the lower is a Rave 140 and Atrius combo. The two uppers are both 12" Bore Buddy, one with a silencer and one without. I don't remember the exact details of the weight kits... I'm pretty sure they are both the steel weights, with steel rods. One of them might be aluminum rods. I'll check the springs this afternoon, I think they're both red 6 pounders.  It's running 75% now, I just think maybe the rave trigger and Atrius is more forgiving timing wise over a trigger kicker. Partisan seems to hate my BB upper. Pretty happy to have three mags fire without a malfunction finally, couldn't get three mags in a row after that though. And I had some CCI AR 22 ammo and it was shooting pretty decent. 200rds and about 20 some malfunctions (FTF and light primer strikes). Lord this thing shoots fast I have to go get more mini mags, I need to get one of those hand crank feeders. Those trips need some thin lines engraved on them so it has a reference when making timing adjustments. |
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I feel this. But I have done quite as much as you OP. I gave a trigger kicker to a friend of mine and he dropped it in and it just ran on his dedicated 22 AR. So I build one and cannot get it to run.  Although I havent tried the easiest thing yet.......HV ammo. I get 2 or 3 rounds and then dead hammer with a slightly touched rim. I know its bolt bounce or hammer follow. I am only using the weight that comes with the CMMG trip. Its a lilttle bit frustrating. Good luck. |
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Originally Posted By WHITE_WOLFE: I feel this. But I have done quite as much as you OP. I gave a trigger kicker to a friend of mine and he dropped it in and it just ran on his dedicated 22 AR. So I build one and cannot get it to run. Although I havent tried the easiest thing yet.......HV ammo. I get 2 or 3 rounds and then dead hammer with a slightly touched rim. I know its bolt bounce or hammer follow. I am only using the weight that comes with the CMMG trip. Its a lilttle bit frustrating. Good luck. I talked with the bore buddy rep who was cool and really helpful. They recommend arc fire Atrius triggers. He said the others have worked it's just more a PITA to get working. My bolt weight is 1.83 oz and slow mo video shows zero bolt bounce that I could find. I am gonna go the Atrius/rave 140 route with their Atrius trip. That way I have a select fire option. |
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Attached File All three are .22LR. The two carbines are dedicated setups. The rifle is a .556 with conversion. All three run very well but must be kept clean. None of them will run with a red recoil spring. The two carbines use steel weight housing with all 4 steel weights. The rifle uses steel weight housing with no weights. |
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I can see where you're coming from, 'cause I know where you've been and I can see where you're going 'cause I can see the direction you're headed in. I just don't know where the hell you're at right now.
I can see where you're coming from, 'cause I know where you've been and I can see where you're going 'cause I can see the direction you're headed in. I just don't know where the hell you're at right now.
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Originally Posted By ARKAR: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/50570/IMG_6777_jpeg-3824420.JPG All three are .22LR. The two carbines are dedicated setups. The rifle is a .556 with conversion. All three run very well but must be kept clean. None of them will run with a red recoil spring. The two carbines use steel weight housing with all 4 steel weights. The rifle uses steel weight housing with no weights. |
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Originally Posted By FreefallRet: What FRTs are you running? In the picture the M4 had a Rare Breed in it. It was a little finicky but ran pretty well. The middle carbine had a Copperhead Safety/Cornfire in it that ran very well. I wanted to see if an ArcFire V1 would run so I swapped it out. It did OK but the Copperhead seemed to do better. The A1 has always had a Copperhead Safety/Cornfire and has always ran very well. Now all of them have the Copperhead Safety/Cornfire in them. This setup seems to run very well in all three. I think it’s the design of the lever. Being rounded, it seems to have the most consistent amount of pressure on the trip. The Atrius is very similar in design. Have to clean then every 400-500 rounds but all of them seem dialed in pretty well. I have several videos on my YouTube channel, check them out. In this video, nothing was changed between the unsuppressed and suppressed strings of fire. https://youtu.be/ztBWodCLymE?is=BUbgOMLn9awyg4fY |
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I can see where you're coming from, 'cause I know where you've been and I can see where you're going 'cause I can see the direction you're headed in. I just don't know where the hell you're at right now.
I can see where you're coming from, 'cause I know where you've been and I can see where you're going 'cause I can see the direction you're headed in. I just don't know where the hell you're at right now.
Bore buddy FRT ready 22lr/rimfire upper receiver with Arc Fire trigger, 100% today, pics in OP (Page 1 of 2)
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