FTR, or Failure To Reset, issues are when the firearm cycles while you are holding the trigger back, whether manually or during live-fire, and when you release the trigger there is no felt or audible “click” of the hammer and trigger resetting to their primary sear surfaces. This differs from FTF (Failure To Fire) in the fact that in a FTR scenario you can feel the break and hear the hammer striking the firing pin or bolt carrier. There are generally two distinct ways this presents itself:
- Hammer Follow: After there is no felt or audible “click” from the reset, the hammer is already dropped and resting against the firing pin/bolt carrier. Simply put, the disconnector did not capture the hammer, and the hammer followed the bolt carrier into battery.
- Release Malfunction: After there is no felt or audible “click” from the reset, the hammer remains down further than usual, and the secondary sear is still hung up on the disconnector. In this case, the hammer will reset to the primary sear if the trigger bow is pushed forward, or the disconnector is pressed down/back.