Binary triggers occupy an unresolved space in Nevada law. No state statute names them, and no published Nevada court decision has decided whether they qualify as machine guns under NRS 202.253. So the honest answer to whether binary triggers are legal in Nevada is that nobody knows for certain. The device is legal under federal law, but Nevada’s machine gun definition turns on a phrase the state’s courts have never applied to a pull-and-release trigger, and a wrong guess could mean a Category C felony.
Where the Ambiguity Lives in Nevada’s Statute
NRS 202.253 defines a machine gun as any weapon that shoots more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.1Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 202.253 – Definitions A binary trigger fires one round when the trigger is pulled and a second when it is released. Two shots per cycle.
Everything depends on how “a single function of the trigger” is read. If the full pull-and-release cycle counts as one function, the device converts a semiautomatic rifle into a machine gun under state law. If the pull is one function and the release is another, then each shot comes from its own separate function, and the rifle stays semiautomatic.
The same statute defines a semiautomatic firearm as one that uses firing energy to chamber the next round, requires a separate function of the trigger to fire each cartridge, and is not a machine gun.1Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 202.253 – Definitions The statute doesn’t define “function,” and it says nothing about the release stroke. That silence is the whole problem.
Federal Law Treats Binary Triggers as Semiautomatic
Federal law uses nearly the same language. Under 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b), a machinegun is a weapon that shoots more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5845 – Definitions The ATF has concluded that binary triggers don’t meet this definition, because the pull and the release are treated as two separate trigger functions.
The Supreme Court reinforced that reasoning in Garland v. Cargill (2024). The case dealt with bump stocks, but the Court interpreted the same statutory phrase, holding that “any subsequent shot fired after the trigger has been released and reset is the result of a separate and distinct ‘function of the trigger,'” and that a device reducing the time between trigger functions does not turn those functions into one.3Supreme Court of the United States. Garland v. Cargill (2024) Syllabus Applied to a binary trigger, that logic supports treating the pull and release as two functions producing one shot each.
Why Federal Legality Doesn’t Settle Nevada
The ATF’s classification and the Supreme Court’s reasoning don’t bind Nevada courts interpreting a Nevada statute. States can define crimes more broadly than the federal government, and NRS 202.253 has its own interpretive path. A Nevada judge reading the same phrase could reach a different conclusion.
Nevada does have a carve-out. NRS 202.350 says the machine gun prohibition doesn’t apply to anyone “licensed, authorized or permitted to possess or use a machine gun or silencer pursuant to federal law.”4Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 202.350 – Manufacture, Importation, Possession or Use of Dangerous Weapon or Silencer That sounds helpful, but it was written for people holding a federal firearms license or tax registration to possess actual machine guns under the National Firearms Act. It doesn’t clearly cover a situation where the federal government says a device isn’t a machine gun at all and the state might disagree. Leaning on this exception without a court ruling behind you is a gamble.
Penalties if a Court Rules Against You
If a Nevada court decided a binary trigger meets the state’s machine gun definition, possessing one would violate NRS 202.350, which prohibits manufacturing, importing, selling, lending, possessing, or using a machine gun without federal authorization.4Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 202.350 – Manufacture, Importation, Possession or Use of Dangerous Weapon or Silencer That offense is a Category C felony.
Under NRS 193.130, a Category C felony carries a prison sentence of one to five years and a possible fine of up to $10,000.5Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 193.130 – Categories and Punishment of Felonies The consequences don’t stop there. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment loses the right to possess any firearm under federal law.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts A single conviction over a trigger modification could end your ability to own firearms at all.
Don’t Confuse Binary Triggers With Forced Reset Triggers
Binary triggers are often lumped together with forced reset triggers, but they are different devices. A binary trigger fires on the pull and on the release. An FRT uses a mechanical cam to push the trigger forward to reset faster than a finger could, but the shooter still pulls for each shot. The ATF classified FRTs as machine guns under the Biden administration, and federal courts have pushed back on that classification in some cases.
The distinction matters in Nevada because the state’s Attorney General joined a multistate lawsuit in 2025 to block redistribution of seized FRTs, and the ATF has listed Nevada among the states where forced reset triggers are considered illegal. That doesn’t decide the binary trigger question, but it tells you how state officials view rapid-fire trigger modifications generally.
What This Means if You Own or Want to Own One
No reported Nevada prosecution has tested whether a binary trigger qualifies as a machine gun under state law. That silence isn’t protection. It may just mean the right case hasn’t come along yet. There is no Nevada court decision shielding owners, and there is no Nevada statute expressly permitting the device.
The strongest arguments for legality rest on the Supreme Court’s reasoning in Garland v. Cargill and the ATF’s consistent treatment of binary triggers as semiautomatic accessories. Neither controls what a Nevada judge would do with NRS 202.253. If you already own a binary trigger in Nevada, or you’re thinking about buying one, that risk is worth talking through with a Nevada firearms attorney before the question gets answered the hard way.