GATE Quantum Trigger — ASTER V2, Four Shapes

Start with the limitation, because it decides whether to read on: this works with an ASTER V2 and no other control unit. Not a TITAN, not an ASTER on a V3 gearbox. In anything else it is simply a nice aluminium blade, and there are cheaper ways to buy one of those.

In an ASTER V2 it does something no other trigger does. A standard blade interrupts the sensor’s beam — present or absent, with a little grey area in between. This one is shaped and surfaced to reflect the beam back instead, so the unit reads a continuous value as the blade moves rather than a switch flipping. GATE quote sixty distinct sensitivity steps inside the first millimetre of travel and as many as four hundred and seventy across the whole stroke.

What that buys in practice is the ability to put the break exactly where you want it and leave it there, anywhere from a setting that goes off at a touch, through a conventional hair trigger, all the way out to full movement. People who shoot a lot of semi tend to find a point they like and never move it again; people switching between roles set two and swap in the app.

Choose the shape on feel and the colour on taste. All four profiles are the same part at the same price with the same sensor behaviour, and the finish has no effect on anything except how the gun looks with the trigger guard empty.

Specifications

Shapes and finishes

Good to know before you buy

Check your control unit before anything else. ASTER V2 and only ASTER V2. If you are on a TITAN, the part you want is the Nova, which was designed round that unit instead.

Update the firmware and the app first. GATE require ASTER firmware 3.1-03 or later and a current GCS build. On an older firmware the extra sensitivity range simply is not there, and it will look like the trigger is at fault when it is not.

Sixty steps in a millimetre is finer than your finger. Nobody can feel the difference between adjacent settings. Move in groups of five while you are finding your range, then fine-tune once you are close.

Shape and colour change nothing mechanically. Every combination on this page is the same trigger at the same price. Pick the blade that suits your hand and the finish you like; the rest of the range is in triggers.

Frequently asked questions

Will it work with a TITAN?
No. GATE build it specifically around the ASTER V2 optical sensor and state compatibility with nothing else. On any other unit you lose the whole reason for buying it.

What does reflecting the beam actually change?
It turns an on-or-off reading into a graded one. The unit can tell how far through the travel the blade is, which is where the extra sensitivity steps come from.

Do I need to update anything?
Yes — ASTER firmware 3.1-03 or later, and GCS 3.0 beta 5 on desktop or 1.5.6 on Android. Do that before you fit the trigger rather than after.

Is there any performance difference between the shapes?
None. They are the same part with a different blade profile, so choose on where your finger sits. The colour makes no difference at all.

How much does one weigh?
GATE do not quote a weight. The manufacturer does not publish that, ask us if it matters and we will find out.