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A must watch video for those considering the Timney trigger

28K views 56 replies 32 participants last post by  lukemathew957  
#1 · (Edited)
Here is a very well done video explaining how a Timney trigger works and show why it is not a good choice for anything other than a range use only gun. It is not drop safe to say the least. I definitely can't suggest anyone use it for a defensive pistol, especially for EDC. I was kind of leery of using the new Timney trigger for anything except a pistol used solely at the range due to how it works.

 
#2 ·
Here is a very well done video explaining how a Timney trigger works and show why it is not a good choice for anything other than a range use only gun. It id not drop safe to say the least. I definitely can't suggest anyone use it for a defensive pistol, especially for EDC. I was kind of leery of using the new Timney trigger for anything except a pistol used solely at the range due to how it works.

Yep. Glocks work for a reason. Glock R&D instituted a design that works well.

Maybe this trigger can improve in order to be used in a carry situation, maybe not. Ultimately each individual can decide.

Thanks for the video! It was very well done.
(y)
 
#4 ·
I am the same way and prefer OEM. At the most I will use trigger shoe that has adjustments but only for range use.

Maybe this trigger can improve in order to be used in a carry situation, maybe not. Ultimately each individual can decide.
Even with the improvements that Johnny Glock has made to the Timney trigger, it still is not drop safe. And as far as using the Timney trigger, you re correct, it is up to the individual to decide.

I wanted to share the video so that people can make an educated decision with as many facts available.

And for me personally, I still want a drop safe trigger in my range use pistols.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Thank you for sharing this video.

I have a few builds and several Glocks, and ALL of them have OEM triggers. Not a fan of aftermarket triggers or ”adjusting“ OEM triggers. I know what to expect with Glock’s OEM triggers and they simply work.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I have the Timney in my 17 & it's a joy to be able to place my shots so accurately.

I use this gun for range use only, sometimes it's fun to make relatively long shots with it.

ie: 50 yds out to 100 yds with my braced Glock 17.
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I've been plinking with it at an outdoor ranger waay out in nowhere land, the range has a bench or sometimes we shoot off the tailgate across a valley at medium-sized rocks, etc.

Of course, RMR/Timney trigger makes this possible.
 
#8 ·
I use a lot of pistols, some are heavily modded but the ones I carry and rely on for defense are 100% as they left the factory except the sights on some, and even some of those still have the crappy plastic factory sights. The only exception is my old 30SF that I set up for .45 Super and sometimes carry as a woods gun (AlphaWolf barrel + DPM recoil spring).

Anything that obviously and clearly disengaged one of the internal safeties, I would award a hard pass.
 
#9 ·
I saw this video before I bought a Timney Alpha trigger for my G45, but did not let it stop me. First, the pull weight is way too light to use this trigger for a defensive gun anyway. Of course, I would not want to have a gun fire upon dropping it, even when at the range or in a competition.

However, I felt much better after getting the trigger installed; the spring holding the sear up is pretty stout. Regardless of this guy's measurement, there is nothing to make the sear fall if the gun is dropped except the weight of the sear against the spring.... and it is very small & lightweight. Also, in my gun there is more overlap of the sear & the trigger "nose" or "tang" or whatever you call it. Further, my Timney trigger does not "stick" as his does; if it did, I would find the reason & fix it - or not use the trigger.

If this guy & Johnny Glocks are such smart people, you would think that they know the name is Timney... not Timiney or Timaney or Timeney or Timoney... or whatever they think it is! :ROFLMAO:
 
#10 ·
Well I didn't start this thread to get into a pissing contest with anyone or to bad mouth Timney triggers. I just wanted to make everyone aware of the possible safety issues so they could make their own educated decisions. It's your pistol and your safety, use what you feel comfortable with.
 
#12 ·
Hey, I could not out-piss any of you younger guys, even if I tried. :rolleyes: I am not trying to convince anyone to use a Timney trigger. I am just passing on my observations.

I would not carry a gun with this trigger, as it now exists. In fact, I will not carry a Glock or any gun unless it is stock (if I had any other gun for carry, & I don't).
 
#14 ·
Here is a very well done video explaining how a Timney trigger works and show why it is not a good choice for anything other than a range use only gun. It id not drop safe to say the least. I definitely can't suggest anyone use it for a defensive pistol, especially for EDC. I was kind of leery of using the new Timney trigger for anything except a pistol used solely at the range due to how it works.

I had one, sold it
 
#15 ·
It’s a good and interesting video, but I don’t think it’s anything to be concerned with. Even if the striker were to slip off the sear(?) lug, the firing pin safety would still block it from hitting the primer. Even with the trigger safety sticking issues noted, it doesn’t look like it moves the FPS enough to cause an ND concern.

I would be interested in seeing the FPS after 1K rounds or so to see if there are any chatter marks.
 
#16 ·
You are correct. We really won't know until people have been using the Timney trigger for a while and we can see the long term effects of higher round counts. The Timney has not been out long enough yet to see what the long term reliability is.

Again I wanted to to let people know that there is a potential problem so they can watch for it.
 
#19 ·
I did a steel challenge today for 200+ rounds. No issues at all regarding functional reliability.

I also watched the video, and tried to induce a striker release by (with an unloaded gun of course) cocking the gun, then smacking the base of the grip on the ground to try and get the sear to slip enough to release the striker.

It did not fail, but even if it had the firing pin stop would have stopped it. To counter argue the video, well if I was pressing the trigger a little there is that "chance", but that's not a fair safety test to be pressing the trigger while trying to slam base of the grip because I would simply "pull" the trigger while smacking the gun. So the ND would be caused by having a finger on the trigger.

*
Now, what I'm never going to do is simply shoot the gun, never clean it until it fails and get a round count as an evaluation. That's kind of lame. I just won my division today in production steel challenge because a much better shooter than me totally botch the first stage with malfunction after malfunction after malfunction.

It's a competition trigger, and I suspect here is not one professional competitor out there in any sport that doesn't go into an event without having made sure his equipment is ready as it can be.

So my main question is, when a Timney trigger fails, is it something that could have been avoided by simply cleaning the gun, which should be frequently done anyway.
 
#20 ·
Would there potentially be similar issues with a trigger like this?

 
#21 ·
Would there potentially be similar issues with a trigger like this?


The problems would not be the same since this is more similar to an oem trigger. The problems you can get with this trigger involve taking out too much pre travel, which can render the trigger safety tab and/or the drop safety shelf inoperable.

If you want the best glock trigger money can buy, Get the johnny glock combat or competition trigger. If your glock is multi use like competition and carry or bedside then get the combat trigger. Spend the extra on the flat face shoe. I use his triggers in all my glocks. In my g34 I use his competition trigger and I think it feels alot better then the timney. The break and reset are better and the pull weight is sub 3lbs. My 34 is dedicated for uspsa, I would not use a trigger that light in a defensive gun.

Timney makes great stuff and I use their AR triggers all the time, for now though, I prefer a trigger by Johnny in a glock
 
#24 ·
Function testing, and failure testing go in different directions. Being "reliable" (ability to shoot) under thousands of rounds, may not test that it is safe when dropped (ability to not shoot).
It is interesting the the general gun interests are in making guns easier to shoot, rather than SAFER to own. Most efforts to make guns "safer" are regarded with derision and negatively. Example- series 70 1911's advocates, thumb safeties, mag disconnects, etc... Relying on the internet discussions by gun lovers to give proper assessment of risk is scary. It is schizoid. I once questioned the need for a grip safety in a series 80 1911 and got all sorts of grief.

Any hint that this gun can or could be fired when dropped should give all immediate pause - even in competition. Remember that was the problem with the p320!
 
#27 ·
People will never understand that the majority (not all!) of aftermarket Glock components are of inferior quaity, finish, and function compared to OEM Glock. I'm a GL armorer and work at an FFL who happens to be a GL stocking dealer, 90-95% of all the people that came in with an issue on their Glocks had aftermarket parts installed (usually connector, trigger bar, lighter springs, aftermarket striker, etc.)

All these Apex, Timney, Lone Wolf parts are riddled with complaints, people love to do to a Glock what they did with their 1911 or AR and modify the **** out of them. All Glock parts are of good quality and finish and they have a good QC process within the company, that's why a stock Glock will work 99% out of the box.
 
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#29 ·
People will never understand that the majority (not all!) of aftermarket Glock components are of inferior quaity, finish, and function compared to OEM Glock. I'm a GL armorer and work at an FFL who happens to be a GL stocking dealer, 90-95% of all the people that came in with an issue on their Glocks had aftermarket parts installed (usually connector, trigger bar, lighter springs, aftermarket striker, etc.)

All these Apex, Timney, Lone Wolf parts are riddled with complaints, people love to do to a Glock what they did with their 1911 or AR and modify the **** out of them. All Glock parts are of good quality and finish and they have a good QC process within the company, that's why a stock Glock will work 99% out of the box.
Some internet sites indicate that the new GPT is made by Timney.
It seems that Glock is repackaging it as their own, and outsourcing the manufacture to Timney.
 
#37 ·
Yes the firing pin safety plunger will block the firing pin from striking the primer as long as it is working correctly. But we all know how people like to modify stuff such as changing out that plunger and spring. I can't and won't say if a lighter spring or plunger with a different profile will stop the firing pin or not.


People will never understand that the majority (not all!) of aftermarket Glock components are of inferior quaity, finish, and function compared to OEM Glock. I'm a GL armorer and work at an FFL who happens to be a GL stocking dealer, 90-95% of all the people that came in with an issue on their Glocks had aftermarket parts installed (usually connector, trigger bar, lighter springs, aftermarket striker, etc.
I totally agree. And this is why I always recommend using OEM Glock parts no matter if one is using OEM Glock frames and slides or aftermarket frames and slides. I was very active on the old Marine Gun Builder forum dn usually when people had issues, it was due to aftermarket parts ( as long as frame was finished correctly)
 
#32 ·
A Glock is a simple but well designed and well built utilitarian tool that happens to be a handgun. I do not get all of the tinkering and tweaking. If you shoot a given Glock enough, the trigger will smooth out. I don’t even read the posts here from people whinning about their Glock not working after they tinkered with it or added aftermarket parts. If you want to tinker, buy a good 1911 platform.
 
#38 ·
So is the video in the original post about a new Timney trigger? I don't know much about the aftermarket Glock stuff, but have been thinking about putting something like that on my Gen 2 G17. At a plate shoot a few years ago a guy let me try his G17 with a modded trigger (forget what he did), and the difference was basically night and day compared to the factory trigger.

The trigger feel on my G17 is poor, has always been poor. I have no idea how many 1,000s of rounds I've put through it (probably 10s of 1,000s).

I love my G17, and compete with it. But I have never praised its trigger feel! lol
 
#40 ·
Nice necro bump as I haven't seen this particular video. The person doing the video is correct in that the trigger springs were weak. JG sells updated springs that are cheap and work really well. If the Timney is installed properly and with a stronger trigger return spring, it is absolutely safe to carry as it uses the same firing pin safety, dingus, and drop shelf as would any other Glock based trigger. How much of a G force would be required to make the sear drop? I'm not an engineer but I would think the drop would have to be massive for the sear to drop and one that would never occur while carrying it. Even if it did drop, the firing pin safety would catch the firing pin as long as the VE is not depressing the firing pin safety. Not an issue if you want to carry with a Timney installed but there is a much better option now.

The GPT is that better option and removes all doubt about safety in a SA Glock trigger. It is better in every regard except it comes with a polymer shoe vs the Timney's aluminum one. The Timney has a pre-travel screw in the housing but the pretravel screw can loosen over time and then you can have an unsafe condition where the dingus will not engage. Point is, go with a GPT and install pre and post travel screws in the housing along with a minus connector and some other massaging and you will have the nicest Glock trigger out there and one that will rival just about any trigger on the market for any gun.