One popular accessory for Glock pistols is a good aftermarket trigger. One to consider is the Timney Alpha Competition Series.
July 23, 2021
By James Tarr
Timney Triggers has just recently introduced their new Alpha Competition trigger series for Glock pistols . They have two models, one for Glock Gens 3-4, and one for the Glock Gen 5 guns.There is no shortage of companies making improved trigger systems for Glocks, as historically their trigger pulls have been mediocre at best, and heavier than claimed factory specs for all but Gen 5 guns. Instead of simply tweaking existing parts, as you see with most aftermarket Glock triggers, Timney engaged in some serious out-of-the-box thinking. The Alpha triggers are advertised as providing three-pound trigger pulls, and being as reliable as the Glock factory trigger system. I secured a sample of the Gen 3-4 model for testing.
The Timney Alpha Glock trigger comes with a replacement trigger bar and trigger, a newly-designed trigger return spring, and an aluminum receiver which is inserted into your factory trigger housing. If you know your way around the inside of a Glock installation is simple, or it would be if Timney’s instructions were a bit clearer. Even their instructional video with pro shooter Shane Coley is a bit vague in spots, without the desired close-ups.
After you remove your factory trigger and trigger return spring from your trigger housing, drop the Timney receiver into the housing. The receiver is held in place inside the trigger housing by a small set screw which bears on a lip at the bottom of the housing. You might want to loosen the set screw before inserting the receiver, or removing it entirely and then screwing it in afterward.
The aluminum receiver is anodized red, and you can see a silver piece atop it—the sear. The new trigger bar pushes back along that, in the slot in the trigger housing, and as the trigger bar moves back the sear pivots down, which releases the striker. The sear is held in place by two pins, and there is a spring inside the receiver providing tension.
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The Timney Alpha Glock trigger comes with a replacement trigger bar and trigger, a newly-designed trigger return spring, and an aluminum receiver which is inserted into your factory trigger housing. The trigger bar has a slick NP3 coating. The trigger shoe is aluminum, with a red safety lever in the center. The new trigger return spring is L-shaped, and fits over the trigger itself on the inside, between the trigger body and the slide stop. Timney provides a tiny allen wrench for the set screw on the receiver, and a tiny flat-head screwdriver to bend the top leg of the trigger return spring down so you can insert the locking block pin, against which the spring arm presses.
Once you’ve figured out what goes where, installation is very simple, but your first time through might take you a bit longer. I installed this trigger in three of my Gen 3 Glock G34s and tested the trigger pulls. They averaged three pounds, with one as low as 2.75 pounds (although that pistol has a reduced power striker spring).
Trigger pull was smooth, and light, although the actual trigger break was not very crisp due to the design of the trigger system. Reset is short, and you can feel it. Getting a three-pound trigger on a Glock to be reliable has historically been difficult, and the Timney system uses all Glock factory springs but for the trigger return spring. My only concern is for the long term,—there is a set screw in the receiver which could loosen, and there are a lot of small parts inside the aluminum receiver—gunk can get in there, but you can’t take it apart for cleaning.
I extensively dry-fired all three Glocks after I installed the trigger to test function. At the range I put several hunded rounds through one chosen G34 without any problems. Timney says the design is as reliable as the Glock factory trigger, and this trigger design completed a 10,000 round torture test with zero malfunctions. Time will tell whether or not this trigger system is as long-term reliable as Timney claims, but the advertised three-pound pull weight is accurate, which makes the trigger pull half the weight (or less) of the Glock factory trigger system. The Alpha Trigger is on sale now for $149.99.
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About the Author: James Tarr is a former police officer and private investigator, and is a nationally ranked competitive shooter. He has been writing professionally for 20 years, both magazine articles and books.
