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    Jul 7, 2026
    The Timey Triggers Controversy Explained

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    Some gun guys buy guns and never shoot them; others shoot them as they come. On the polar opposite, many modify their weapons from paint to the guts. I once had a brand rep tell me, “This is America, nothing stays stock,” in response to my inquiry about how brands feel when you make aftermarket upgrades. While there are plenty of reasons for and against modifying a firearm, many recent internet conversations have revolved around the questions of safety. If I change out the trigger of a basic Glock, does that make it inherently less safe? If I invest in an experimental trigger that makes the gun shoot more like a high-end 1911 than a gritty striker-fire gun, will it create extreme risk? Or are these products tested to the extremes to ensure safe and reliable operation?


    I spoke to Timney Reps, Chris and Talia, about their very popular upgrade, the Alpha Competition trigger and Alpha RXM. Both of these triggers are based on the very popular Glock pistol but are designed to help enhance accuracy by giving you a trigger that is lighter and crisp, giving you a trigger that gets out of the way and lets you break the shot without disrupting your perfect aim. But if Glocks are pretty much the same, why are there multiple different triggers, and more importantly, why are some people reporting these triggers to be dangerous?


    I’ve seen multiple videos of people’s claims that Timney is unsafe. I’ve seen videos of guns going off when re-holstered. I’ve seen guns go bang when the shooter executes a standard malfunction clearing technique called tap-rack. This technique involves ensuring the mag is properly in the gun by slapping firmly the bottom of the mag into the gun, and then by racking the slide to ensure any faulty round is discarded. Imagine my shock when I saw the shooter slap the magazine and the gun goes boom. There are a few videos like this on the internet. All of them have a common theme, and once I explain this, it will explain why Timney has so many triggers for the Glock platform.


    The common theme with these guns and the fairly obvious malfunction is that the guns are all modified. I mentioned Timney visited Gun Club Radio to talk about their products. They stated with no ambiguity that they are confident that their trigger is safe and effective for non-defensive, non-carry use. They claim the trigger is safe and there is no enhanced risk in using the Alpha Competition trigger as intended. But what is the intent? Unfortunately, the intent takes some of the fun out of guns. They insist the trigger must be installed into an otherwise stock Glock platform that matches the description on the box. That is what it was designed, tested, and released for. Changing anything from the internal triggers to striker springs creates an environment that the trigger was never designed for nor tested for.

    This also means that “Glock clones” are off the table unless Timney creates a trigger for that specific platform. Meaning the young lady who put the Alpha into a non-Glock, Shadow Systems branded pistol put her life at risk, as the internals of that gun actually broke the trigger and caused the gun to literally go off in the holster—a life-threatening situation. I think Timney would acknowledge that many shooters go beyond the approved scenarios and continue to tinker with the guns to get fractionally better with each change. The problem is, if you aren't an experienced gunsmith, you may create a dangerous environment as something could be pushing on the trigger in ways that may not be obvious.

    So what options exist for Glock users? An easy option is the Gen 3-4, which share the same trigger. If you have an unmodified Gen 5 Glock you want to upgrade for competition or range use only, this version stands alone for that specific version. The recent Gen 6 already has its own version, and if you wanted to use a Timney, don't grab your old Gen 5 Alpha; you’ll need to upgrade to a Gen 6 package to ensure safe and reliable function.




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