The first handgun I ever bought was a Gen 1 Glock 17. I purchased it used in the late 90s. It was in good condition, but had an unknown round count. All the parts were stock from the factory. Throughout the years I have put thousands of more rounds on her, and she hasn’t skipped a beat. I also used the Glock as a test gun for stipple projects. Looking back, I wish I hadn’t done that as my early stipple jobs were really bad. Hind sight is 20/20. Even though she doesn’t look great, she still shoots straight and has held up well over time. Recently, I decided to give the Glock some upgrades. The process is still ongoing and I hope to have it finished soon. The process will include a refinished slide, new barrel, a professional frame contour and stipple, extended magazine and slide release and a new trigger.
First things first. The Trigger. Selecting a trigger took some thought as I wanted to be certain I was selecting one that would best serve my intended application. This gun would always be a workhorse meant for hard range use, home defense and for my SHTF kit. That ruled out any high speed competition trigger. Looking for a good EDC/Duty trigger I landed on Glock Triggers.com.
Glock Triggers makes drop in triggers for various applications using factory OEM parts. They make four different models of triggers. Two competition models and two carry/duty models. The competition models are the Vogel and the Edge. These trigger systems allow end user adjustment and are intended for USPSA and IDPA competitions. The carry systems they offer are the Guardian and the Skimmer. These drop-in triggers are intended to upgrade the performance while maintaining more appropriate EDC features.
I opted to go with the Skimmer Trigger. The Skimmer Trigger was designed in conjunction with Marine Force Recon veteran and renown firearms instructor, Travis Haley of Haley Strategic Partners. Travis and Glocktriggers.com set out to create a Glock trigger that would better mimic the trigger on a stock 1911 pistol. 1911’s have long been the standard for a good crisp trigger press. The Skimmer is manufactured using 100% factory parts. The metal components are then hand polished to a mirror finish. This gives a smoother and more consistent trigger operation. The metal surfaces glide freely instead of the heavy, gritty stock trigger. The Skimmer comes with a pre-travel reduction modification which has been adjusted at the factory. The Skimmer is not intended to be adjusted by the end user.
The Skimmer parts come in a plastic tube that include the trigger and trigger bar that have been hand polished and modified for pre-travel. The trigger housing and ejector have also been polished. Their “minus” connector is a 4.5 lb unit, however a 5.5 lb “standard” connector can be specified during the ordering process if desired. Also included is a trigger spring, firing pin spring, firing pin safety and spring. All of which are polished. Lastly, Glock Triggers includes the firing spring cups.
My pistol is a Gen1 so I ordered the Gen3 version. If you own a Gen4 pistol, they have a version that will work with the newer pistols. Installation was simple and only took 5 minutes or so. It should be noted that instructions are not included with the trigger pack however GlockTriggers.com offers a pdf version of the instructions as well as an installation video. If you are unsure of what to do, have a qualified gunsmith do the install. It isn’t that difficult. Wear glasses as there are some springs under tension. No need to be a pirate every day. After making sure the pistol is clear and safe, remove the slide from the frame. Use a punch and knock out the locking block pin (if your model has one), trigger pin and trigger housing pin. Remove the slide stop lever, lift out the locking block and finally lift out the trigger group. Take the Skimmer trigger and remove cut/clip the zip tie around the trigger group. Make sure to maintain pressure on the sides of the trigger group and slide the unit into the frame. Reinstall the locking block and slide lever taking care not to crush the slide lever spring. If you crush the spring, it will not function properly. Next, align the locking block and slide stop holes and re-install the appropriate locking block and trigger pins. Next re-install the trigger housing pin. The trigger group is now installed.
For the slide, the barrel and recoil spring will need to be removed. Take a punch and press down on the spacer sleeve and slide off the rear plate. Keep your thumb on the firing pin as it is under spring pressure. Slowly remove the pressure and extract the firing pin, ejector and extractor. Press down on the firing pin spring, remove the cups and replace the factory spring with the reduced power spring. Be careful with the spring cups. They are easily lost. Once the new firing pin spring installed, move to the firing pin safety plunger and remove it and reinstall the new plunger and extractor. Reinstall the firing pin in the reverse order, pressing down on the rear of the pin until the slide cover plate is fully seated. It will make an audible click when locked in place. Put the barrel and recoil spring back in the slide and re-install the slide on the frame. The conversion is now complete. Simple.
After I completed the conversion I function checked the pistol. Initially the trigger felt a little spongy to me. Not what I expected. I did about 50 dry fire repetitions and that settled the trigger in and the spongy feeling went away. The trigger has a ¼ inch of take up before it hits the wall. The wall doesn’t have a defining stop point rather the weight gets heavier as the trigger is pressed to the rear. At the ¼ inch mark the trigger has a crisp break. The reset is about 3/16th of an inch and announces itself with an audible "click!"
The Skimmer trigger is exceedingly better than the original stock trigger in my old Gen1 blaster. Is it exactly like a 1911 trigger? I wouldn’t go that far, however it is a heck of a lot closer to a 1911 press than the original trigger that’s for certain. I have less muzzle movement during my trigger press which results in more precise shots. The movements of the trigger components are much smoother than my original parts and the break and reset are much crisper. I also feel comfortable that the parts will hold up as they are OEM. An the best part is, the more I fire it, the better the trigger feels! Thus far I am very pleased with The Skimmer trigger and am confident it will last me a good long while.
The Skimmer Trigger can be ordered directly from GlockTriggers.com and retails for $159.95
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