Another Glock trigger? Excellent. Variety is the spice of life. A Glock trigger designed by an Olympian and manufactured by only military vets? Now, I am keenly interested. Send one to me for review? Awww shucks…

I am honored. Truly.

Where Does this All Come From?

The McNally trigger system was designed by the McNally family including John McNally, a multi-Olympian and former Officer-in-Charge of the Army Marksmanship Team’s Pistol unit.

Highlights of the McNally family’s long career:

• 7 Olympics
• 5 World Championships
• 3 Distinguished International Shooter Badges for International Rapid Fire.
• 2 Distinguished Pistol Shot Badges
• 2-Time Winner of The National Trophy Match

McNally triggers is a family company with two generations of McNally’s at the company. Jim McNally is the father with John (mentioned above) and his brother Kenneth. Jim was Glock’s National Sales Manager for 10 years.

Installation:

Installation is a snap. Shipping as a completed assembly, it took less than three minutes. Pop out the three pins in the Glock frame, remove the old trigger assembly, and drop the new one in. Saving me additional paragraphs, the McNally’s put together a great installation video.

Adjustment:

Adjustment is identical to Lone Wolf’s UAT, albiet a bit easier. The choice to use silver screws on black, makes the tiny hex wrench easier to find a home. McNally has a detailed video on their adjustment, which I followed to the “t” for this review:

Using the Adjusted Trigger:

Before I speak on the adjusted trigger, I did pull from the stock configuration and it already was an improvement. Take-up was reduced and the pull itself felt smoother. After adjustment, it was a night-and-day difference to a stock Glock. Less take-up and shorter travel against the striker, a win-win. Still, it has the feel of a standard Glock with the small grit depending on the trigger bar to disconnector and striker relationship. Weight of the pull was between 3 Lbs, 15 ounces to 4 lbs, 1 ounce consistently.

The trigger itself is a plastic affair matching the black Glock frame nearly identically. Some may bemoan this choice, but in cold-weather without gloves, I think the benefit of the plastic will shine through. Still, its not perfect black polymer; there are plenty of small divots in the material and tool marks that will disappoint those looking for style. The adjustment screws are likewise threaded directly into the polymer, which does worry me long term (assuming normal wear the adjustment screws moving will make the pull longer, not detrimental to functionality, but not as good as metal on metal for small threads).

Author’s note: Those looking for a metallic adjustable trigger should check out Lone Wolf’s UAT, which we reviewed previously. It has its own quirks too. 

What I have found to be the key to a good Glock trigger is the passive safety engagement point. If it engages far past the reset, it adds unneccessary take-up to the trigger pull. The McNally Trigger pull is no exception, and while the passive safety engagement point is good, its not perfect and still adds about .110″ to the total pull.

Feeling entrepreneurial, I completely disassembled the trigger and worked my way to the passive safety where with an hour of trial-and-error (and many cycles of assembly and disassembly of the frame), found the perfect spot for the passive disengagement while still ensuring complete safety. Now, the pull is tip-top, with nary .025″ take-up (just enough to get the passive safety to disengage) before the wall.

Dare I say I found sweet Glock trigger Nirvana?

Almost. Not quite; at least for me. The McNally trigger is a complete flat front with no radius’d edges, making the side of the trigger feel “sharp” under spirited pulling. While I may not be a fan of completely flat front triggers, there are many who are because it tells them the hard edges of the trigger itself ensuring proper finger placement.

Me, I’m not that picky and like it to feel good rather than ensure my own perfection. A bit more time with a dremel and I may just find Nirvana.

At the Range

This is where it all boils down

No malfunctions, no issues. Ran like a Glock. From there, my groups with the Glock 23 I carry as my summer gun tightened up. Rapid string of fire were generally my same split times, but the slow fire the difference was immediately apparent. With a predictable wall and pull, groupings were definitively better.

Yes, its not much going from about 3″ at 15 yards down to 2″, but still is something and in a stressful situation that may be the difference between me hitting what needs to be stopped and hitting something that will stop my life.

Oh, and the flat trigger that I mused on earlier, never noticed it while firing.

 

The Good:

• Definitively shortens the trigger pull on a stock Glock, especially the take-up.
• Easy adjustment, even with the frame assembled.
• Uses a plastic passive safety nub, making it easy for advanced users to set the passive safety engagement point (though would like to see a few extra passive safeties included for those who may aggressively file).

The Notable:

• I like that it comes as a complete assembly. Makes it an easy assembly for the not-so-technically inclined.
• Available across a wide variety of Glocks including most calibers and Gen 3 & Gen 4 units.

The Bad:

• User what seems to be largely stock components for everything but the trigger. Needs polished despite what their website says.
• Metal on plastic threads. Not sure what the long-term effect on the pull settings are, but generally not advised in manufacturing unless its big threads.

Final Thoughts:

Jim McNally claims in his video that the trigger system is “the best trigger for the Glock pistol.” In that respect, I may just agree so long as we are talking about the trigger only and not the completed assembly. I am loathe to criticize an Olympian’s work, but simply put there are better complete trigger systems out there. The trigger is darn good, but the assembly lacks polish, literally.

In this case, there are quite a few systems out there sold as complete kits that beat this in its current form, but don’t have the same tactile experience, especially with the solid wall. Does that mean one should skip past this and look at the other systems? Absolutely not!

If one were to start piecing together a Glock trigger this drop-in assembly is a great place to start. Add in a polished disconnector, polish up the trigger bar, and polished firing pin and you likely would have the best complete Glock trigger out there; then you get the solid wall and no grit. Now that truly would be the “best trigger for the Glock pistol.”

Those interested in the McNally system can pick one up direct from their website. 

• 
• My T&E Glocks, which also happen to be my EDC firearms. Glock 22 and Glock 23, with various mods. The G23 has the Lone Wolf UAT installed.
• 
• 
• 
• Installed in the G22 frame for easy comparison to a similar trigger.
• 
• 
• 
• Rear adjustment point.
• Front adjustement point
• 
• 
• Trigger as directly from the packaging.