If you want a high-quality drop-in trigger for your everyday carry Glock with competition trigger features, check out the Legacy Special. It’s part of TriggerTech’s ACE trigger system, and I put it on the TriggerScan and took it to the range.

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About the ACE Legacy Special

We recently introduced the ACE trigger system with the Certified Special, a competition-oriented drop-in trigger that’s a huge upgrade over the Glock factory trigger.

The Legacy Special is a lot like the Certified Special, but it has a different trigger shoe design and a different blade safety orientation, and it’s safe for everyday carry. If you want a custom trigger you can carry, and the ability to tune between carry and competition pull weights, the Legacy Special is definitely worth a look.

Just like the Certified Special, the Legacy Special comes with a nice, comprehensive collection of parts to help with installation:

• Two-piece trigger assembly
• Replacement back plate
• Two-sided pin punch
• Springs for tuning
• Allen key
• Patch
• Instruction manual
• TriggerTech ACE card game (which is pretty funny)

The Legacy Special fits Glock Gen 1 through Gen 5, but not Gen 6. It’s available for these models:

• 9mm: 17, 17L, 19, 19X, 26, 34, 45 and 47
• 40 S&W: 22, 23, 24, 27 and [VERIFY: 35]

On Gen 5 pistols, you’ll need to remove the frame tab, but that’s an easy process.

Key Features:

• Configurable pull weight from 2.5 to 6 pounds
• Zero Creep, with the crisp break you get from any TriggerTech trigger
• Three-module design
• True pivoting firing pin safety
• USPSA and IPSC approved

Because this model is intended for concealed carry when set to 3.5 pounds and above, it retains the Glock safety blade. It also has a frame-independent safety, engineered so that tolerance variation in the frame won’t affect safety function.

Installation

A gunsmith install is recommended, but for anyone familiar with gunsmithing, it’s a pretty straightforward process. I used my Arrow Products Rock Vise to hold the frame.

This install was simpler, since I’d already done the slide work for the Certified Special. In that install, I removed the back plate and replaced the extractor plunger spring, which is part of getting into the lighter pull weight configuration. I also replaced the pre-installed silver take-up spring on the trigger with the gold spring, which lowers the take-up weight further.

The trigger install itself is pretty simple. I removed the pins (my Glock has three; some have two) and the stop bracket, then lifted out the old trigger. The front and rear portions of the TriggerTech trigger click together, rotate and drop in. Then I replaced the pins and put the slide back on the frame.

TriggerTech also has an excellent step-by-step install video that will guide you through the process for any Glock revision.

TriggerScan Results

I tested the Legacy Special in my modified Glock 17, the same pistol from the Certified Special story, which makes for a great comparison. The TriggerScan TS-11 uses a motorized actuator to read force at known distances and build a force-distance plot of the trigger pull. I carefully cycled the slide each time and kept the pistol in a consistent orientation for three scans.

With the clicker backed out all the way, peak force measured 2.950, 2.969 and 2.953 pounds. That is extremely consistent, and it looks stellar, just like the Certified Special.

If I were going to carry with this trigger, I’d increase the extractor plunger spring rate and adjust the clicker up so it’s just over 3.5 pounds.

Shooting

After shooting the Legacy Special on steel at close range, it feels like the Certified Special, but there’s definitely a difference where the blade is. I actually like this trigger a lot. If I turned it up to somewhere around 4 pounds, I think it’d be awesome for concealed carry.

Then I stretched things out to 100 yards. That IPSC target is small at that distance, and between aiming at rust spots and some wind, it was a challenging shot. Still, I was able to connect a few times. That isolated the trigger break and let me marry it with my concentration, and the trigger performed great.

Conclusion

The Legacy Special provides an interesting middle ground between a competition-only trigger and a competition-like trigger that’s also safe for concealed carry. For the full step-by-step install and more TriggerScan results, check out our story on the ACE trigger system Certified Special.

Get the Gear

TriggerTech ACE Legacy Special

TriggerTech ACE Certified Special

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Thanks,
Gavin Gear