Deus Ex Machina | Gunfighter Trigger Review

While the Glock aftermarket has always been legendary in scope and breadth, I don’t believe it has ever been larger than it is right now.  While the sheer volume of options can be daunting to research, a few companies always separate from the pack.  This happens within each price point and is because that company is either producing unique products or parts at a great value relative to price.  When the Deus Ex Machina (DEM) Gunfighter trigger is put to the question, their trigger comes up as both unique in design and economical in price..  While Glocks are well known for their reliability, most end-users agree that stock Glocks come from the factory with two parts needing improvement: the plastic sights (dovetail protectors) and the trigger (mush stick).

The Gunfighter trigger is designed to be flat faced rather than curved.  The benefits of a flat faced trigger as advertised by DEM are: lighter perceived trigger pull, increased accuracy and cleaner trigger break.  The trigger is machined from 6061-T6 aluminum and is anodized with mil-spec type III hard coat.  My test trigger also came with the optional polished trigger bar.  Initial examination shows me a trigger that is precisely manufactured and visually distinctive.  There are other color options available on the DEM website.

Installation is pretty easy.  Unload and field strip the handgun.  Remove the trigger pin, locking block pin and trigger housing pin.  Pop out the locking block and trigger housing.  You will have to twist the rear of the trigger bar a bit to pop the spring off the end, this is just about the only tricky part.  You can now grab the DEM Gunfighter and install by performing these steps in reverse.  Once the new trigger is connected by the trigger bar, slide the trigger housing back into the frame.  Next, slide the locking block back in.  Put the rearmost pin into the backstrap of the grip first, followed by the top (smaller) pin above the trigger.  Move the slide stop into place and insert the final (larger) pin above the trigger.  Do a functions test and test the slide stop on an empty magazine as well.  2-3 minutes and one of the biggest improvements you can make on a Glock is complete.

After assembly, I ran through a few dry fire drills.  It is important to have muscle memory with every aspect of a gun that is designed to be used reflexively.  Your brain should be occupied on targets and threats while your body is awaiting the command to go through a motion that is second nature.  If you’re focusing on the unexpected difference a new trigger has impressed upon your firing motions, you aren’t giving compete focus to the moment.  Once the decision is made to fire, everything after that should be as natural as breathing: violently, accurately breathing.

The Gunfighter has a small amount of take-up before hitting “the wall”.  Past that is a crisp and predictable break.  While doing dry fire practice, I noticed a marked improvement in front sight shake with the Gunfighter.  I attribute this to the more natural feel of a flat trigger as well as the cleaner break the Gunfighter provides over the OEM trigger.

I have put just shy of 10,000 rounds through this Glock 17 and have owned 4 others.  I am intimately familiar with the stock trigger on this handgun in particular and Glocks in general.  After a few long dry fire sessions, I was ready to evaluate the Gunfighter trigger on live fire.  I brought my stock trigger and Glock disassembly tool along with me in my range bag to get a side-to-side comparison.

For my live fire testing, I had access to an informal range.  Not the best place to practice bullseyes, I spent my time practicing double-taps and failure drills.  The clean, consistent break was a welcome improvement on the stock trigger.  While I wasn’t measuring groups with a ruler, I can say they were either a little smaller and arrived a little faster.  After a hundred rounds or so (in addition to my dry fires) I started to feel really comfortable with the Gunfighter.  My confidence in the trigger grew with every magazine and I was seeing the results on target.  It takes time to adjust to a new trigger, so I expect it will take another range session or two for the DEM to feel totally second nature.

The DEM Gunfighter showed to be as big an improvement as I’ve made on a Glock yet.  A match barrel won’t give you much if your trigger is sloppy.  Great sight pictures are wasted on an inconsistent trigger break.  It performs as advertised and is a quick and easy remedy to stock trigger syndrome (STS).  At $115 there is great value in the DEM Gunfighter trigger.  If you’re interested in upgrading your stock Glock, Deus Ex Machina is a great place to start looking.