Howdy y'all,
Just recently bought a Vudoo 22lr rifle that came complete from Vudoo Gun Works with a Timney 532 trigger. On my second range trip with it (<200 rounds so far), the trigger just up and died on me. I dropped the mag, cycled the bolt, and then tried to put it into safe, except that didn't work any more either. Trying to engage the safety just felt mushy, and progressively built resistance without the clean click into safe that I'd expect. The entire time I had full range of motion of the trigger as if it was cocked, but it wouldn't release the sear, so never felt the wall or subsequent break. After getting home, I pulled the action out of the chassis and found that putting side pressure on or holding the trigger shoe a certain way would allow the sear to trip and the safety to engage. I gave the trigger shoe a little tug, and it just popped right out. It turns out that the pin that holds the trigger shoe in either broke, or otherwise walked itself out while shooting, and made it's way out of the chassis, never to be found again.
At this point, I figured it was no big deal, shit happens, reach out to Timney and they'll take care of me. They seem to have a good reputation and lots of people and manufacturers use their triggers. Their warranty similarly seems very solid and is strongly worded on their sight. I sent in a request summarizing the situation about the missing pin on effectively a brand new rifle, could I please obtain a replacement pin? After four days of waiting for a response (not a big deal, people can be busy, and even large firearm operations can be quite small operationally), I get a strangely worded reply from one of Timney's Customer Service Team Leads:
Ok, bit at odds with their stated warranty (We will repair or replace your Timney Triggers in the event it becomes damaged or defective--at no charge to you. If we cannot repair your trigger, we will replace it), but I chose to take it optimistically. They can't send me a new pin, but surely they're not saying I'm SOL, and I can just proceed with an RMA to get it repaired. I'd rather do it at home myself, but it is what it is. My reply:
A few hours later, they replied (verbatim):
Ignoring the perceived negative tone, I'm flabbergasted by the complete disregard for the fact that this effectively new part is completely non-functional and there is not even a whiff of helpful suggestions, much less any actual solutions being offered by a company reputed to have such a strong warranty. If I'm to somehow determine that the part is in defective via elongated hole, what measurements should I compare against? If I'm somehow to source or make a replacement part (for which Timney claims to manufacture in the US), what are the dimensions of this part since Timney "does not have pins" that go into their triggers? A bit heated by this, I fired off a quick reply but have yet to receive a response:
I then called VGW, who to their credit went above and beyond to get me back up and running, offering to send me a replacement trigger out of their own stock, sell me a discounted upgraded Triggertech, or refund the cost of the Timney trigger from my total bill for the complete rifle. I took the refund as I was already contemplating buying another brand trigger, so I packed up the Timney and sent it off back to Vudoo. They couldn't have been more polite and accommodating for a problem not of their making or responsibility.
My questions to y'all:
Just recently bought a Vudoo 22lr rifle that came complete from Vudoo Gun Works with a Timney 532 trigger. On my second range trip with it (<200 rounds so far), the trigger just up and died on me. I dropped the mag, cycled the bolt, and then tried to put it into safe, except that didn't work any more either. Trying to engage the safety just felt mushy, and progressively built resistance without the clean click into safe that I'd expect. The entire time I had full range of motion of the trigger as if it was cocked, but it wouldn't release the sear, so never felt the wall or subsequent break. After getting home, I pulled the action out of the chassis and found that putting side pressure on or holding the trigger shoe a certain way would allow the sear to trip and the safety to engage. I gave the trigger shoe a little tug, and it just popped right out. It turns out that the pin that holds the trigger shoe in either broke, or otherwise walked itself out while shooting, and made it's way out of the chassis, never to be found again.
At this point, I figured it was no big deal, shit happens, reach out to Timney and they'll take care of me. They seem to have a good reputation and lots of people and manufacturers use their triggers. Their warranty similarly seems very solid and is strongly worded on their sight. I sent in a request summarizing the situation about the missing pin on effectively a brand new rifle, could I please obtain a replacement pin? After four days of waiting for a response (not a big deal, people can be busy, and even large firearm operations can be quite small operationally), I get a strangely worded reply from one of Timney's Customer Service Team Leads:
Ok, bit at odds with their stated warranty (We will repair or replace your Timney Triggers in the event it becomes damaged or defective--at no charge to you. If we cannot repair your trigger, we will replace it), but I chose to take it optimistically. They can't send me a new pin, but surely they're not saying I'm SOL, and I can just proceed with an RMA to get it repaired. I'd rather do it at home myself, but it is what it is. My reply:
A few hours later, they replied (verbatim):
Ignoring the perceived negative tone, I'm flabbergasted by the complete disregard for the fact that this effectively new part is completely non-functional and there is not even a whiff of helpful suggestions, much less any actual solutions being offered by a company reputed to have such a strong warranty. If I'm to somehow determine that the part is in defective via elongated hole, what measurements should I compare against? If I'm somehow to source or make a replacement part (for which Timney claims to manufacture in the US), what are the dimensions of this part since Timney "does not have pins" that go into their triggers? A bit heated by this, I fired off a quick reply but have yet to receive a response:
I then called VGW, who to their credit went above and beyond to get me back up and running, offering to send me a replacement trigger out of their own stock, sell me a discounted upgraded Triggertech, or refund the cost of the Timney trigger from my total bill for the complete rifle. I took the refund as I was already contemplating buying another brand trigger, so I packed up the Timney and sent it off back to Vudoo. They couldn't have been more polite and accommodating for a problem not of their making or responsibility.
My questions to y'all:
- Have y'all had similar breakages with your Timney Triggers? I couldn't find much online about it
- Has anyone received such a response from Timney WRT an RMA/parts request? It's been a hot minute since I've seen such lack of care paid to a customer in the firearms industry. Everyone I've talked to has at least made an effort to right a wrong, and even if they didn't get it right the first, second, third, or fourth time (looking at you Sig).
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