If a company has ever caught lightning in a bottle, it is Franklin Armory. At SHOT Show 2022 they unveiled their 11th trigger. This time for the Glock 17 and yes; it is a binary. Meet the BFS-3 for Glock 17's.

In case you've been living under a rock for the past few years, a binary trigger is a semiautomatic trigger that fires once when the trigger is pulled fully rearward and a second time when the trigger moves back to the forward position. We covered these a few years ago in Issue 34, including Franklin's flagship design for the AR platform.

It may be one thing to make a trigger such as this for a rifle (or even a pistol or firearm version of the same), but in a handgun?

The road to get there was a long one. First of all, most semiautomatic rifles such as CARs, AK's, H&Ks, and even Ruger 10/22s have a safety selector which can be modified or in the case of the Ruger 10/22, completely redesigned so that the user can go from safe to semi to binary. How do you accomplish that with a pistol like a Glock that has no safety?

You have to design the trigger and then add a selector either on the frame or in Franklin's case, on the slide.

Visions of a Glock 18 slide immediately come to mind as well as slide-mounted safeties as seen on the pre-SIGMA and M&P pistols by Smith & Wesson or the Beretta M9. This is what the Franklin BFS 3 for the Glock 17 does, only instead of “safe” and “semi” we get semi and binary.

I haven't gotten any trigger time on this one yet, but should within the next hour or so by the time you read this, so we'll give you the rundown on what we do know as far as build quality and basic functionality go.

The Build

Franklin not only makes the trigger for this one, but the slide as well. I apologize in advance for the photo quality or lack thereof as these were literally taken at the 11th hour once I could get a sample prototype in hand.

The slide looks like your basic run-of-the-mill Gen 3 G17 with an MOS plate that had to be modified for the selector. It fires semi in the up or forward position and moves over to binary in the down position.

Squeezing the Franklin Armory BFS-3 reveals a nice crisp break. I neglected to bring along my trusty RCBS trigger scale but based on experience I would put it at 4 pounds.

Several of the other demo guns are registered as short-barreled rifles (SBR) as a safety measure using FAB Defense stocks. This makes a lot of sense for a pistol with a binary trigger as there is less of a chance of an ND by giving more control to the shooter and preventing an overenthusiastic new guy from doing a full 360 and endangering their shooting buddies. A brace or an accessory like the USA 1 Shot by Accurate Pistol Systems could come in handy for those who don't want to go the NFA route.

The Purpose

As for why a shooter would want something like this, the possibilities are endless. An LEO taking heavy fire may need some suppressing fire of his own and with the AR in the trunk of a car and backup 10 minutes away, here is a viable option. I'll wait to actually test fire it before I say “Yay” or “Nay” on competitive use, but in the meantime, it's bound to provide a lot of fun at the range shooting holes in the dirt. Yes, I know many of us are serious shooters, but sometimes you need a little something that gives you that look on your face like when you saw Porky's for the first time. If you're having fun at the range, it's always good.

The Release

These designs have been in development for quite some time and our 11th-hour preview was evidence that you won't be able to place an order for one and have it in hand for a few more months. The Franklin Armory BFS-3 most likely be a 2nd Quarter release in 2022.

MSRP seems to be hovering around $899 which gave me a flash of sticker shock, but when the hamster wheel in my brain began turning slowly it's not out of line with a custom-tuned slide from the various boutique aftermarket Glock component companies who do not offer anything comparable.

Initial designs will be for the Glock 17 Gen 3, but Franklin is known for listening to their customers and if there is enough demand maybe we will see them in the fifth Gen or even other models like the 19, 34, or my own preference, the G20.

Hey, I can dream, right?

For more information see: franklinarmory.com

More from Shot Show 2022

• B&T Announces New SPC9 carbine.
• New from Maxim Defense for 2022: Suppressors and Rifles.
• First Look at the Springfield Hellion.

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