The History of Timney Triggers

You probably already know that Timney is the oldest and largest trigger manufacturer in the world. But do you know how we got our start? How we’ve maintained our status as the leader in aftermarket trigger manufacturing? We're a little biased, but we think it's an interesting story full of ups and downs that shows the passion of a true American small business striving for success. Let’s take a trip down Timney memory lane…

In 1946, soldiers returning home from World War II began to sporterize their military rifles, but quickly found that they needed a better trigger in order to be more accurate. Allen Timney, being a veteran and avid shooter himself, quickly went to work creating easy to install, single-stage triggers for bolt-action rifles such as Enfields, Springfields, and Mausers. As the years went on, Allen Timney began to expand his inventory to include other types of bolt-action rifles, which allowed the company’s influence to grow more and more. Soon enough, Timney became a household name in the shooting industry – those looking for an upgrade for their beloved rifles knew that Timney was the place to go for all their trigger needs. Years later, Allen moved Timney Triggers from Downey, California over to Phoenix, Arizona. However, a year later there was a fire in his factory that destroyed nearly all of the inventory Timney had. In 1981, Allen, feeling disheartened about his losses from the fire, sold Timney Triggers to Paul and Rosemary Vehr, a quaint couple who had a vision of how they could fix the devastated business.

Before purchasing Timney, Paul worked as a technical writer at Honeywell, while Rosemary was an associate editor at Alive, a Catholic diocese magazine. The Vehr’s decided to leave their jobs and take on the challenge of rebuilding an entire business because that’s just the type of strong-willed Americans they were. Paul and Rosemary worked together to reinvent the well-known family business and make it into something Allen Timney would be proud of. Paul took on the role of being the face of the brand; he was the one who met potential business partners and built relationships with members of the outdoor and shooting industry. Behind the scenes, Rosemary was the one who made sure the business was doing well and customers were happy. Rosemary was adamant about the fact that customers were the most important aspect of the company, and made sure that everything we did was for their benefit, a sentiment that we still hold true to this day.

Paul and Rosemary Vehr - cir. 1998 - standing outside of their newly purchased Timney Triggers facility.

Throughout the years that Paul and Rosemary owned Timney they often recruited their kids to come help out at the shop. Almost all of the ten Vehr kids worked at Timney at some point, but it was John who took special interest in the company. In May 1994, John started working full-time at Timney as the marketing manager and machine operator. As the years went on, he helped expand the company and quickly moved up the ranks to general manager. John thrived at Timney and decided that he had found his passion with this small company, so in 1999 he discussed the purchase of Timney from his parents, and they agreed. However, in early February, three days after the 2000 Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoors (SHOT) Show, Rosemary passed away. Five weeks later, while John was in Germany on business, Paul too passed away, leaving the purchase contract unsigned on his desk. John was determined to keep his parents' memory alive and honor them by turning Timney into the company he always knew it could be. So, John spoke to each of his nine siblings and eventually bought their shares of company until he became the sole owner of Timney Triggers. 

After purchasing Timney, John put everything he had into making the company what he knew it could be. He focused all his energy and resources into investing in the right tools to build upon the business his parents reinvented years before and make it into the business he saw in his mind. He bought cutting-edge machinery, invested in technology, and hired bright minds to further the Timney brand; but the most important thing he invested in was the mindset. The mindset John employed wasn’t just to make good triggers, it was to work collaboratively with good communication and respect among peers. That was the key to the success John saw in his mind, and is a big part of the reason Timney is so successful to this day. After establishing all these vital aspects and getting them to work together in harmony, Timney quickly became the company John had envisioned back in 1994. By 2013, Timney outgrew its current shop and was moved to a sparkling 25,000 square-foot facility in Phoenix, AZ where it currently lives and thrives today.

John Vehr - cir. 2018 

Though there were quite a few ups and downs over the years, Timney has maintained its status as the leader in replacement triggers, a title we don’t plan on relinquishing any time soon. With over 170 different trigger types in our inventory, we have been making shooters great for over 76 years, and we will continue to do so as long as our loyal customers keep asking for their favorite triggers.  

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Watch the video below to learn more about the History of Timney from John Vehr and other members of the Timney Tribe.