Finish Is Not Matte Black Like It Used To Be
Product description on the website says "matte black" pakerized finish. I have an older set of these, and they used to be matte. I am no expert on finishes but the ones I received have a more shiny sheen to them that kind of looks nitride, instead of pakerized. Regardless of the type of finish, the matte is the important part to me. I am not a fan of the sheen on these. It's a shame because they used to be my favorite enhanced push/pull pins. Functionally, these pins are great, but the change to a more shiny finish is dissapointing. They look to have a matte finish in the picture on the site, same as how my old set look. YHM, bring back the matte finish!
They work as advertised but...
These are a good fit in my Aero Precision receiver, however the rear pin makes it difficult to access the ambi safety on the right side. For this reason, I'm replacing it with a standard pin. Also, they fit tightly enough that I have to push the pin out in the usual way [ie. from the left] anyway, so their value is questionable, at least in my mind. I'm going to give it a 'Not Recommended' rating...not because it's a bad product, but because it simply didn't work for me.
Simply too huge.
Purchased as a test to see if I should swap the pins on all guns to these. Result is "nope." To elaborate: The manufacturing of these pins seems to be just fine in general, but two things I learned after installing them lead me to be pretty critical: 1) The flat face on the forward takedown pin would not mate with two of three AR lowers I tried (the 3rd worked fine - lots of slop on that one). I _could_ machine the flat down to make the engagement possible, but then I'd need to refinish (aka, paint) the pin. It's now crossed into the more-work-than-it's-worth camp. 2) The exposed finger hold of these pins are HUGE. Perhaps there's a design goal that drove them to be this big, but I'm seriously concerned about them accidentally grabbing something. 50-60% of the current diameter and height might be better. So, 3 stars to 'warn' potential buyers, though in my more simple rating system it's a "no go" not a "go."
Great idea needs better finish
These are an excellent idea and a worthy addition to your AR, but the need for manual fitment kept them from getting 5 stars. These pins are so stiff that out of the box I still needed to use a punch like I would a stock pin. Using strips of 600-grit wet sandpaper I worked over the pins so they are now shiny - no more paint. Now they are still so tight that I must push the left side rear out with my thumb and THEN I have enough strength and grip to remove the rear pin. Removing the rear pin removes enough tension on the front to make it hand-removable as well... otherwise you still need a punch. More wetsanding in my future I think. If you are not afraid to do some basic work on your AR parts these are fine but if you expect them to fit right out of the box you may be sorely disappointed.
Not Good For Left Handers
These are a real good idea, but, the rear pin will not allow a left handed person to use the right side safety (selector) without fighting with the head of the pin. I wanted to use these as I keep one lower and put different uppers onto to the lower. I ended up just leaving the front pin in and I put the stock flat pin back in the rear. If you are right handed you won't have any trouble from what I can tell, it just doesn't work well for left handers. Sorry I couldn't give it more than a 3 rating, make it more "Left Handed Friendly" and I'd give it a 5. Hope this helps.............
Good Idea, needs improvement
Excelent idea. Machining is poor. I installed these on two lowers and had to sand all of them down to make them fit properly. The finish is rough. It does make it easier to take down and I plan to install them on all my AR's, if someone comes out with some with a better finish I will buy them.
EZ Pull not so EZ
Finger grips are nice but I think the surface finish is not smooth enough on the pin causing them to bind as you try to pull them out. This is disappointing. They might work better after some scrubbing with coarse steel wool or very very fine sandpaper (> 800 grit) to smooth them up. I'm going to try that soon.
