Easy to work with.
Working on another build I decided to give my fingers a little help and install these extended pins. They are nicely and accurately made and finish is perfect. The only reason for 4 stars is they may be a little large and stick out a little too much. But that said it is nice to be able to have something to grab hold of and pull instead of trying to use a tool or dig your fingernails under the head. I'll need to give it time to see if they get in the way at all. Might be a 5 start review afterall.
More than just a good idea!
I doubt that I'll ever put an AR together without these again. I've put 3 sets in so far. 2 for customers and 1 for myself. I've got a dozen more on backorder. They are a tiny bit rough when you first install them but that's gone after you work them back and forth a couple of times.
EZ Pull Takedowns
On the recommendation of the first commenter I installed these on my 516. I appreciate the warning on fitment.....although it was a bit tight, I followed his guidance and then added a tiny (read put on and rubbed down) each pin and they are nice and snug. Don't know about others but, I want my pins to fit a little snug, so that I have to actually pull them out........ie., I don't touch them and they slide almost by themselves. Two words of caution, very important. These are not made of titanium they are not harder then quantum physics! If you install say, the front one. Then when it is out all the way if, you happen to hit it sidewise pretty hard, the very tip/end will snap off! I accidentally, swung the lower around and caught the end of the table pretty good and pop off she came. My Bad, not the OEM's fault, that is why I rated it breaks easily. I'm not a slinger or a furniture man so, these do not get in the way........sure makes life easier when you have to break down the upper and lower.......and you are at the range or, just cleaning. Second, if you aren't used to changing these........Caution........When you push that tiny pin in in the front, go slow and make sure you don't let that "Spring" loaded pin fly.......it is tiny and all most impossible to find on the floor.......same when you are installing it.......go slow and steady on holding that pin in.......push the take down pin in sidewise up against a very thin holder so that you can remove the holder and place the TD pin right up on the pin immediately........then the TD will just slide in........you let that holder slide off and the pin will be gone.......faster then you can blink........Also, don't let the rear pin spring fly out either when you remove the A2 spacer (think that is what it is called) once the spring is out, that tinier pin can slip out an be gone also.........That's it........to each his own........but, if you like your boom sticks to be easy to work with, right along with all the ambi things, these are the last piece to the puzzle, at least for me. If you doubt, try one set........they are an affordable option for sure.
Does what it says, but do not degrease
I have purchased this set for several AR lowers. If you swap uppers frequently, or have fixed your magazine and need to open the upper to load/unload because you live in a state where idiotic gun laws proclaim a generic AR to be an "assault weapon", this makes the process very easy. One note of caution. Degreasers (TCE, Hornady One Shot Cleaner and Dry Lube) take the paint right off this product. Also, had one lower where I had to grind the end of the pin just slightly as it blocked the upper from closing.
Pin Shaft A Bit Rough, Buy It Anyway!
Love the concept, love the product, not because I swap out uppers but because I am a bit OCD regarding keeping my rifle clean. My RRA Piston never really gets dirty, however, the YHM Takedown Pin Set makes it just plain easier to open and seperate the upper and lower for a wipe down and a lube. As to how I titled this review "Pin Shaft A Bit Rough", I was concerned that the steel pin might auger out the aluminum lower due to disimilar metals. The Al' being softer of course, even tho it's 7075. So what I did was chuck up the heads of the pins in my half inch drill and give them a spin while holding wetted wet/dry 600 grit sandpaper against the pin shaft for a few seconds. I then used a Dremel with a cotton polishing wheel and some jeweler's rouge to buff the pin shaft surface. A perfectly smooth fit was the result. OK, I know it's extra work but I guess it goes back to that OCD thing. Who knows when I'll need this weapon in a lethal situation? Despite that, it makes it nice to use in the interim. Since 5 Stars means "Perfect, it doesn't get any better" it hasn't earned that. Of course they'd have to double the price, I guess, if they polished them the way they need it.
Worth the money.
I found that the front pin was definitely tighter than the aft pin. After closer inspection it turned out that the issue wasn't the takedown pin at all, but the TAKEDOWN PIN DETENT itself. I noticed that a ring had formed around the head of the pin detent from years of being seated into the takedown pin retention holes. This caused the takedown pin to seat tighter and made it extremely difficult to remove the takedown pins. Once I filed and honed the pin detent back into the cone shape again by removing the ring, the takedown pin worked the way its supposed too.
Tight fit
I hope these will loosen up as time goes by.
A little too tight in my AR
I like the pin set, but they are just a bit tight in my Olimpic AR. I think over time will have a better fit, but over all I am happy with them.
Not for Ambi-Safety users!
Good quality part, but once I installed it, I realized that the rear pin's knob prevented me from riding my thumb on top of the right side thumb safety lever of my ambi safety. In general, it makes it really tough to use the ambi lever at all. As a lefty, I really need to be able to use a safety lever on the right side of the receiver so I had to remove this and go back to stock. For a rifle without an ambi safety, I highly recommend these pins!
