bought these pins to upgrade my stock pin, and fixed front takedown screw, which was a pain to clean/takedown the gun. made in MA, USA cant beat the quality or price.

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."

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.

Good pin... Make happy...

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.

I've had a few sets of these for 6 years now. They work great. Tear-down for cleaning and maintenance is effortless.



I've read a few reviews on here complaining about tight fitment... These are a tolerance fit part. the tighter the fit, the more accurate the AR. TIGHT IS GOOD.



As for installation, test fit these.. if you think the finish is too abrasive, hit em with a "green scrubbie" (3m kitchen scouring pad) and it will soften/poilsh the finish for smoother operation.



Also, ensure your detent pins are smooth on top where they contact the takedown pins. Most detent pins are crap at best and could EASILY benefit from polishing the end for smoother operation. Pointy pins are bad, Rounded ends are good..



The YHM pins are Steel and built to last the lifetime of the Rifle.

These are great for me. My fingernails are brittle, so pulling stock pins are not easy. No trouble, just not EASY. And my old fingers are getting worse. I though the head on these would be too big, but they have never been felt when shooting and never hung on anything.



Long time M-16, AR shooter, but you can still learn. I put these on a Carbon-15 Bushmaster. Since the lower is carbon fiber, they opted to make the rear take down pin a little longer and the whole body a little wider for strength.



This product is for mil-spec equipment. eg. front pin longer than rear. Please be aware of that if you have a bushmaster CR-15. Otherwise, love these pins.

I got a set of these when building out an Aero Precision upper and lower. They dropped right in with no fitting required. I liked them so much, I bought a set for my wife's DPMS AR-15 so she could more easily open it up for cleaning and maintenance.

Purchased a set of these a few years ago for a Ruger SR-556, they worked great then.

Fast forward to last week. Ordered two sets, one for my brand new AR, one for another AR. Got the front one installed. Lubed up the pin and put the upper and lower together. Worked in and out a few times to move the lube around. To my surprise it has so much "twist" play that it gouged out my brand new billet lower right next to the "handle" of the pin.

NOT FOR BILLET LOWERS!

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.

I originally bought these to install on my wife's AR to aid in disassembly for cleaning. After I installed them, I liked them so much that I put them on my own AR, and bought a second set for my next build. They perform just as well as the pins that came on my DPMS rifle, but the added ability to pull them out makes them that much easier for my wife to maintain her own weapon. I'll admit that I personally don't need them, but they do add a bit of personalization without the 'tacticool' look so many people desire on their AR's

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.

These pins look like YHM rejects and cannot go into an AR as shipped to me. The heads of the pins are rough cut, the finish is flaking off in areas, and there are rough patches all along the pins that I suspect are rust. Thoroughly disappointed in Brownells and YHM. Very poor quality.

awesome products very easy pull out and exchange the upper revivers faster than use my finger's nail to pull it out

This is a must upgrade to your M4/AR15 platform. Makes for easy quick disassembly of your rifle and easy assembly as well. I higly recommend this product.

These are beast!! I bought these when I purchased a CMMG India .22 conversion for my Black Diamond Carbine. I had recently glass bedded my upper to my lower and did it almost too well. I needed a punch to remove the rear pin its so tight. These pins fixed me up right, no further tools necessary. Thanks Brownell's and YHM!!!!

Adding these pins make all the difference. They should come standard with all lowers. Makes it a lot easier to clean when the upper and lower are separated. Makes it a snap changing one upper to another.

I mistakenly tried another brand in the past. These are the ones to get.

Look on YouTube to see how they should be installed.

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.

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.............

One of my best purchases for an AR. I've built a good bunch of AR's for folks, and I always make this a required part of the build. They thank me later!!!

I bought these several years back to try and since them I havent built a rifle without them since.

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.

Just ordered my second set. I've been using my first since I assembled a lower using them back in 2008. If you use multiple uppers they are worth their weight in gold as far as I'm concerned

I installed these on an Aero Precision lower easily without the benefit of Brownells "pin installation tool" shown in the video. I didn't even know such a thing existed. I didn't find mine to be stiff or have an inferior finish like some others previously stated. Definitely a must for multiple uppers to the same lower receiver.

This installs the same way as the original, but gives you extra area to grip on to when breaking down the weapon. Makes it much faster to break down yet have a very tight fit which is essential on this style weapon. Others had issues installing due to it being too tight, but I didn't have those issues. I've put several hundred rounds through mine and like the extra area to take down the weapon.

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.

I was concerned this would get hung up on my gear. But it profiles into the side quite nicely. Best [$] bill I spent in a long time. I put it on a mil-spec lower.

Very nice stuff, not the easiest to install but when in very nice and did not take to long to install, alot better than the stock pins

My comments are similar to the others here. Fitted to a Bushmaster AR15. Found the machining on the pins to be quite coarse (you can feel the difference between these and the original pins when you run a finger over it). This causes the pin to feel rough & stiff when it's installed and in use. I'm also a lefty and have an ambi safety fitted, so I've also discovered that the rear takedown pin gets in the way of safety (I've now changed the pin back to the original one). Dissapointed overall - I was expecting better

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.

I hope these will loosen up as time goes by.

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.

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!

excellent idea, add a stub that you can actually use quickly. will buy more for all my ar's

I love these. I have put them on about 7 AR's now and won't have one without them. If you shoot with your kids these make it a lot easier for them to break down the gun for cleaning.

Strongly recommended. Not only does it make takedown much easier, I think it helped to tighten the fit between my upper and lower-- less slop. Between this, the wedge, and a quality barrel, I'm getting about .75" MOA.