OK folks,

My AR pet peeve (everyone needs one I have many) I have reasonable experience with the Armalite platform, 1972 - 82 US Army 45B20 45L30 E1 to E6. (That's Small Arms Repairman to Armament Inspector)

I own a S&W M&P Sport 1 and a PSA upper/lower rifle.

Now I have taken milspec firing pin retainer pins (aka cotter pins) out of original factory packages. In the last century the pins all had rounded open ends. In my new rifles and in parts packs from PSA, Midwayusa and Brownells all of the pins had square cut open ends. This makes them hard to insert.

So, please check your rifles/pistols spares and let me know if the spec has changed.

Geoff
Who notes a few passes with a ******* file solved the annoyance, but it should not have been necessary in the land of Milspec Parts.

Amazing what gets censored by the automatics around here. for ******* insert Brownell's line number 191-058-530WB.

Geoff
Who notes it's a common cut I learned in High School Shop in the 1960s.

Ha ha, yeah, i never had problems with the cotter pins in the military. All my civilian ARs tho, it takes a bit of finagling to get that pin back in through the opposite side.

"Mil-spec" is a marketing term in the civilian world. That little detail would be noticed and the items rejected by government inspectors, but parts for the civilian market don't go through that process. Even with square ends, they still fit and function, so good enough for civilian "mil-spec".

By far I have found the ones manufactured for Colt to be of good quality and not "over-sprung" so to speak. More times than not, very easy insertion with good retention. Found at online parts sites.

I have a 2019 M&P 15 Sport 2. It has a square cut pin.

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