Anyone use a National Match or upgraded pivot pin?

[brettskywalker]

Looking for some feedback from those using a national match size or other upgraded front pivot pin. My m&p15x is getting up there in age, I want to say it's 6 or 7 years old now, has fired thousands of rounds & the upper & lower receivers have been seperated for cleaning & miscellaneous reasons I don't know how many times. A large portion of the front lug on the upper receiver is no longer black as all of the coating has been worn off. Im looking to replace the front pivot pin, & possibly the rear takedown pin as well in hopes to tighten up the upper to lower fit. I know the national match pins are larger but are there any other manufacturers pins that are slightly larger than the stock pins but smaller than national match size? Or should I just go with the national match pivot pin & see how it fits? I'm trying to stay away from using an accuwedge or an o-ring over the front lug. I have used the o ring over the front lug many times but it was a PITA because the o ring broke during/after every shooting session .

 

[lrrifleman]

I shot a Colt HBAR Match Target as a NRA Service Rifle from about 1998 until I became disabled in 2007. At that time, I was never aware of National Match pivot and rear pins. All that we used then, and I still use to tighten the mating of the upper and lower receivers of all my ARs, is an object called "The AccuWedge", which can be purchased for about $5.

Try an "AccuWedge" before you spend the money for NM pins.

The "AccuWedge" goes into the lower receiver under the rear of the small block below the rear pin. If the wedge is properly installed, you really have to press down to compress the wedge in order to push the pin into place.

 

[MichiganScott]

I shot a Colt HBAR Match Target as a NRA Service Rifle from about 1998 until I became disabled in 2007. At that time, I was never aware of National Match pivot and rear pins. All that we used then, and I still use to tighten the mating of the upper and lower receivers of all my ARs, is an object called "The AccuWedge", which can be purchased for about $5.

Try an "AccuWedge" before you spend the money for NM pins.

The "AccuWedge" goes into the lower receiver under the rear of the small block below the rear pin. If the wedge is properly installed, you really have to press down to compress the wedge in order to push the pin into place.

I shot NRA Highpower from 1995 to 2005 and never heard of a National Match pivot or rear pin. Some of the people I shot with used the Accuwedge, but I never bothered because it can cause increased wear of the holes in the frame if you have to compress the wedge too much when closing up the rifle.

Tightness of the upper and lower have nothing to do with the accuracy of the rifle. Mine rattles when shaken and still out shoots me. We are so accustomed to bolt guns having to have everything tight that we apply the same rules to an AR.

 

[brettskywalker]

My concern with using the accuwedge is just that, I don't want to accelerate more wear on the reciever pins & pin holes. It may just be my pins are worn out of spec & just replacing them with a new set may alleviate most of the play. I'm not trying to achieve increased accuracy, just want the upper & lower recievers to fit almost as tight as they did when the rifle was new. I'm sure if I were to install the larger diameter national match pins they would wear over time, & I'd have created a bigger problem than what I started with. I think I'm going to try a new set of mil spec size pins & see if it tightens up the fit a little.

 

[R. G. Amos]

Use "O" rings

 

[snm8510]

Use "O" rings

This right here... I stuck an O-ring inside the rear of my lower to serve as a space filler between the lower and the upper's catch.. Perfect $0.10 fix.. If they even cost that much.. Took it from an old paintball gun..