[JoeLad]

I just put a G2 H/T/S in my NHM 90. I also replaced the shepherd's crook with the pin retainer plate from Red Star Arms. It works great, but it's causing me a major headache.

It fits fine, it holds both hammer and trigger pins in, but I can't get the selector back in place. Let me make that clearer, the selector won't roate down because it hits the sear. If I take the sear out and put the selector back in, the trigger pin won't go in because the selector is holding the plate in place which blocks the pin from fully entering the receiver.

The funny thing is I can rotate the selector up and out with the sear in place, but I can't rotate it back down with the sear in place.

Help!

JoeLad

 

[ZOID ZODIAN]

Instead of trying to rotate the selector in the direction of the sear (disconnector), can you do a loop-de-loop and go the other direction, rotating the safety around the entire back end of the receiver and up into the "fire" detent? (Be careful to lift it away from the receiver slightly to avoid scratching the finish).

 

[JoeLad]

ZOID, you are a genius! :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy
It worked!

I love this place!

JoeLad

 

[ZOID ZODIAN]

ZOID, you are a genius! :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

Thanks.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

I never had a problem with the shepherd's crook spring, so I never bothered. On the Galil kit, the spring was set up for full auto and wouldn't work the same as a shepherd's crook, so I bought 2 e-clips at the local Ace Hardware for $0.16. Works great. You can buy a boatload of e-clips for the price of one retainer plate.

 

[JoeLad]

Is it a problem taking the e-clips out once they go in?

I still have another retainer plate, but once it's used I think I'll go with the e-clips.

JoeLad

 

[tarawa]

Instead of trying to rotate the selector in the direction of the sear (disconnector), can you do a loop-de-loop and go the other direction, rotating the safety around the entire back end of the receiver and up into the "fire" detent? (Be careful to lift it away from the receiver slightly to avoid scratching the finish).

This only works on certain receivers. It depends on the rear trunion design. I couldn't use the retaining plate with the Romack 3. It doesn't clear in either direction. On some receivers you just have to use the shepard's crook.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

Is it a problem taking the e-clips out once they go in?

I still have another retainer plate, but once it's used I think I'll go with the e-clips.

JoeLad

I use tiny needle nose pliers to take them off (and put them on, for that matter).

 

[ZOID ZODIAN]

I'd like to say one final thing about the Red Star Arms retainer plate; I've used it too, but not without reservations.

I'm not trying to criticize anyone's decision to use it, nor am I trying to cast unnecessary doubt on what is a very easy-to-use product.

My only motivation is that I hate to see anybody's hard-won AK acquire unnecessary wear from an aftermarket product, so here's a thought:

Mr. K designed the AK's trigger and hammer pins to be held in by spring tension (from the Shepherd's crook on semi-auto rifles and by the auto sear spring on select fire rifles). Spring tension keeps the axis pins from "wobbling" in the holes. This is only speculation on my part, but this wobbling could, I say COULD, eventually cause the pin holes to "oval" after considerable wear, ultimately causing a worse and worse trigger pull, trigger slap, and even the pins potentially "walking out" (although this last one seems rather unlikely). This excess wear, of course, is a long-term problem, and won't manifest itself even for thousands of rounds; indeed, with a properly hardened receiver, it may NEVER cause the holes to "oval". I just thought I'd mention it for what it's worth.

On the one SAR in which I installed the retainer plate, the trigger pull seemed to change from shot to shot, like the pins were "wobbling" in the holes. Once I switched back to the Shepherd's hook this "wobbling" ceased.

If you stick with the Shepherd spring, the easiest one to manipulate is the Chinese pattern that goes under the hammer pin, over the trigger pin, and wraps around the shaft of the selector. I believe TAPCO had them for a while. They're still around, but harder to find than other varieties. The Chinese type is distinguished by its definite "L" shape as opposed to the Bo-Peep staff shape of the standard Romanian and Maadi hooks, or the unfolded paper clip look of the Bulgarian. You simply lift up on it a little from the trigger area to remove/install the trigger pin, and to remove/install the hammer pin, you do not have to fight the tension as much as on other Shepherd's hooks. The key is to pull the selector out of the loop for disassemby as early as possible, and put the shaft of the selector back through the loop as late as possible in the reassembly.

 

[AK-74Freak]

I had a problem with e-clips. The e-clips I got were too thin, they would allow the pins to wiggle in and out a little bit. and after a few hundred rounds they would pop off of the pin. If the e-clips I had were a little bit thicker, I probably wouldnt of had that problem.

I wound up putting the chinese style retaining wire in all of my AK's. They seem to be the best ones. Tapco still has them for $2.99, speaking of that, I need to order a few more.


Mike F.

 

[00redZX-6R]

Is it a problem taking the e-clips out once they go in?

I still have another retainer plate, but once it's used I think I'll go with the e-clips.

JoeLad

I use E-clips as well. So cheap (free to me, work has a box of at least 10000)

That is enough for a ton of AK's

 

[Rhino_66]

I made my own retainer plate. A piece of sheet steel shim stock just happened to be right thickness, so I laid a piece of paper on the OOW receiver and rubbed over the holes with the side of a pencil. This trick works well for perfect trunnion and stock tang templates, too. A little 3M spray to keep the paper stuck to the shim stock, and the trimming begins. I cut out a shape that approximated the RSA plate, and then I drilled the holes undersize and fitted them with a rattail file.

Yes, it would have been just as easy to spend a few bucks for a commercial product. But this way is GUARANTEED to get a perfect fit for your specific rifle.

I wouldn't worry about the pins "ovaling" out. The wobbling of the pins could be caused by the extremely tight and repeatable machining tolerances of the RSA piece. Receivers vary by manufacturer, so some variance in fit is inevitable. If you make your own, you can make it as tight as you want. My pins don't move once the safety is installed.