has anyone done this?
i saw a procedure on tos about using a ball bearing. someone in that thread mentioned you can cut the detent instead of using a ball bearing.
seems this is a lot less popular than capturing the rear take down pin spring.
Yes I have done it, and I have no idea what the ball bearing is for. Cut the spring the length of the detent after threading the receiver and never worry about losing your rear take down pin spring or mangling it if you take your receiver end plate off.
You arent talking about the same thing.
That modification is the only one I know of. What are you doing with a ball bearing. By the way, what is “tos” anyway??
i am talking about the safety detent spring as it says in the title.
that is the spring that pushes against the safety detent. the thing that makes the safety go click on and click off. that spring is typically captured by the grip on the lower receiver. typically, as in until you can modify it so it’s otherwise captured.
tos = the other site = ar15.com
IIRC,
What you are talking about is the mod where the rear takedown pin & selector detent hole is tapped & a shortened spring & set screw is screwed in to hold the pin/detent & spring captive, Yes/No?
If yes, IMO, it is a waste of effort.
I can count on one hand the number of times I have had to remove my reciever extention & for the times I have swap out pistol grips, it is a solution to a non issue!
is that what i asked about in the intial post?
Wow. Great attitude to have when asking for help. If you saw it on TOS, then why not go there and ask?
I assume that they are using the ball bearing instead of a detent? That’s an interesting idea. I have seen the captured takedown spring/detent mod done on a pistol AR where an endplate wasn’t used. On the safety detent I can’t see where it would be a beneficial mod, because you’re going to have a grip on the weapon. I just don’t see the point.
I modify the rear of all of my receivers, but that’s another story. Dah dah dump, ching.:jester:
I did modify all of my lowers via the info posted on ARFCOM. It has come in handy several times when it came time to replace stocks. When I went from a CTR to a UBR it saved a couple of minutes and a little frustration. Is it necessary, no. Helpful, yes.
For the safety Detent Pin I don’t see the point ,But that is just me.
It works Like it is so Why mess with it 
The point is to be able to change out grips without the hassle/risk of losing small parts or bending the spring.
This is relevant to californians who want to stay legal but travel out of state to train or other such reasons.
Wow this thread crashed and burned quick.
I have not seen the selector detent spring modification. I do have a couple lowers with a captured rear takedown pin detent spring, it is a standard feature on BPM lowers. It’s not necessary by any means, but once you get it installed it is pretty nice if you like to change stocks. Install the spring once and never have to deal with it again.
Ok I can see that Point Didn’t think about California .
Seen it. Have not tried it. I’ve screwed up lowers doing moronic things.
I’m not saying this is moronic!
I just dont see the point. In Cali, might be a quick fix. But I’ve never had an issue, after my third or fourth build.
Like you said, if quick change stocks are a necessity, might be a good thing. But I found out the hard way, the more you screw with the design(and some may not think the safety is major, but I do), more problems ensue.
Just be careful, and be safe. And shoot the shit out of your rifle!
The quick change would be for the grip not the stock. It appears no one is understanding what this is at first pass…
How often do people do this (once the lower is built)???
C4
My thought too !
In my mind not enough to warrant taking a tap to a lower. I’m going to swap out my MIAD’s for MOE-K grips. That will be the first time I’ve changed either of the grips out on two of these lowers since I’ve had them. I take that back, I swapped the A2 for the MIAD on my KAC lower…so twice…in 3 years.
It only needs to be useful once to make the $.05 part worth it. It is just a tap, cut detent sring, and a hex screw. It makes assembling a whole lot easier since you capture the detent spring before putting on the receiver extension and end plate.