New STAR-15 Owner :)

[KalashnikovFan]

Hey hey :)

I am a proud new owner of a STAR-15. My first AR ever. :)

I love it. Not as much as my AKs but an extremely close second. I shot some Silver Bear .223 Rem through it and it shot very well.

I just have two questions. How do I safely remove the front pin (Pivot pin? I'm still learning the correct terminology) so I can pull the whole upper off.

And how do I safely and correctly change out the gas rings and when should I do it (bare in mind I clean my rifles after every use).

It's a M4 style AR with the 16 inch barrel. :)

[deth502]

the front pin pushes out to releas the upper but is retained in the receiver, the exact same way as the rear pin does.

[KalashnikovFan]

Well Apparently next to the mag well there is a spring loaded pin holding the Pivot pin in place. I can see a spring in there from a pre made hole in the spring housing on the lower. However after research it seems they stuck me with the pivot pin from hades with no access to a hole to depress the small pin.

[deth502]

ther is also a pin and detent being held in place by your buttstock for the rear pin, thats why it dosent fall out when you push it out.

you DO NOT need to depress anything or acess anything, just push on the driver side end of the pin (the small end). it may require a light tap using some kind of plastic punch, improvization is easy for this. is your rear pin still in when your trying this? i always take the rear pin out and tip the receiver up before i try to push the front pin out, if you hve a good tight fit between teh receivers, this makes it easier.

[KalashnikovFan]

ther is also a pin and detent being held in place by your buttstock for the rear pin, thats why it dosent fall out when you push it out.

you DO NOT need to depress anything or acess anything, just push on the driver side end of the pin (the small end). it may require a light tap using some kind of plastic punch, improvization is easy for this. is your rear pin still in when your trying this? i always take the rear pin out and tip the receiver up before i try to push the front pin out, if you hve a good tight fit between teh receivers, this makes it easier.

Yeah that's what I've been doing is popping the takedown pin open and tipping the upper receiver up. I'll see if I can get a small rubber mallet so I won't damage anything.

[deth502]

cant help you with the gas rings, never changed any. im supprised no one else has chimed in yet.

[DoubleStar Corp]

To change your gas rings you need to take something to get under the corner of one of the gas rings (I usually use a blade tip) at the gap, then ease it up over the retaining lip, then with your finger, rotate it around the bolt under the gas ring, and it will remove it from the bolt. Repeat process until all 3 have been removed. Then to install a new set, slip one edge of the opening into the groove, then use your finger to slip it down into the groove, and repeat until the 3 rings are installed.

Always replace gas rings in sets of 3.

Thanks,

Jesse

[LittleLebowski]

Gas rings should be replaced when the bolt can just drop into the BCG (bolt carrier group) with any resistance. So, don't worry about it for at least 3k rds. Also, you don't need to clean it so damned much. Run it wet with lube and run it hard. You should clean the internals every 1k rounds or so and punch the bore with a carbon and then carbon solvent only when accuracy drops off.

Stop worrying about maintenance and shoot the darned thing!

[KalashnikovFan]

Thanks. So how do you disassemble it to get to the gas rings after 3K?

Lebowski, it's not that I'm worried about it it's just that I like my rifles well taken care of. I even do the same with my AKs.

Trust me, when I grab a mag I intend to empty it. :D lol