I've always preferred rolling vs. scraping/sliding metal to metal contact particularly when the metals in question have significantly different hardness. POF is now offering roller cam pins for AR15s and AR10s. I have a couple of POF ARs (P415 and P308) and for $20 each the roller cam pin is a no brainer so I put them in both. Installation is a drop in since there's no gas key to worry about.
I was impressed with the roller cam pins on both POFs so I decided to upgrade my DPMS DGI bolt carrier group. The DPMS upper only has 383 rounds through it and yet already there's some "damage" (wear) on the upper due to the standard cam pin (damage shown with red arrows).
Installation requires the removal of the factory gas key and installation of the POF gas key which has a clearance "notch" for the new roller cam pin. I torqued the gas key screws to 45 in-lb and staked them in place. The action feels noticeably smoother and I hope that the new cam pin will avoid further damage to the upper. I won't claim to know if the standard cam pin could do sufficient damage to adversely affect the unlocking of the bolt, but for the money, the POF upgrade is cheap insurance plus it decreases drag on the BCG. I suppose I could have used a Dremel to grind a notch in the factory gas key but since the POF key is coated (and the key marks were light) I figured I'd change it out.
I was impressed with the roller cam pins on both POFs so I decided to upgrade my DPMS DGI bolt carrier group. The DPMS upper only has 383 rounds through it and yet already there's some "damage" (wear) on the upper due to the standard cam pin (damage shown with red arrows).
Installation requires the removal of the factory gas key and installation of the POF gas key which has a clearance "notch" for the new roller cam pin. I torqued the gas key screws to 45 in-lb and staked them in place. The action feels noticeably smoother and I hope that the new cam pin will avoid further damage to the upper. I won't claim to know if the standard cam pin could do sufficient damage to adversely affect the unlocking of the bolt, but for the money, the POF upgrade is cheap insurance plus it decreases drag on the BCG. I suppose I could have used a Dremel to grind a notch in the factory gas key but since the POF key is coated (and the key marks were light) I figured I'd change it out.