Custom AR-15 Ejection Port Dust Covers

The custom engraved AR15 ejection port dust cover is perhaps one of the most commonly exchanged parts on modern day AR's because they are, quite simply, easy and inexpensive. They are also one of the best ways to temporarily permanently (take that phrase to the bank!) personalize your rifle, by that we mean you can easily change your rifle back to stock mil-spec configuration, or you can leave it with a custom dust cover and it will stay personalized until you say otherwise. Another great reason to customize the AR-15 dust cover is you can have two distinct messages, one when you are not firing, and another when you are, this makes for great humor and morale boosting opportunities, well, you can imagine... Plan A/Plan B, etc.... Bottom line, these covers look great and will dress up any rifle. Shop our large selection of designs, styles, mil-spec, and exotic materials to make sure your AR dust cover is a focal point of your build. Buy one, or buy them all, you can never have too many!

How to install your new AR-15 Dust Cover

When you get a new dust cover for your rifle, the most important part of the process is getting it installed safely and correctly in your upper receiver. This is a short write up of the steps necessary to get your dust cover installed quickly and efficiently.

Before beginning, the most important part is to check and double check to make sure the firearm is unloaded, it is best to physically put your finger in the chamber to make sure there is no casing. You are probably going to want to remove the upper receiver from the lower receiver to make things a little more manageable, and when you do that, you can easily remove the bolt carrier group and charging handle and set it aside.

Next, you will want to remove the c-clip from the dust cover pin which will allow you to remove the pin from the rear of the upper. To do this, my preferred method is to use two small flathead screwdrivers. You can place some tape down above and below the ejection port opening where you will have to pry the spring out to keep from scratching your upper. After prepping the upper receiver with tape, you will want to use one screwdriver to rotate the c-clip to where the gap in the clips is facing away from the receiver, then you can press down simultaneously with the screw drivers on each end of the c-clip and push it down towards the receiver, it should pop off pretty easily. Pro-Tip – Make sure your work area is flat and clean, and if you have a small magnet to put on one screwdriver this will encourage the c-clip to attach to the screwdriver, so you don’t lose it. They are notoriously small, and very easy to lose. Having a clean and flat table or bench to work on will help, put down some paper towels so the c-clip will be easier to see if it falls off the upper.

With the c-clip removed, the rod is now free to slide out the back of the upper receiver. You will want to put down a piece of tape along the area where the dust cover pin will slide against the receiver to prevent any scuffs or markings. Painters tape or masking tape works well, and comes off cleanly when you are done. After you get the tape in place, slowly rock the pin out the back, it will help to keep some pressure on the dust cover once the pin is free from the front post, to keep it square in the back hole as the spring will put upward force on the pin. Be careful also as you get to the spring, when it releases from the pin it will want to fly as well. Once you get the rod about ¾ of the way out, you should be able to lift the dust cover from the front and slid it forward off the last part of the pin. Congratulations! You are halfway there.

To install the new AR15 dust cover, it is essentially the reverse steps from above, but we have a few tricks to help. Start by sliding the new dust cover over the end of the rod that is still sticking through the post in the upper receiver. Make sure the orientation is correct so you don’t have to start over! Begin sliding the pin back in from the back of the receiver. As soon as you get to the center of the dust cover where the spring is installed, you will want to partially slide the pin through the gap. This will give you the ability to start sliding the spring on the pin. Make sure the spring is oriented correctly, the long leg of the spring should be forward on the rifle toward the barrel. The small side of the spring should rest against the upper. With the spring halfway on the pin, rotate the long leg of the spring clockwise ½ a turn (looking from the front of the receiver towards the back) and res t the long leg against the dust cover. While maintaining pressure on the spring to keep it aligned, continue sliding the pin forward. Once you have the spring captive in the dust cover, maintain pressure on the dust cover against the upper, if you don’t do this the short end of the spring will pop out and you will have to re-thread the spring on the pin again. Once the pin hits the front post below the ejection port, wiggle it around to find the hole in the post, and then finish pushing the rod forward. Pat yourself on the back, this is the most difficult part of the dust cover installation.

The last part of installing your new AR15 dust cover, is re-installing the c-clip back on the dust cover pin. I have found the easiest way to do this is to have a pair of precision needle nose pliers, and grip the c-clip on the very edge opposite from the gap, and to slowly press it into the groove on the pin. Once you have it roughly seated where it will stay by itself, you can then take one of the screwdrivers we used earlier and finish pressing it down into the groove. Pro-tip – make sure to wiggle the clip back and forth with the screwdriver after you have pushed it fully down, you should here a nice crisp snap indicating it is fully seated into the groove. If you don’t get it fully seated there is a greater possibility the clip will pop off if any lateral force is applied.

To finish up, you will want to close/open the dust cover a few times to ensure proper functioning in the ejection port. If the dust cover does not stay closed , double check the spring orientation and make sure the long leg is against the dust cover, and the short leg is against the upper. If the cover doesn’t want to close, you can use a fine tip screwdriver to depress the detent in the center of the dust cover to help you get it closed. You can leave it closed for a few days, and also work it open/closed several times to help wear in a groove in the upper.

If you are still having trouble with the operation of the dust cover, it is possible the upper or the cover are out of spec, or incompatible. The easiest way to find out is to both try the dust cover in a different upper, and likewise try the OEM cover in a different upper. This can help to determine where variances may exist through elimination.

From here, reinstall the bolt carrier and charging handle, and you can re-assemble the upper on the lower, and perform a complete functions check to ensure the newly installed dust cover functions properly in your AR15. The off to the range to show off your newly customized AR! Have eating brass and spitting lead!