Ruger SFAR first issues.

[@marshallfriend9875]

Thank you for your information. That is the same problem that I’ve been having. I had purchased freedom monitions ammo, and had the same exact issue. I contacted Ruger sent my rifle in and they gave me a brand new rifle said there was issues with the barrel assembly.

[@scarter176]

Usually with primers looking like that it’s overpressure indication

[@11shockman]

I had the same problems with Vairog 178 grain. A spent primer lodged in the receiver and jammed the bcg… had to disassemble the rifle on the workbench. Also had the case head swipe that yours is doing. That was only happening with that particular batch of ammo, I ran that stuff out and now I’m running PMC .308 with no such issues. I may be grabbing at straws here, but I believe it was a headspace issue with that particular Ammo. I’ve also changed the gas block to Aero Precision and gone through the rifle soup to nuts with the torque wrench, and re staked the gas key. No issues through the last 300 rounds.🙏

[@fubuh8r]

I’d determined mine to be under-gassed. I swapped out the stock buffer spring and swapped in a carbine spring. It became reliable at that point. .308 shoots out at 2:30 on setting 2. Prior it was short stroking and shooting at 4:30 which would normally be considered sweet, but not for the SFAR.

[@MyMd1111]

Have exact the same issue. The extractor gave up after just 100 rounds. Can move it with my thumb. The bolt seems to be a weak point of the SFAR. Was first thinking it was the ammo to then it happened with a different brand.

[@anthonygerber8261]

I want the SFAR to work well so badly. The price is right and Ruger is a decent company. Their 556 MPR runs it's ass off. Hopefully they work out the kinks.

[@travisweldmaster7815]

Yep mine too, mine has thousands through it, shoots ragged 1 hole 5 shot groups with 77gr sierras

[@timberdogz]

Had similar problems...sent mine back twice to Ruger....pretty good turn around time (ten days both times)...they got it right the second time! Works great now!

[@xenomorphelv4265]

What was the issue ?

[@KB-kl1dm]

What did they do to fix your problem? Mine doing the same. TIA

[@the.original.throwback]

Thanks! I've got two SFARs which have been trouble free, a 16" and a 20". I will be very interested in what you find out.

[@LRRPFco52]

What are your round counts?

[@the.original.throwback]

@@LRRPFco52 200+ on the 16", 100+ on the 20". Mix of 7.62 NATO and .308. Not a lot of rounds but performing just fine so far. Mostly plan to use them for hunting.

[@keithwray9942]

Had exact same issue. Sent upper back to Ruger. They replaced the bolt and it’s been 100% since.

[@Arkancide]

I had this happen with my PSA16. Almost exact same issues, except mine actually had a more catastrophic failure after several more issues. Bolt was ruined. Turned out it was a bad batch of primers from the local ammo factory. Wouldn't think Hornady would have something like that happen, but who knows? After having my bolt replaced(by the company along with a refund, very good of them) my rifle has performed flawlessly with every other type of ammunition since. Remington, Federal, etc.

[@markdeseno3749]

It may be garbage Hornady ammo.. I saw the same thing happen with Hornady Superformance .308 a couple years ago when we had a Styer rep come out to demo a rifle. Crazy malfunctions case rims ripped off, and blown primers (I kept the boxes and brass - may still have them somewhere) . Contacted Hornady and they said they had "never heard or seen anything like it - were "completely" unaware of the problem. Multiple boxes from multiple lots... ammo the rep brought, some ammo I brought, and others. Had a similar issue with Hornady .357 pistol ammo... blowing primers and locking up revolvers. To this day I do not use Hornady for anything 'serious' in my guns... heck I don't even consider buying it anymore. FWIW, I've been shooting, instructing, carrying professionally for 30 years. I've never had that experience with Winchester or Federal (GMM), except for a bad batch/lot of XM193 causing bad bolt overrides about 15 years ago. YMMV

[@sonnygunz9207]

The only issue I’ve had with mine is with ammo it doesn’t like, for example Freedom Munitions (several different loads) and SalTech. I put a few of the SalTech 147gr through the chrono and averaged 2,757fps. That was 80~ faster than the American Eagle I usually shoot. It runs m80a1 just fine which is spicy. It shoots all American and PPU (& one box of Wolf on camera) just fine on setting 2.

[@TheBeardedWretch]

I’m hopeful it was just a bad box. Iv shot probably 200-300 rounds of the A-Max and it usually works great. Mine also hated Freedom ammo.

[@11shockman]

I passed on Saltech at a good price based on your experience… LOL 😆 Thanks for saving me $$$

[@Juanito95]

I had the exact issue with saltech ammo, put 220 rnds of it thru mine and 50 of those where stuck in chamber with ripped brass, lubed the hell out of it and only a few before malfunction, so I took a spent case, covered it in black sharpie and rotated it in the chamber, the rear of cartridge had no sharpie left and som slight runoff near the bottle neck, polished it with flitz and swapped out the gas block to a aero precision, hoping it doesn't give me issues on next run

[@gchild00]

Yep..my SFAR doesn't like Saltech as well. Stuck casing but if I lightly lube the casings the gun runs flawlessly.

[@Sjordan8922]

Definitely ammo if you’ve shot that many rounds without issue. Especially if you shot the same kind but a different lot moments prior. If you’re piercing primers, debris most likely got in your BCG cam slot and bound up.

[@foxf6]

wanna buy mine?

[@dabears52501]

Is the gas key on top of carrier still torqued tight????? Ive seen some guys have them come loose.

[@guardianminifarm8005]

This isn't encouraging. If there weren't a # of other reported issues from reputable and reliable folk, I would consider the ammo first. But sadly Ruger has some issues to address. I am beginning to rethink my decision of buying my SFAR. I am a decades long Ruger buyer, shooter and hunter. I still have a good # of Ruger firearms. My hope is that they will prioritize this problem. Thank you sir. Sorry for the problems. But we are very grateful you weren't injured.

[@TheBeardedWretch]

It’s been a great rifle so far. I’m at 2k rounds and have had no issues until today. I’m going to keep shooting it until it dies. I have other lots of ammo so I’ll do more testing.

[@jakethemistake19]

@@TheBeardedWretch I got through maybe 300 before my gas regulator started to have weird ejection patterns, and noticed it was harder to adjust. Fail to feed was common and my groups were garbagio. Couldn’t remove the regulator for the life of me and decided to send it in. Other issue was the milling of the receiver for the charging handle. I couldn’t use a 3rd party one at all and I tried 3 of them. The cut was too shallow and my CH would reciprocate more often than not. Still waiting for it to come back but if I have continued gas issues I’m swapping the gas block entirely

[@dabears52501]

​@jakethemistake19 my regulator was very difficult to remove but I got it. 70 rounds on setting 2 now & flawless!! 🤞🤞 Federal Gold Medal Match 168gr.

[@allstarsalmeida]

I was about to purchase this rifle, just going with AK now.

[@dabears52501]

@allstarsalmeida AK more reliable. Doesn't have the power of .308. Find a 7.62x51mm AK. That would be the best solution. Although after I replaced my gas regulator on my SFAR it's running flawless now. Such a pleasure to shoot. Plenty of options out there for 7.62x51mm AK's. I'm thinking of getting a large caliber AK. I already have one in the Russian version of God's caliber 7.62x39.

[@ChristianGrest]

I'm not familiar with how the adjustable gas system works on the SFAR, but I wonder if it's something that let loose with the gas block causing full gas coming out? I can't imagine the chamber tightened up causing higher pressures. I bet the gas system(gas block) has an issue...that's my guess. As much as I love adjustable gas systems, they can be an achilles heel for any rifle. I'll be curious what Ruger finds, but I bet they replace the barrel and gas block...maybe the bolt as well.

[@kathleendossett3819]

Thank you for posting this! I thought it was me messing up! Help!

[@nickel8664]

Mine ripped off the rims of many cases too. Sent it in and got a new BCG and barrel.

[@dondobbs7722]

1st issue: My gas key came loose, causing FTF. I had to remove, clean and restake gas key. 2nd issue: Mine was blowing primers as well and found my firing pin chipped at the point. Rugar was good about sending new gas key and firing pin. I could not find why my firing pin chipped. Shot 20 rounds and casing looks normal, no scaring. Ruger should provide us free ammo for ironing out their bugs.

[@AllThingsLoud_]

My 20” sfar destroyed the primer like this on a federal smk. What happened was the weapon was pointed down range, I dropped the bolt and it shot as the bolt hit. I was resistant to accept that it slam fired but after it happened I looked down and see my fingers outside trigger guard and the gun still on safe. I inspected the casing and noticed the primer got hit hard as hell so I sent it back to Ruger. They replaced the barrel and firing pin so I assume it was a headspace issue with mine. Took about 2 weeks to get it back. It isn’t the ammo because I’ve seen the primers get absolutely destroyed by this gun and every time it’s always a different ammunition. Send the gun back. Edit: They’re gonna replaced your gas block as well

[@MattiSchroderus]

I wonder if the dents on the lugs might sometimes cause the bolt to not close completely and "slip off" when fired? You could try it with a fired case. Mark the used primer with a sharpie, hold the the bolt very slightly back from being in battery and dry fire the gun. See if the firing pin hit the primer. If the firing pin end that gets hammered is too proud / doesn't get shielded by the bolt carrier when not in battery, I could see this issue presenting itself when using longer bullets. Maybe also chamber one of those hornady rounds completely using the forward assist, eject it and compare the length with an unchambered round to see if the bullets are getting slightly pushed into the case.

[@MattiSchroderus]

You could also sharpie the bolt, rack it a couple times and check where the lugs are making contact / if the lugs are fully engaged even with an empty chamber.

[@taylormartin4346]

Damn, glad you were at least able to get the action open. I've seen enough issues online from people complaining about the gas system that I decided to avoid the SFAR. I wonder if your gas port was somehow misaligned or damaged that even though it says you were on 2, perhaps it was more open than it seemed? (Internet diagnosing is the best isn't it?)

[@TheBeardedWretch]

It’s just strange I’m at 2k rounds and have had no issues until now. Yeah I’ll keep shooting it till it dies.

[@masonjohns208]

​@@TheBeardedWretchif there are no physically broken parts and it only has problems with one batch of ammo, what the hell do you think is going on? It's obviously a bad batch of ammo. Hopefully you use this as a learning lesson. If you're having sudden malfunctions out of a reliable firearm check your brass immediately and stop shooting at the first signs of excessive pressure

[@brucewilliams1458]

Wonder if you had a piece of brass off that casing stuck

[@jonadam1552]

Why was the charging handle stuck like that ?

[@dodgeboy90501]

I will have to check my ammo, as I only use Hornaday 168gr or better. I just started using 7.62.x51 recently and haven't had problems at all. Love the gun myself even with the couple of hiccups I have had with it.

[@TheEarthIsAwesome]

I’ve had this same exact issue with some Swiss surplus .308. All other round run great though…

[@WarhammerWeekEndTimes]

Check and make sure your star chamber is okay. I've seen some other videos where they have cracked. I've haven't had that issue yet with mine but mine does seem over gassed at setting 2. I have not had the tear up on the rounds but I also haven't been checking my brass as often. Hopefully it is just the hornady rounds that are causing the issues, have you run it with more of the older ammo that did feed well or have you just been sending the hornady rounds through?

[@coltonowens2742]

That one YSF fastener on the bcg gas key, the most important part of the rifle, just kills me.

[@pcpolice7937]

Yeah - What is the deal with those fasteners? Why the bad reputation? Are they prone to breakage?

[@triggerbarPhD]

I’ve had all of these issues. Have you checked the alignment of your gas port? I ended up switching to an aero gas block but there is definitely something wrong here. I documented a lot of my struggles on my channel. Sorry you are having these issues but it feels all to familiar.

[@TheBeardedWretch]

I contacted Ruger. I sent them all of my info about it and pictures. They said they will take it back and fix any issues I’m having. I will do an update video once I hear back from them.

[@triggerbarPhD]

@@TheBeardedWretch mine also went back to them and after that I decided to do the gas block change. They had to replace my bcg and “fix my gas regulator “. Good luck!

[@jakethemistake19]

@@triggerbarPhD I’m in CA and had to send it to Ruger via my FFL causing significant delays in repair time. I’m 1 month and a week of waiting. Did Ruger do ‘anything’? I’m probably going to swap gas blocks as well at this point. I also have issues with swapping charging handles. It reciprocates with any 3rd party CH I have. Assuming it’s a milling issue that I hope they fix

[@triggerbarPhD]

@@jakethemistake19 oh dang, that sucks. I got mine door to door in about a week back from them. I know they gave me a new bcg- could tell it was new. Not sure what they did to my regulator. They had previously sent me a gen 2 regulator and I installed that and they claimed when I sent it in that they “fixed it”. No idea. Hope they get you sorted out! If not a new gas block worked me. Good luck!

[@jakethemistake19]

@@triggerbarPhD Appreciate it man, I'll give updates when I can. Called Ruger and my FFL hasn't sent it yet... it has to go from CA to AZ, then BACK to CA before sending to Ruger. Sooo it'll be the only time I send this via Turners ever again. If anything I want Ruger to release a CA model so I can go straight to them for a RMA

[@FilmThePoliceFTP]

How manynrounds through it? Keep us posted please.

[@TheBeardedWretch]

1800-2000 around that. I will be doing an update video once I hear back from Ruger

[@markf3416]

I’d break down some of those rounds and look at the powder charge. Or look at oal. You may have some hot ammo that’s where I would lean. You may reach out to Hornady and see what kind of charge it should have. Even if the bolt didn’t rotate and unlock it would still be just like firing a bolt gun. I wouldn’t have run through a whole box of ammo after seeing popped primers 😮

[@ryankobilansky2500]

I concur, those are some crazy pressure signs. 2 or 3 rounds like that would have shut me down for sure. I appreciate you putting your face on the line to put this out but Ruger is supposed to do their own T&E to vet the product before bringing it to market. If it runs normally with different ammo, likely a bad lot. I would be concerned about bolt lugs chipping on the corners as well, don't look good.

[@paytonholmes7618]

I literally just had an issue with it stripping brass on some freedom 7.62 this weekend

[@TheBeardedWretch]

Iv had issues with freedom as well but never on Hornady.

[@rik4369]

Finally open my SFAR up and inspected it and cleaned it. I may have gotten a Friday between 3 -5 pm assembled one lol. I haven't owned a AR style weapons since the late 1980's. Used them alot in the Corps though. Only thing I noticed was the Firing Pin Retainer Pin was to spread open and wouldn't go back in. I tried to press it together but no go. My local Gun Shop saved me. Ruger Customer Services failed its first test. I called the number in the Manuel and it wouldn't allow me to select the category I needed " Rifle". I tried the others and no go. Strike one Ruger. Everything else was good . I did notice my bolt is tight. My Gunsmith said it may need some extra lube. Any expirence a tight bolt? Other than that, everything was tight and my Gas Regulator looks good. Not sure how to tell if I have a newer GR. I bought the rifle last Friday. Anyone know how to tell if it is one of the newer GR? I am putting a bipod on and may mount a scope this evening. Can't wait tonfive her a test. I am still hoping it is one of the Monday morning assembled ones , by the number #1 assembler lol. Picked up hunting ammo and cheaper stuff, just to test it. Still a little torn about which sighting system to go with. I picked up a scope , have a Sig Romeo 7's. Seems like there may not be enough rail space for back up sights. Yes, I still love my Irons. I may change the hand rails and am considering one of those Side Charger Charging Handles. Never knew they were available for the AR. I am using the weapon for hunting mainly, so that maybe overkill and more weight. Thanks for the comments from all here and sharing your SFAR journeys, really helped me. Semper Fi. PS: Ruger, fix your Customer Service line. Don't Look Good.

[@gchild00]

I've had the exact issues happen to mine but more consistently with Saltech Ammo. It happened occasionally with other ammo. I tried various gas settings then I finally decided to send it back to Ruger. Ruger changed the bolt and gave me a different gas adjustment regulator (it looks exactly the same as the old one). Saltech ammo still behaves the same UNLESS I lightly oil the casing. Also I upgraded to an H3 buffer and got a Tubbs 308 flat buffer spring. No problems ever since. I also only shoot suppressed if that matters to anyone. The gun is really starting to grow on me now.

[@rik4369]

@@gchild00 Which one of the Tubbs buffers did you get. I went to the sight but they had too many choice for me lol.

[@gchild00]

@@rik4369 sorry for the late response...this is the exact one that I got "Tubb Precision AR-10 Flatwire Buffer Spring (Fits both Carbine and Standard length stocks)"

[@donvann]

One more thing. Try cleaning your chamber with the chamber brush on a drill and really get it clean.

[@calvinhenderson4200]

What about headspace?

[@cesargonzalezbueno3359]

Couldn't it be that you got a defective one? I've seen others reviews and according to them it is a good investment.

[@firearmsassembly5490]

Let us know what Ruger tells you I have the same problem with mine.

[@dannymeyers5240]

Is this an ammo issue?

[@charlesfields7908]

Theres been a change in primers. U.s companies been swapping ammunition materials with Europe. Its possible those arent u.s primers. Europe doesnt make the best rifle ammo.

[@Thebeardedanalyst]

Mine did the exact same thing!!!

[@Thebeardedanalyst]

THE CHAMBER OF THE BARREL WAS CLEANED AND HONED. ITEMS REVISED: GAS REGULATOR AFTER REPAIR. FIREARM WAS FUNCTION FIRED 20 ROUNDS WITHOUT MALFUNCTION. DEAR RUGER CUSTOMER: PLEASE ACCEPT THIS COMPLEMENTARY RUGER CLEANING CLOTH AS OUR WAY OF SAYING THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF RUGER FIREARMS. WITH WARM REGARDS. RUGER CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT

[@greenhousegrower3830]

Here's why I am hesitant to buy any form of Ruger, aruound 2003ish in upstate NY a man that was a member of the riffle range I would shoot at, bought a brand new 7mm mag. His first round in the chamber, blew up in his face. Ruger paid his medical expenses, replaced his gun and gave him $2million$ not to sue. And please note your the third KZbin video ive seen showing this issue.

[@88magnum]

My SFAR is crap too !

[@davidhansen4435]

DPMS 308 never a malfunction.

[@masonjohns208]

Heavy recoil all of the sudden and only problematic with one brand of ammo...... Sounds like there was nothing wrong with the gun. You ignored the warning signs of overpressured ammo and could have potential damaged the rifle. It's %100000 an ammo problem, get your barrel checked with a bore scope to make sure the barrel is ok before firing again

[@cybaggs]

BCG looks very dry

[@boswellbb]

Those bolt lugs are DRY AF. Lube your weapon.

[@donvann]

Cases show signs of excessive pressure.

[@jeremywhittington7605]

It looks like an ammo issue, but that’s my opinion!

[@travisweldmaster7815]

Aaaaahh aaahh stop beating it with a hammer lol. Just mortar it

[@toddparsons2980]

Seems like everyone is having issues with these.

[@ACOGguy]

I’d check your gas block. I bet the regulator failed and started over gassing it.

[@davidmcclendon583]

I was cringing watching you hammer the charging handle. Mortaring works so much better on an AR platform. Change ammo and i think issue will go away. IMO

[@beck4218]

Sucks. Gen2 will be awesome.

[@TheBeardedWretch]

This one has been great until today. Hopefully it was the ammo but we will see.

[@cliffkirby8570]

As much as I like Ruger..... Anything 308 in above and lightweight just doesn't sound like a good combination to me.

[@unkulwilly]

i agree. trying to understand the want for a lightweight rifle with more recoil.

[@fredmyers485]

Yeah, I have the exact same concerns. The recoil impulse from a .308 is what it is and I am curious as to what that does to a rifle with less mass to absorb it. I think I’ll pass on this rifle…

[@KevinBrown-r7d]

Wow, don't keep shooting the same ammo when you get one or two stuck cases or blown primers. STOP, CEASE FIRE.

[@masonjohns208]

Step one to painless ar ownership: understand how the system operates Step two: use you what you learned to diagnose your problems and correct them

[@brucewilliams1458]

One of the best guns on the market s f a ruger hell yeah

[@Off-target-xy6bx]

I’d contact ruger. Send them gun and ammunition they are pretty good about fixing problems from what I hear.

[@TheBeardedWretch]

Contacted them today. Hopefully will get it fixed soon.