Anybody have a SAR3, how dependable would you rate it ?

Dependability really rest on how well the Century assembly of 922r parts holds up. Some hammers turned into butter in less than five hundred rounds and others just snapped in half.

The main issues with the SAR was the short stem bolt they used that was only unique to the SAR-3 and the hammer that had the face modified to over travel and hit the bolt head square. No spare bolts unless you find a trashed complete rifle to rape. A AK-74 bolt can be modified but takes some machine work.


I had a SAR-3 back in 2000 and shot maybe 3K rounds. Eventually sold it as other better .223 AK rifles came to market.

Quality really varied from rifle to rifle and you have to make a judgment call on a case by case basis as to what the dependability would be.

I have yet to have a problem with mine, but since I have gotten a case of the BRD I have not shot it in a year or so.

If the bolt is good, Red Star Arms has a FCG for the SAR-3 that solves the hammer problem. No first hand experience, but I have read that only Wieger mags work reliablely with the SAR-3.

Rule number one:  You MUST use Weiger mags ! ! ! !

Rule number two:  Install a Red Star hammer.

Rule number three:  Enjoy ! ! !

I've owned a SAR-3 for several years.  ALWAYS use Weiger mags.  Several THOUSAND trouble free rounds so far . . . .