Whats the proper way to remove and then install new gas rings on a bolt??
Anything I need to watch out for ??
Using a knife blade (a dull one) or a very small screwdriver start one edge of the rearmost ring off of the bolt and slide it around until it’s off. Then the next and and the one after that. Install new ones exactly the opposite one, then the other ect. I replace rings when I can stand the BCG on end (bolt against the table) and the carrier will collapse under it’s own weight.
How many rounds does that normally take?
Depends on the gun and whether or not I shoot it suppressed. My 10" gun which I fire a lot suppressed goes through gas rings every 1K rounds. My 3gun rifle rings last about 4-5K rounds or so, even with them heavily worn it still works.
I notice a LOT of debate over the McFarland, I don’t want to start another one, I just want your opinion on it. Is it going to hurt reliability to install one, or should I avoid them? I hear you pretty much never have to replace them.
McFarland one piece ring is great if your rifle will function with it in place.
They are designed to last for the service life of the bolt and the ones I have been using appear to do just that, put one on and forget it until the bolt fails.
The problem is not all my bolt/carrier/rifle combinations will work reliably with the McFarland ring.
On some guns I have had to remove it and go back to regular gas rings.
On the plus side the gas ring is cheap enough you can buy one and try it out.
Just don’t stab yourself with anything when you are prying the rings out. Don’t ask me how I know. 
Thanks:D Will keep the med kit close by just in case
No debate here…McFarland rocks!
I have had one in my LMT MRP bolt for 4800 rounds and it is still working fine, one in my back up bolt with 2,000 rounds on it, same thing, and it does not fail under the “Standing the BCG on end” test. I had one in a Bushy upper as well for 2,000 rounds with no problems.
It is the quintessential KISS part. I’ll never use anything else unless I run into an upper that doesn’t like them. I wish all after market parts wee this reliable.
For the cost of one McFarland…you should try it. As always, keep this or your 3 rings well lubricated.
Tack
If you keep your guns dirty, they rarely fail the stand-on-end test. 
Wise Guy! 
What is BCG?
bolt carrier group
Ya know… gas rings are something I never really got to wrapped around the axle over… I’ve always found the OEM rings to work fine and if I think I’m having a problem… I change them… I got 12K out of a set of rings with no problems… hell… the Bolt failed before the rings did… so I got a new bolt with new rings on it…
Considering that an AR will cycle with just one gas ring (Don’t believe me? Ever notice your rings all aligned??)… I agree there’s nothing wrong with OEM’s. We were blessed with the genius design of the AR-15. Most of the after market goodies for it are just that, goodies, and offer little significant value except to the guy supporting a family selling those goodies.
So Harv is saying that his bolt failed prematurely so that is reason enough not to try a McFarland gas ring??,
That’s not how I read Harv’s reply. But I’m not sure what he defined “Bolt Failed” as. Cracking, broken lug, worn lugs, etc.?
Crane released the 2006 Small Arms Symposium .pdf file, and one of the areas of discussion was Bolt Failure.
It basically said that a weapon undergoing “Harsh Fire Schedules” would see Bolt Failure between 3,000 and 6,000 rounds. A weapon undergoing a “Milder” fire schedule should see a Bolt Fail between 6,000 and 10,000 rounds. These would all be on carbine length gas systems that are much harder on the weapon than a mid length gas system.
My point…I don’t think a Bolt Failure at 12,000 rounds could be classified as “Premature”.
There is no way that I can see that a MacFarland ring could cause a Bolt Failure of any kind.