Gunsmithing Remington 700 won’t extract

[SanPatHogger]

Remington extractors work well when clean but they're also a one-shot deal. Meaning, they should never be reused after being removed from the bolt face. It's a hardened spring and removing them always tweaks them out of shape. Yes, there are folks that have straightened them and reinstalled successfully but that's a shortcut that may or may not pose problems in the future. Replacing with a new part guarantees reliability . . . as long as its installed correctly.

It appears that your coater masked off the bolt prior to blasting/coating so it's unlikely that he removed the extractor. The buildup of debris seemed to be the culprit which highlights the importance of bolt maintenance.

I agree with this 100%. I had the exact same problem. I was able to remove and adjust the extractor and fix it a little, but it is a one shot deal. Tried to adjust it a little more and broke it. Ordered a new one from Brownells and its now works perfectly every time.

 

[LRI]

Remington extractors work well when clean but they're also a one-shot deal. Meaning, they should never be reused after being removed from the bolt face. It's a hardened spring and removing them always tweaks them out of shape. Yes, there are folks that have straightened them and reinstalled successfully but that's a shortcut that may or may not pose problems in the future. Replacing with a new part guarantees reliability . . . as long as its installed correctly.

It appears that your coater masked off the bolt prior to blasting/coating so it's unlikely that he removed the extractor. The buildup of debris seemed to be the culprit which highlights the importance of bolt maintenance.

We can agree to disagree here.

A spring by it's very nature is meant to deflect, apply a load, do some work, and magically return to its parent shape once the work is completed.

Engines, suspensions, etc... do this day in and day out for millions of cycles.

There is not one reason it should not happen here. I have installed literally thousands of OEM 390 and 480 bolt face extractors without issue. Both new and the one that came out of the bolt face.

Provided one isn't being a total gorilla during the process, there is absolutely no reason to expect anything other than reliable service.

Provided you dont distort the "shoes" on the extractor's outer leaf springs there is not a single reason not to reuse it.

If this was a real problem I would have thousands of bolts being sent back to my shop. It would of probably put me out of business. That's how many we've worked on.

 

[woodsy]

We can agree to disagree here.

A spring by it's very nature is meant to deflect, apply a load, do some work, and magically return to its parent shape once the work is completed.

Engines, suspensions, etc... do this day in and day out for millions of cycles.

There is not one reason it should not happen here. I have installed literally thousands of OEM 390 and 480 bolt face extractors without issue. Both new and the one that came out of the bolt face.

Provided one isn't being a total gorilla during the process, there is absolutely no reason to expect anything other than reliable service.

Provided you dont distort the "shoes" on the extractor's outer leaf springs there is not a single reason not to reuse it.

If this was a real problem I would have thousands of bolts being sent back to my shop. It would of probably put me out of business. That's how many we've worked on.

That's fair but all springs have their limit. Stress them beyond that limit and the material yields.

Removing a Remington extractor without damage is certainly possible. I've done it myself. When doing so, however, the material is close to its elastic limit so one needs to be careful with this. As noted, "being a total gorilla" will push the material past its elastic limit and make it worthless. Small face bolts can be a tad more challenging than standard.

I typically employ the "grip and rip" gorilla method but I'm luckier than most - I don't have to pay for em. Also, my agency doesn't want to risk reliability so they demand that I follow the guidelines set by Remington.