700 Extractor Upgrade????

H

Harpy

New member
After having shot 700's for 30 years now and laughing at all the aftermarket "improved" extractors {because I have never even heard of someone else having trouble}, I'll be damned if I did'nt have one break this weekend. Anyone have experience with which one is the best??? Years ago one of the McMillan Bros told me that they install AR-15 extractors on the 700, anyone done this ???? The main replacement type seems to be the Sako style and I have heard of Savage types being used as well. I would think the military would be the first to change this part out if it was troublesome but they do not. I have never broken a triggerguard either but the first thing the Army and Marines do is put on a steel one. I understand the extractor is not a drop in part but I have a Bridgeport vertical mill. Any info would be greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance!
 
In nearly forty years with the 700, I have never had a "broken" extractor. I have had extractors rotate around the bolt face where they wouldn't pickup the case. The fix is rotate it back in place. They usually get rotated during normal cleaning. This "rotation" problem will make you "think" you have a broken extractor.
 
Thank you Ironmike but when its in three pieces I had to conclude we were way beyond a mere "rotation" problem. This is a good point though as I have noticed that the part that protrudes and does the actual extracting is very close to the locking lug. This seems to make it impossible to use an AR-15 extractor as wide as it is.
 
If your origional extractor for 30 years why change? When I rebarreled and rechambered two of my good ol' Rmington 700's I had one stop extracting the new 22-250AI brass that I was fireforming. Everything looked okay but a new extractor was snapped in and WHOW what a difference it made! I got another one for my 223 AI and snapped it right in also. These things were cheap and easy to install, carefully dig the old one out and snap in the new one.

That is unless you have one of the older rifles that have a rivet holding the extractor in. Don't have a clue how to do this little job.

I asked my gunsmith about doing a Saco Extractor. He was very nervous about doing it because of the possibility of weakening the bolt face. I think he was just being careful though.

Edit for the "B" in rebarrel
 
Original extractor for 30 years, why change now??? is exactly my point. I am not trying to sell upgrade extractors, I just want some info from a different point of view!!! Again, if the Army and Marines dont do it in their rifles where somebodys life{or death} is at stake why in the hell should we just to shoot a ferocious fox or viscious ground squirrel?? I will base my repair/upgrade on the pros and cons I hear from experiences of the guys that have "been there done that"
 
I have rifles with both original and Sako extractors in them. Have not had a problem with either or can see one is better than the other. If they break, they just break! My Sniper rifle does not have the Sako. My opinion would be just replace it with what was there in the first place.

The reason for replacing the trigger guard with a steel one, is they prefer steel on steel when they torque the action in. Feel it improves accuracy. My Sniper rifle has a Badger Ord, trigger guard assembly of steel recommended by my gunsmith. Don't know how much it helps, but this rifle really shoots well.
 
I have never had any trouble with Remington extractors, either the riveted ones or the snap in type. However I never reinstall a snap in type. Once removed, for any reason, in the trash it goes. This because it is almost impossible to remove one without bending it and once bent, even a little, it will not be reliable.

Installing a Sako extractor, to cure a non-problem, is fairly popular. You have to know what you are doing as it is not easy to get right. There have been many Remington bolts ruined by people installing Sako extractors. A new Remington bolt used to be a $60 item but in recent years they have become expensive and hard to find.

Jack
 
I've seen quite a few Sako extractors installed on Remington bolts. Most of them, were for rifles being chambered in 6PPC. The Lapua .220 Russian cases have a kind of a semi-balloon head with a thin web. So, by installing a Sako extractor, you can reduce the bolt counterbore to .125, and get the case web into the chamber, where it really ought to be, for safety sake. Also, gives a little bit longer "blade" to grab the odd size PPC rims (I've seen plenty of unaltered .473 700 bolts that extract PPC cases just fine though).

It's also a good way to go if you have to open up a 700 bolt face.

- DAA
 
DAA, Which bolt do you use to make a PPC??? Sounds like you use the small one open the face and cut the bolt rim back 1/8". Never done it but may soon chamber one in 6mmPPC.
 
Harpy:

Gre'-Tan Rifles at www.gtrtooling.com does an excellent job of installing a sako extractor on a Remington bolt. Greg Tannel does excellent work.

I realize you said you have the tools to do it, but you need to look at his work - it is top notch! - and a trip through his web site is an excellent education on precision rifles. - BCB

http://www.gtrtooling.com
 


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