Gunsmithing Extractor isn’t grabbing live rounds. Help!

[Iamero]

Before I bring this rifle in to my buddy’s shop and bother him, I wanted to check here to see if it’s something I can fix at my house.

It’s a Tuebor action chambered in 338 LM. It will chamber a live round and extract spend rounds just fine, but if I want to extract an unspent round it doesn’t pull it out. It will close and chamber just fine but won’t pull out a live round. It isn’t a tight chamber because it extracts spent rounds just fine and the live round will just fall out if I tap the buttstock on the ground.

Any ideas why it’s clipping over the round? Ammo is sellior and Bellot 250gr that we were was using to break in the barrel.

 

[MrSmith]

I will guess your chamber headspace is long or your cartridge headspace is short. The extractor, and/or the ejector, is pushing the round into the chamber but without any resistance will not "clip" over the rim. Since the round isn't shot, therefore forcing the case to the rear and under the extractor, when you try to pull it out with the bolt the extractor isn't attached and the round remains in the chamber.

When you get time chamber a round. Then slowly insert a cleaning rod down through the muzzle until it just touches the bullet, then listen closely for a click as you put pressure on the bullet, indicating the extractor has "grabbed" the rim as the round is pushed to the rear. Then see if the bolt will withdraw the round.

If this is the problem more measurements are needed before the correct fix can be determined.

Thank you,
MrSmith

 

[Iamero]

I’ll give that a go. Going to load up a dud round and try it out.

 

[Praeger]

I will guess your chamber headspace is long or your cartridge headspace is short. The extractor, and/or the ejector, is pushing the round into the chamber but without any resistance will not "clip" over the rim. Since the round isn't shot, therefore forcing the case to the rear and under the extractor, when you try to pull it out with the bolt the extractor isn't attached and the round remains in the chamber.

When you get time chamber a round. Then slowly insert a cleaning rod down through the muzzle until it just touches the bullet, then listen closely for a click as you put pressure on the bullet, indicating the extractor has "grabbed" the rim as the round is pushed to the rear. Then see if the bolt will withdraw the round.

If this is the problem more measurements are needed before the correct fix can be determined.

Thank you,
MrSmith

I don't have any ideas myself, but if the unfired case wasn't behind the extractor I don't think the firing pin would be long enough to ignite the primer.

 

[Iamero]

Exactly, that’s the weird part. Fires flawlessly and ejects spent cartridges flawlessly. Just leaves unfired in the chamber.

 

[Praeger]

Are you jamming bullets into the lands? If so, maybe that's it. Extractor not strong enough to pull the jammed round out.

 

[Iamero]

Nah it’s just factory sellior and Bellot 250 SMK so it’s not loaded very long at all and if I bounce the rifle on the buttstock in falls out no problem.

 

[MrSmith]

If your dud round is assembled with one of your fired cases the brass will be fire formed to your chamber and will likely work fine. If my guess is actually the problem the "one size will fit all chambers" factory brass would be the culprit.

I was assuming there was no resistance when pulling back the bolt on the unfired round.

Thank you,
MrSmith

 

[buffybuster]

I'm not familiar with that action but if it isn't a headspace issue, I'd look at the counter bore clearance. Maybe it's a bit too tight and not allowing the extractor to snap over the rim.

 

[surgeon260]

Do you have a headspace comparator? Did you compare the headspace dimension of a virgin round and of a fired case?

 

[Iamero]

I do have one somewhere. I’ll grab some measurements this morning once I find it.

 

[Easy_E]

Couldn't he put scotch tape on the back of the round to check head space ? Stack them up till you get resistance ?

 

[hereinaz]

If it pulls fired rounds, which stick in a chamber more than a typical unfired round would, then I see the issue being that the extractor isn't grabbing the round.

Put the round under the extractor, then chamber. See what happens.

You could also measure the fired cases vs. unfired. Also, check for signs of case head separation if the headspace is long so that the round will chamber but not pick up the rim until fired.

Also, check specs on the unfired ammo, maybe it is short and your headspace is long. Could be both are at extremes of SAMMI specs or just outside of them creating the issue.

 

[hereinaz]

Couldn't he put scotch tape on the back of the round to check head space ? Stack them up till you get resistance ?

Checking actual headspace assumes that ammo is in SAMMI spec. It can certainly tell you if the ammo can be pushed in far enough that it won't catch the rim. That could be a chamber problem or an ammo problem.

Something definitely aint right, and that test would tell you ammo relative to that rifle.

 

[Easy_E]

Checking actual headspace assumes that ammo is in SAMMI spec. It can certainly tell you if the ammo can be pushed in far enough that it won't catch the rim. That could be a chamber problem or an ammo problem.

Something definitely aint right, and that test would tell you ammo relative to that rifle.

That's what I was thinking it would eliminate possibly one issue .