Broken Sako extractor in M700 - what do you think?

[284allways]

I have a rem 700 in 300 wby,the bolt was modified for a Sako type Extractor by a well known smith who has built several guns for me.
I dont shoot it much, 280 rounds since the extractor was installed. The load is over Nosler manual max 84.6 of 7828 with 180 gr Swift Scirocco for 3225 fps. No pressure signs at all, round primer, no shinny ejector spots an easy bolt lift and ejection (until today).
The range conditions were warm ..77 Deg F, ammo was in cool 70 deg F before shooting started.

I fired one round, ejected and extracted no issues.
I fired the second round after 7 min from first (not a hot chamber), and the bolt would only lift 70%, I lowered the bolts and had to wiggle it up and open.
The rounds were touching on paper.

1- no signs of pressure on case, primer was fine, no holes in brass, neck was a little sooty buy normal.
2- case dimensions were all good, diameters and length all in spec/range

The very top of the extractor, only the claw part was missing. I could not locate it on the ground or in the action. The stub remaining is as clean as can be, only under a loop can you see its not a clean machined surface. FYI, I will double check the broken part is not in the action

The "web" says Sako extractors are dangerous and broken extractors are signs of excessive pressure.

Am I playing with fire or perhaps a bad heat treat ?

Any comments are appreciated !

 

[Thebear_78]

When they go bad they occasionally end up in the shooters face.

It’s one of the big reason I prefer the AR15 style extractor conversion. I would see if you can have your smith convert to ar15 style or possibly a new bolt is in order.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[nvbroncrider]

I personally believe you got a bad part. It happens. They claim the standard 300 WBY 180 load to be at 3250. You could be over book max depending on powder lot. Just a lot of variables there.

 

[preacher]

I've used many Mod 700s through the years( those converted from standard to magnum) that had the M16 extractor and never had an issue. I always kinda thought "Sako" was pretty high quality just because of my experience with a couple of their rifles. I think it gets down to the fact that anything "manmade" can fail at some point. I hope you get it all sorted out Pard, but I "can" recommend the M16 extractor.

 

[1100 Remington Man]

Never had a 700 extractor fail. What am I missing ?

 

[Guy Miner]

Never had a 700 extractor fail. What am I missing ?

It's known as a weak spot in the Rem 700 design.

Though, of all the thousands of rounds I've put through various Rem 700's, I only had one rifle that had an extractor problem.

That was a brand-new 700 in 300 Rem Ultra Mag. The extractor broke with fewer than six rounds fired. Popped in a new Rem extractor and all was well.

The 6mm, 25-06, 7mm mag, 30-06 & 300 mag Rem 700's I've used, had no problems whatsoever.

But, the extractor is frequently replaced with different units, such as the SAKO, or the AR-15 extractors. I'm no gunsmith, but I've been told that this is particularly important on the larger, magnum-sized cartridges.

Guy

 

[gbflyer]

The use of Sako extractors mostly came about in the days when it was impossible to get an aftermarket bolt and one wanted to go from a standard bolt face to magnum. This machining process requires the use of a Sako or M16 extractor.

Gale McMillan built the first M40 rifles for the Marine Corps. To paraphrase, when asked about the extractor, he suggested its replacement with a hook-style was a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. When pressed further about reliability of the factory system on a dangerous game rifle, he suggested that no game was more dangerous than that “hunted” with the M40. All that said, there’s thousands of the conversions out there with no problems at all.

I also think the OP just got a bad part. I believe an overpressure event causes the Sako extractor to leave the bolt entirely, sometimes the shooter is reported to get it in the face. I suppose he could also have an issue with counterbore diameter which may have caused a binding that sheared the hook. Who knows...best advice is to drop it off with someone who’s familiar with doing the mod.