Broken shell extractor?

[TimH]

Whats it for and do you really need one for your AR or AK?

 

[GLOCKT]

I've heard sometimes the extractor will rip the base of a shell clean from the case.Leaving you a case in the chamber.
The extractor will jam itself into the defunct case and solve the extraction problem you will have if this ever occurs to you.
I've never seen it happen,but anythings possible.

 

[Jeff White]

I've never seen it happen with either an AR/M16 or AK. Have seen it happen with an M60 machine gun. I don't think it's one of those can't live without items unless you are shooting a lot of belt fed stuff.

Jeff

 

[Drue]

For 5 bucks or so, get one. I have an AK-74 clone that was built by a jackleg that left it with excessive headspace. After about 120 rounds the burrs left where he had ground on the bolt head wore down and the headspace opened up and the extractor tore the head off of a case. I tried cleaning rods with brushes and wads of patches, Liquid Wrench and a large easy out but the case did not budge until the broken shell extractor arrived.

As long as the gun is in spec, you will probably never need one. But, if the chamber gets really dirty or gritty, or gets pitted, or you get a bad round you might need one. If you ever get a case, especially a steel one swaged into your chamber and the case head pulled off, you will need a broken shell extractor very badly. I have never needed one since the incident described above but I feel better having one.

Drue

 

[Jim K]

These are also called "headless case extractors" and are available from Brownells, Gun Parts Corp. and others. The .30 one for the U.S. .30-'06 will work with most other .30 caliber rounds, including the Russian 7.62x54R and 7.62x39. With the .30-'06, the extractor's rim is used for normal extraction. With the others, the extractor is engaged on the case mouth, then a cleaning rod is used to push the extractor and case out from the muzzle.

Case separation is the result of the case stretching beyond its limits, which in turn is almost always the result of excess headspace in the rifle/machinegun. Machineguns with screw-in barrels are particularly susceptible to being set up wrong, which is why the U.S. had so many .30 broken shell extractors in service. With the Model 1919's, they were needed.

Jim

 

[Abominable No-Man]

I have seen case heads get torn off before. M60's and M2's. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen. Never seen it happen with a rifle, but you know, it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

ANM