Hello -
I've owned a Star BM 9mm that I purchased many years ago and I take it to the range once in a blue moon. It has always cycled flawlessly for me until a recent trip to the range where I seemed to be having extraction issues. Spent cartridges would either get caught in the slide sideways or they would be half way out of the chamber and the slide would jam.
I recognized this as an extractor issue so when I got home I field stripped the BM and decided to remove the pin that holds the extractor and extractor spring in place. I've always field stripped and cleaned the pistol after each range visit in the past but I was surprised to see that is was a black cruddy mess behind the extractor once I managed to take it off. It was an area I've never cleaned before.
I cleaned it up nicely in there and reassembled the pistol and plan to put 50 rounds through it on my next range visit.
I guess my question is, can a dirty extractor or a pool of gunk buildup behind the extractor cause extractor malfunctions or is it more likely that I am due for a new extractor and extractor spring on this pistol? Do all pistols eventually have significant crud build up behind the extractor? How often should they be removed and cleaned?
I've owned a Star BM 9mm that I purchased many years ago and I take it to the range once in a blue moon. It has always cycled flawlessly for me until a recent trip to the range where I seemed to be having extraction issues. Spent cartridges would either get caught in the slide sideways or they would be half way out of the chamber and the slide would jam.
I recognized this as an extractor issue so when I got home I field stripped the BM and decided to remove the pin that holds the extractor and extractor spring in place. I've always field stripped and cleaned the pistol after each range visit in the past but I was surprised to see that is was a black cruddy mess behind the extractor once I managed to take it off. It was an area I've never cleaned before.
I cleaned it up nicely in there and reassembled the pistol and plan to put 50 rounds through it on my next range visit.
I guess my question is, can a dirty extractor or a pool of gunk buildup behind the extractor cause extractor malfunctions or is it more likely that I am due for a new extractor and extractor spring on this pistol? Do all pistols eventually have significant crud build up behind the extractor? How often should they be removed and cleaned?