This could have been over the metal on the ratchet teeth being soft. I'm not sure if you can still buy these extractors new, but Numrich may have them, and if not, you may have to look at other dealers. H&R parts used to be easy to get, but since Remington bought them, and discontinued the revolvers, things wont get better.
If you cant find a new extractor, you might find someway of adding some metal back, via TIG, and reshaping the teeth. However, I would look for another gun in poor shape, with an extractor in it, to use first. Look on eBay for one.
Last, you might check the cylinder stop, to see if it drops out of the cylinder before it starts to turn. It could be worn, and could cause the pawl to push hard on the ratchet teeth.