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whats the life expectancy of the extractor?
- Thread starter mr bolo
- Start date
I've had a couple of them that failed almost out of the box. One was a .22LR "FTL Auto-Nine", which was just a total dud. The other one was an S&W 59 that failed about 60 rounds after I opened it The claw just disappeared. S&W fixed it and I soon sold it off, I just didn't trust it. My trust came back later on, and I have a police trade in 5906 now that I totally trust with my life.
Other than those two, I haven't replaced an extractor yet. I had to replace the spring in my old EAA Witness .45, which broke about 1000 rounds in.
Other than those two, I haven't replaced an extractor yet. I had to replace the spring in my old EAA Witness .45, which broke about 1000 rounds in.
sigarms228
New member
Well it depends on the pistol and design and quality of the extractor. Todd Green did endurance tests of the HK P30 and HK45. The test ended at 91,000 rounds for the P30 and the extractor was original. The test ended at 50,000 rounds for the HK45 and the extractor was original.
Classic P series SIGs also have shown that the extractor lasts tens of thousands of rounds also with recommended replacement interval of 20,000 rounds. The one exception was when SIG first made the P220 with the stainless steel slide it originally had internal extractor which could be problematic. SIG then changed it to external extractor.
In general on compact and full size pistols the extractor seems to be a very long life component.
Extractors can be damaged if a round is manually loaded in the chamber and then the slide released but I would consider that an abuse issue.
Classic P series SIGs also have shown that the extractor lasts tens of thousands of rounds also with recommended replacement interval of 20,000 rounds. The one exception was when SIG first made the P220 with the stainless steel slide it originally had internal extractor which could be problematic. SIG then changed it to external extractor.
In general on compact and full size pistols the extractor seems to be a very long life component.
Extractors can be damaged if a round is manually loaded in the chamber and then the slide released but I would consider that an abuse issue.
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I have only broken one....it was on my wilson combat full sized gun in 9mm....at about 8 yrs old and 175,000 rds....
Wilson insisted I retun gun to the factory in Arkansas...( they repaired it and i got gun back in about 10 calendar days...)....100% paid by Wilson.
Wilson rep told me they expect 250,000 rds out of their extractors.
Wilson insisted I retun gun to the factory in Arkansas...( they repaired it and i got gun back in about 10 calendar days...)....100% paid by Wilson.
Wilson rep told me they expect 250,000 rds out of their extractors.
FrankenMauser
New member
I've never had an extractor fail.
Even the 130,000+ round Buckmark is still running on the original extractor (and plunger and spring). ...As is the 'brother'/'sister' pistol that's at an estimated 87k rounds.
Even the 130,000+ round Buckmark is still running on the original extractor (and plunger and spring). ...As is the 'brother'/'sister' pistol that's at an estimated 87k rounds.
In guns that I have personally owned, I have shot Remington Rand WWll vintage 1911's as well as Colt, Ruger and Sigs and have broken one (1) extractor, and one (1) front sight on a Colt in 50+ years of shooting them. A conservative estimate would be in excess of 120,000 rounds. Pretty reliable in regards to parts failure problems.
The front sight on the Colt Combat Commander in .45 wasn't really a broken part as it had only come loose and needed to be re-staked. If you count my two sons, that number would be over 175,000 rounds in 1911's.
If you add in Sigs, Berettas & Glocks, add another 25,000 rounds to the above number.
HTH's, Rod
The front sight on the Colt Combat Commander in .45 wasn't really a broken part as it had only come loose and needed to be re-staked. If you count my two sons, that number would be over 175,000 rounds in 1911's.
If you add in Sigs, Berettas & Glocks, add another 25,000 rounds to the above number.
HTH's, Rod
I've replaced two chipped extractors on the German SIG X-5. I was a PD armorer and replaced a couple chipped Glock extractors. Replaced the sometimes problematic internal extractor on an officer's stainless slide SIG P220. The Stainless slide P220 SIG internal extractor is the same extractor used in the original German X-5s. Extractor design has now been changed in both pistols.
As already pointed out in posts above, there is no simply answer to this question. I replaced a badly chipped extractor on an ERMA Luger KPG68 and dramatically improved the pistols functioning. I have also replaced a number of worn extractors that I suspected were contributing to cycling performance problems (e.g. Browning Hi-Power). Was the worn extractor replacement absolutely the culprit? Perhaps, but I am not really positive. But, I at least ruled it out with replacement. I have a feeling many pistol parts get blamed and replaced when the actual issue was something else (i.e. mag spring, ammo type, etc). Regardless, as to when the extractor must be replaced is up for debate.
Bartholomew Roberts
Moderator
Broke an extractor on a Browning Hi-Power at around 37,000 rounds? I have a more detailed number in my shooting log. In this case, there were a number of factors at work. The barrel in question was the original factory barrel and had been left in a Texas garage during the summer for six-seven months unattended early in its life. It had some light surface rust when it was put back into action (the chamber may have been affected also). On top of that, the Hi-Power had been so reliable that I had taken to only boresnaking it, and even that only occasionally.
Between age, wear, and crud buildup, eventually cases started to get stickier. Didn’t notice the problem until the original extractor broke. Instead of breaking the replacement extractors kept slipping off the case rim occasionally until the whole barrel was given a vigorous cleaning (took a while to diagnose during which time I purchased multiple extractors and extractor springs trying to correct the problem).
A gunsmith had tuned the original extractor for reliability. Whatever he did worked because it kept on pulling cases out of the chamber with 100% reliability until the hook snapped off.
Between age, wear, and crud buildup, eventually cases started to get stickier. Didn’t notice the problem until the original extractor broke. Instead of breaking the replacement extractors kept slipping off the case rim occasionally until the whole barrel was given a vigorous cleaning (took a while to diagnose during which time I purchased multiple extractors and extractor springs trying to correct the problem).
A gunsmith had tuned the original extractor for reliability. Whatever he did worked because it kept on pulling cases out of the chamber with 100% reliability until the hook snapped off.
I had to replace the extractors on two G.I. pistols, a 1918 M1911 and a 1942 M1911A1; don't know the round counts, but the guns were about 85 and 60 years old, respectively.
The extractors were "worn out" rather than "broken".
A new 1911 extractor, that I'd bought from a respected source, lost its hook after a few hundred rounds.
The replacement has survived a few thousand rounds.
I've never had to replace a multi-piece, pivoting extractor, but I don't have tens of thousands of rounds on any extractors of that type.
The extractors were "worn out" rather than "broken".
A new 1911 extractor, that I'd bought from a respected source, lost its hook after a few hundred rounds.
The replacement has survived a few thousand rounds.
I've never had to replace a multi-piece, pivoting extractor, but I don't have tens of thousands of rounds on any extractors of that type.
Ignition Override
New member
Has anybody shot a few thousand rounds with Steel-cased ammo in a Sig P229 or M11 A1 or CZ PO1 (compact)? Steel-cased ammo has cheaper commercial steel than what is used in our high-quality handguns.
I'm 62 years old and used thousands of steel rounds in Mini 14, 30, SKS, AKs with no damage. This is one subject with which many people simply repeat anything they read/hear.
The topic here is Extractors. We're very familiar with the other possible issues (yawn...most people can Not differentiate between an issue with the case, vs. the bullet).
I'm 62 years old and used thousands of steel rounds in Mini 14, 30, SKS, AKs with no damage. This is one subject with which many people simply repeat anything they read/hear.
The topic here is Extractors. We're very familiar with the other possible issues (yawn...most people can Not differentiate between an issue with the case, vs. the bullet).
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Has anybody shot a few thousand rounds with Steel-cased ammo in a Sig P229 or M11 A1 or CZ PO1 (compact)? Steel-cased ammo has cheaper commercial steel than what is used in our high-quality handguns.
I'm 62 years old and used thousands of steel rounds in Mini 14, 30, SKS, AKs with no damage. This is one subject with which many people simply repeat anything they read/hear.
The topic here is Extractors. We're very familiar with the other possible issues (yawn...).
Depends. Nowadays there is a lot of MIM (metal injection molded) Extractors. They have a very thin hard case and the rest is relatively porous, soft and lacking grain structure. So I would imagine, as a mechanical engineer, I would have to modify my existing Preventative Maintenance schedule if I were to use steel cases ammo.
Why?
Obturation. The Cu-Nickel case expands and then returns, more or less to its original dimension. Steel won't do that and places more stress on your extractor.
I do use Apex Extractors in all of my Glocks. If I lived back in the Detroit Metro Area I'd have CNC tooled 4140 alloy Extractors in all of my pistols (as many machine shops would do it for a price).
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