Extractor cut

[Bill Suter]

I have an older Vixen that has been rebarreled. The extractor works about 50/50% of the time. Marlin92 sold me an extractor and after installing it, my bolt won't close. The old extractor looks like it has had some serious grinding done. My smith said we could grind the new one but I ask to hold off until I talked to you folks. He also said it looked like it needed an extractor cut but wasn't positive sure but can do it if needed. I read another post talking about the same issue and sounded like that is the solution. It is the older long extractor and does stick up past the face of the bolt. Does it need the cut?

Thanks

 

[paulsonconstruction]

Whoever rebarreled your rifle did it improperly by not machining a relief cut for the extractor on the barrel face. Then he compounded the error by "grinding" the extractor. Is your current smith the one who rebarreled it? Don't let him screw up your replacement extractor by "grinding" it as well, cause they don't grow on trees! Find a gunsmith with the proper tools & expertise to mill the extractor cut. The barrel must be removed to accomplish this, but if it is indexed before being removed no headspace change will occur. IIRC, about .030" is all that is needed, but that can vary rifle to rifle. Good luck!

 

[Bill Suter]

My smith is the one trying to fix the problem. He had nothing to do with the new barrel install. But he said he could fix it. He just wanted me to find out For Sure if it needed the cut. He cut the extractor groove a little deeper on the old one and it does work better but we left the new one alone so when he does the repair it will all be correct. I do know the smith that did the barrel and have seen more bad jobs come out of his shop than good. He does do pretty good work when he's sober but that isn't very often. He will never see one of my rifles ever again. Matter of fact, I've heard he isn't smithing any more.

 

[Spaher]

Sober? Lack of is a moron issue.

Sobriety & handling of guns is a mandatory safety & courtesy matter in my book.

 

[Bill Suter]

Actually kind of sad. The guy went to gunsmith school courtesy of his father. Then the father set him up a shop and he was actually building some winning F-class rifles and really nice varmint rigs. He built me one rifle and I must say it was nice and accurate, but he just couldn't leave the booze alone. Everything went downhill from there.

 

[kevinlg]

Is this an L46 or L461 action?

The L461 action does NOT require a relief cut on the barrel face.

Pictures would help.

 

[paulsonconstruction]

Is this an L46 or L461 action?

The L461 action does NOT require a relief cut on the barrel face.

Pictures would help.

The only reason a barrel wouldn't need an extractor cut is that the barrel is not set back far enough to require it. This exposes a tiny bit more of the case web to being unsupported by the chamber, but most newer rifles don't have the cut because it is considered non-essential. The OP's replacement barrel has already been set back far enough that it now requires it whether it is a L46 or a L461. The relationship between the barrel face & protruding extractor is what dictates the need for the relief cut, not what action it is. I am not sure when Sako started setting their barrel out farther & dropped the extractor cut, but my AI does not have the relief cut. Most smiths will set headspace with the extractor & ejector (if a spring plunger type) removed. That's probably what the first smith did. Then when he put the parts back on the bolt face the extractor was hitting the barrel, so he took the easy way out & just ground the extractor tip down to clear. As the rifle wouldn't extract reliably I should have said "almost clear".

 

[Bill Suter]

All I can tell you "For Sure", is with the extractor that's been ground, it is not reliable.. You better have a cleaning rod to bump the fired hull or your trip is over. And it might be the first round fired or may not give you a problem that day. You never know. Another "For Sure", is when the new extractor is in the bolt, the bolt will not close. Its aggravating and needs to be fixed correctly. I talked to my smith today and he said he can fix it.

 

[kevinlg]

Over the years I've acquired over three dozen L461 actioned rifles......and none, whether factory or custom, have an extractor relief cut into the barrel breach face.

Since many L46 actioned rifles were chambered for rimmed cartridges.....of course there would be an extractor relief cut in the barrel. Perhaps it was standard for all L46 chamberings.

For the life of me, I can't imagine why a "gunsmith" would not take into account any extractor protrusion(which is physically allowed, due to the shallow boltface counterbore of the L461)..........or, at the very least, compare the barrel's threaded stub lengths.

 

[Bill Suter]

A friend (?) of mine had the rifle built. No idea what it was in its original form. I did some trading and ended up with the rifle. I admit, the trade was my idea as I really like the rifle, but didn't know the extractor was messed up. I have no earthly idea why the smith that built it did it this way other than it was the easy way out. My smith is going to get things right as soon as muzzle loader season is over.