Failure to extract

[Elijah Gunn]

I was shooting my WIN. 100 (.308) and got a failure to extract. I was using some mil. surplus ammo I bought back in 1998. CAVIM was the brand. A couple years ago I put 60 rounds of the stuff through it with no problems, but after about 25 rounds today I have this happen.
 The bolt is pretty much still in the closed position. I need some advice on how to best clear the rifle , or is this one best left to a gunsmith.
 Thanks in advance,  Mark

[John Traveler1]

First make SURE the magazine is removed, and that there is no live round in the chamber.  You can verify that there is no bulleted round in the chamber by measuring with a cleaning rod.  Compare it to an empty cartridge placed next to the chamber.

Clearing a failure to extract on semi-auto rifles is fairly simple.  Take a block of soft wood (a 2"x2" or 2"x4" is good) and rap it smartly against the charging handle.  Do this a couple of times until the charging handle retracts the bolt enough to extract the empty cartridge.  

If the rim of the cartridge is damaged, lock the bolt open, and use a cleaning rod from the muzzle to tap the case out.  If the case is still stuck, try dribbling some light oil (WD40, solvent, etc) into the chamber and let it soak in.  Extraction failures are usually caused by dirty or rough chambers, or soft brass, or both.  In your case, the surplus CAVIM ammunition may be the culprit.  Many users have reported problems using this surplus ammo.

HTH
John

[Elijah Gunn]

:grin: Success! I took my wood mallet,and with a couple of mild persuasive raps the bolt opened. Then some wd40 went down the bore,after which a couple more taps with the cleaning rod, and the case came out.
 I thought this was how to do it,but I dont like to beat and bang on stuff untill I get some info that its an ok thing to do. I was surprised at how easilly the case came out. I was thinking it was stuck pretty tight.
 Thank you VERY much.  
     Mark

[Graybeard]

Elijah Gunn, you have asked to receive an e-mail notice of new replies to this thread. BUT you have an invalid e-mail address on file.

I need you to either uncheck the watch topic option or get a valid e-mail address on file ASAP. Thanks.

[Goatwhiskers]

Another likely prob here is the chamber itself. I've been smithing for over 30 years and have found that people don't seem to take care of the chamber on semiautos.  It is very common to find a lite surface rust in the chamber which causes the case to stick momentarily.  I find this a lot in the Remingtons which are common in my area.  Usually the bolt rips a piece of brass off, less commonly rips a chunk out of the bolt along with the extractor.  Disassemble your weapon and inspect with a magnifier and strong light.  The cure is to polish the chamber, usually 4-0 steel wool will do it, you can also use Flitz. Did a Model 100 last Feb., that was the problem.  Here endeth the lesson.

[gunnut69]

AMEN!! brother Goatbeard!!  Seems more often than not my work stems from a maintenance failure.  I'm trying to get away from general smithing. Retired a couple of years ago and have less time to shoot now than when I was working in an office!!  22 rimfires seem the worst.. Most of the feeding problems with the autos especially were just dirt or damage from dry firing.