So, yesterday was a “fun” day at the range. Put a couple magazines through my M4, and then, put in a third and … failures to extract, until finally, a spent cartridge was in the chamber and would not come out. And, of course, I had no rod with me, not that it would have mattered, since…when I took the BCG apart, and took down the bolt, I found this:
I poked around on Brownells and BCM and found inexpensive extractors and one that costs $40. Any suggestions?
BCM SOPMOD bolt rebuilt kit. Grant has them in stock.
BCM replacement extractors are good to go.
If I may ask how many rounds did you have on this extractor?
Who made the extractor? How many rounds on it?
Good question.
I bought my Daniel Defense M4 last Fall and I have to admit, I’ve been shooting it like there’s no tomorrow.
I think, and forgive me for not being more precise, I think I’ve put about 5,000 rounds through it.
This just happened yesterday and, since I’m a complete noobie to the AR15, it came as a shock.
I kept getting FTEs and then, finally, I looked into the chamber and…saw the spent cartridge.
Scary moment for a noob like me. I was thinking to myself, “OK, I see the primer has been hit by the firing pin, but…what if it did not go off?”
And, wouldn’t you know it, I was at the range with a guy who was, literally, shooting a rifle for the very first time. He had shot nothing but pellet guns before.
At least he got to shoot an entire magazine before this happened.
And, get this, the guy in the next combat pit over from us strolled over and asked if I had a rod he could borrow.
Why? He had a bullet stuck in his handgun barrel, I kid you not. He handed me his pistol, and sure enough…a lead bullet.
None of us had a rod with us.
Note to self: Do not go to the range again without a rod.
I took the M4 home, dropped the rod down the barrel, and out popped the spent cartridge.
I probably should keep a few extractors on hand for things like this. If you dont have a rod you could possibly mortar the gun to try to get it out. Of course after replacing the extractor so it can come out
“Mortar the gun”?
Please explain.
retract the stock, bang the rifle on the ground on the buttstock first like a mortar, there will be some inertia from the BCG that might pull a casing out. But in this case with a ripped extractor claw probably wouldnt come out, but with a new extractor you can probably get it out
if you dont retract the stock you risk deforming the buffer tube.
Drop the butt stock on the ground. Like dropping mortars into a mortar tube. Works best with a fixed stock.
Not a common occurrence. I have a very strong suspicion that if you contact Daniel Defense, they will send you a new extractor.
Yep. Even amongst the worst of the manufacturors I’ve never seen that one. Sounds like a rare defect.
Joe over in the DD thread just told me to give them a call on Monday and they’ll send me a new one.
Also known as “The Pogo Maneuver”.
Much safer for any self loading rifle than whacking on it with a mallet or trying to kick the action open
This is interesting…
For the OP- how long ago did you get the rifle?
I got a DD rifle a few months ago, and it had a bad extractor straight from the factory. It didn’t break, but I had FTE’s every few rounds…
Got my DD last September.
Good to hear DD is taking care of it
yup, nice surprise. I did not expect it. I was just trying to figure out what kind of new extractor to get.
Just wanted to report back that I replaced my extractor, and put a new buffer spring in and was able to get out to the range for the first time today since doing it.
It worked like a charm!
I blew through six magazines with no failures to feed or extract.
It would work better if you grabbed the charging handle too so you get yourself pulling the bolt carrier group down while also slamming the butt stock onto the ground. It can also help to use your foot as a stop if you are on soft ground like mud or wet grass.
Pogo sticking is setting the rifle on the ground and stomping on the charging handle if mortoring doesn’t work. Don’t use this method until it gets really bad, as in “oh shit I am gonna die if I don’t unfuck my rifle” but by this point, you should have mortored, tried to unfuck with a multi-tool, and swore every 4 letter word in the engrish language. You also have a really good chance of bending a cheap charging handle if you pogo stick it a bunch.