I just purchased a pretty well-used full size Colt Match Target rifle.
Upon disassembly of the BCG, I noticed that the extractor was pretty easy to decompress. Upon further disassembly, the pivot pin that holds the extractor in slid right out. I have a few questions:
Should I only replace the pin and the spring?
How do I tell if the extractor needs to be replaced?
Will the pins and springs for 16" rifles work fine on 20" full size guns?
Who makes the best extractor/spring/pin upgrade for a full size gun?
Several years ago Colt consolidated the extractor spring assembly for the carbine and rifle. The current part # is SP64026. This assembly uses the copper color spring with black insert. $6.99 retail at Brownells. The rifle does not necessarily need the extra spring tension provided by the upgrade kits, but they can be used, preferably without the addition of the o-ring.
Unless there is excessive wear, I wouldn’t worry about replacing the pin, the only thing that holds it in place is the spring from the extractor when it is out of the bolt carrier and once it its in the bolt carrier, it can’t come out.
To tell if you need to replace it, just fire it some, if it fails to pull the fired casing out of the chamber the spring or extractor is bad. I would recommend replacing them both at the same time. Given what you pay for a rifle, the cost is minimal. Given that you say it seems weak, it wouldn’t hurt to go ahead and replace it now.
As for replacement parts, the Carbines came with a slightly stiffer spring and insert, they would work fine in your rifle. The Koolaid drinkers will tell you, you need to use genuine Colt parts, the reality is, any quality manufacturer (like BCM, Daniel Defense) part will serve you well for years.
How do I tell if the extractor needs to be replaced?
The lip that engages the rim of the cartridge should be fairly sharp. If is appears to be fairly worn/rounded or chipped, it is time for replacement. The pin itself rarely needs replacement (but can be a PITA to find when dropped outside!).
The Mil did the same thing. Definitely NO WAY on the O ring. A rifle surely should NOT need it. And I wouldn’t keep any AR, rifle or carbine, that needed an o-ring to run.
I have BM DCM rifle. After reading on here awhile ago the importance of the upgrade I sent 3 bolts including that one off for the Oring, spring upgrade and staking. At the time I never knew it was unneccesary for the upgrade on the rifle. I also failed to mention 1 of them was a rifle to the shop I sent it to. I have not shot that rifle since recieving it back. Should I remove the Oring on it? Anyone got a tutorial on doing the upgrade, and removing the Oring that’s simple to do? Thanks
Field strip your rifle, pull the o-ring off. If you don’t know how to field strip your weapons, I would make the humble suggestion that you stop posting, find a manual, and field strip your weapon 20 or 30 times.
There are youtube videos as well as military manuals that describe how to do this.
Please don’t take the above as an insult as its not intended that way at all. The first step in AR15 ownership should be understanding the basics of the weapon. Without this knowledge, you are missing large fundamentals and may very well be misunderstanding what people are meaning when they post.
Once you learn how to field strip your carbine, you will know how to clean and maintain it, and that O-ring will be a simplistic piece to add or remove as you see fit.
