Remington 700 with Claw Type Extractor

[JeffH]

I have a Remington 700 BDL action that has a claw-type extractor. Anybody ever hear of this before? It was originally used in a bench rifle with a single shot follower, heavy SS barrel in .225 Winchester, now rebarreled in 30-06. Looks like it has a very wimpy ejector spring, too. That may have been modified so that cases didn't fling onto the next bench over.

[Wulfman]

I have a Remington 700 BDL action that has a claw-type extractor. Anybody ever hear of this before?

Yeah.


Den

[JeffH]

Do you suppose this is a Sako extractor conversion? It is a small extractor, not a big one like a Mauser. It's about an inch long and less than 1/4 wide.

[Wulfman]

Quite possibly. I knew a gunsmith who was doing similar and other conversions/modifications on M700s about 20+ years ago. I think I've also read about others who did those types of modifications in more recent years (but I can't remember exactly where I've read that).
I think a person is more apt to find various modifications in the bench rest class of rifles.


Den

[JeffH]

Thanks, Den. Maybe the mystery is solved. I have now heard there are several conversion kits out there to convert the Remington 700 bolt to a Sako type claw extractor. Pictures on the websites confirm this is very definitely a Sako extractor, so it looks like the previous owner removed the ring type extractor and remachined the bolt to take the Sako, which fits flush with the diameter of the bolt and needs no guide channel in the action itself. It is a little bugger about an inch long and less than .20 wide. The wimpy ejector spring is also a benchrest trick to keep the brass from flying. This action was used on a bench rifle. Even though I have replaced the single shot follower with a standard follower and magazine spring, this "could" leave me with feeding problems because they make a special extractor for single shots that is a bit beefier and it sometimes has trouble feeding subsequent (second and third) rounds. I don't know if I have one of these or not, but it is beefier because when you remachine the bolt it compromises the integrity of Remington's "three walls of steel" and if a round explodes due to overpressure the extractor is the first thing to blow out and kill you. When used in a Sako action (as designed) the extractor is somehow captured by the action itself, a feature not there on the 700 action. Unlikely to happen, but you have to keep it in mind and use factory loadings or keep your handloads down in that pressure window.

This is all done to basically convert the rifle from a "push feed" design into a "controlled feed" design, something that is controversial within the benchrest community as some folks think the push feed is actually inherently more accurate (the bolt strips off a round and uses the bolt nose to simply "push" the round into the chamber. When the bolt is closed, the ring type extractor hopefully snaps over the case rim with this design). I believe with the controlled feed design the bolt picks up the loaded round and captures the rim immediately with the extractor claw, holding it firmly while the bolt carries it forward into the chamber. When the bolt is closed, the claw simply rotates around in the rim groove, still holding the case firmly. This is a technical issue that has proponents on both sides, and both seem to think their way is better. For a freaking deer rifle it doesn't matter at all.

[JeffH]

Thanks Taildrag for the input. I hadn't thought of Palma simply because the action had originally been in a bench gun. In fact, I have to say I don't know much about single shot high power competition, but I'm getting educated for sure. The rifle actually shoots very well, and I was shooting it this afternoon in fact. It is a little easier to pick up the empty brass, but I am going to put a standard ejector spring in it simply because it will now be used as a hunting rifle. I still have the single shot follower and mag well block, so I'll put the spring in a bag with that for possible future use. By the way, the extractor works fine.