Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Rem 722 weak ejection

I have a 722 in 257. Extraction is great but ejection is very weak with a loaded round. Empty brass ejects fine. The ejector, ejector spring and retaining pin have all been replaced. Any ideas?

Not sure what you mean by "weak" ejection of loaded rounds, empty cases ejecting OK. Need more info, better description of what's actually happening.

DF

An empty case will eject from the action and fall to the ground. A loaded round will normally just fall back into the action instead of being kicked out.

The extractor is worn and not holding onto the loaded round tight enough. Round disengages from the extractor before being pulled far enough to rear for the ejector to work.
Replace the extractor.

Well, a 722 extractor can become an issue, or so I've heard.

I'd check around with smiths here on the Fire. A number of really good ones are active contributors. Would probably just need to send the bolt.

DF

722 extractors are damn near impossible to find. I happen to have one for a 222 but not a .473 bolt face.

May convert to AR or Sako extractor.

DF

I've been reading up on that.

+1 on converting to alternative extractor. I have done several of each, leaning toward the AR style, they seem to be more rugged.

timspawn;
Good afternoon to you sir, I trust other than a lethargic rifle ejection issue that this finds you well.

We picked up a .250AI for our youngest daughter that had a 722 action.

Like your rifle, every once in awhile it'd either just barely clear the ejection port or sometimes the empty would drop back into the magazine.

What I determined is happening is that the extractor is rotating to a spot where it's holding the case okay, but when the ejector hits the case because it's too close one gets less than enthusiastic ejection.

If you rotate the extractor then - I want to say it worked best at 9:00 or 10:00, but could be backwards on that - anyway rotating it so it wasn't so close to the ejector worked on hers.

Oh, because its not pinned in place - it can and in her rifle does rotate back to a place where it doesn't work well again after awhile.

We've looked at both installing an AR/Sako type extractor and having a 700 one installed. Either option isn't cheap and honestly getting a 700 short action bolt and starting there might be the easiest way to go.

Anyway hope that helps a bit and was useful. Good luck with your rifle and all the best to you this fall.

Dwayne

Thank you BC30cal. I rotated the extractor to several different positions and it didn't change anything. I did notice that if I work the bolt slowly it ejects better than if worked fast.

Maybe working it slow presents less force to dislodge the case from the marginally effective extractor. Sounding more and more like a Sako or AR retrofit.

DF

Use the AR as it has a cross pin and is longer. It is not so easily blown out from a hot load.

Several smiths posting here on the Fire have jigs and tooling to do the job.

Mayby one will chime in.

DF

My 722's extractor would leave cases in the chamber. I sent it to Gretan for a M16 style extractor. Sent him a peice of lapua brass, so he could fit it properly for the thickest bras I was going to use. Bolt came back great, works like a charm. I'd recommend this route for sure.

With all the Remington 721s and 722s still in circulation, Im surprised nobody has manufactured an after market extractor.

I have the fixtures to install either a Sako or M-16 extractor. I have installed many over the years.

I have a 721 that I built for myself in 30-06 30 years ago and it has a Sako extractor. It has never failed. Mostly use M-16 types now. I like the idea of a cross pin attachment.

I came across of a bag of 17 .473 extractors for the 720 series rifles when I bought out a retiring gunsmith last year, he sure did have some goodies he wasent aware he had.

For those of us with these guns, what's a ball park cost of that conversion?

DF

Ironic, something designed to be cheaply machine made from flat steel is so hard to copy, one off. If it was finely machined, someone could use modern machining tools to make a reasonably priced copy.