Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Remington 722 extractor

I have a Remington 722 in .244 . The extractor is missing and I'm haveing a hard time finding a new one . I'm thinking about haveing a Sako extractor installied . Can anyone tell me where I can have this done and about how much it will cost .

You don't need a SAKO extractor for a 222 and you give up much of the gas handling ability. Any competent Gunsmith can get a OEM 222 extractor and install it. They should never fail unless you are trying to hotrod it and sticking many, many cases.
Of all the 721,2,5 and 700s we own(ed), only one carries a SAKO extractor, a custom 700 in 244 H&H which runs hotter than the hubs of HEL-. Kynoch factory ammo routinly blows primers out in hot weather. (100 gr sp @ 3600 fps) Ours is "toned down" to shoot 85 TSXs at "only" 3650 fps.

Getting an OEM one is a LOT cheaper.

Gotta agree with BossLady on this one.

He does know his 721 series Remingtons.

Look at Gunbroker and Numrich/Gun Parts Corp.

I saw one for sale on one of those sites recently.

Feel for your brother. Those are very hard to find. Especially in the .244 which is the same extractor a 300 savage uses. Like BossLady said "you can get an oem 222 extractor", but too bad it is a different size than the one you need. I've been down the same road as you and like 30 gibbs said keep you eyes on GB and Numrich. Maybe if you get lucky someone here may have one. Try asking Redneck, he may know where to get one too. BSA

Yup... OEM is extremely unlikely...

I have installed a 700 extractor with the rivet into a 722,..it was also a 244....
You have to locate and drill the rivet hole very carefully....
The non-rivet extractor will not work, the 721/722 has a different undercut in the bolt than the 700...

I have been looking for a extractor for my dad's 721 since 1984.

I was told that they make a Jig to hold the bolt and it has a hardened guide in the jig to properly align the drill bit with the bolt to put the hole in the right place.
I was also told that it also comes with a rivet set - that is used to put the rivet in the bolt.
I believe that someone told me that the kit to do all this is around $100

My dad worked in a machine shop and one of his co workers sold him a bolt out of a Model 700 and he machined it for him for fit and head space and it looks like a sore thumb - but it works. The old Model 700 had a Jeweled bolt and not a plain old chrome - nickle plate.

At some time I too would be interested in getting the original bolt repaired, but I believe that I only reimbursed him $50 for the used bolt.

Brownells has the extractors you need. 1-800-741-0015
#078-800-007AC large (.308 base)
#080-000-208AC small (.222 base)

I have done quite a few Sako extractor conversions to both the 70 and 721 Remingtons. Send me an eamil and I will give you a price on it. Most of those remedies mentioned don't work.

Jim

There are two 700 extractors. One with a rivet, one without.
They both work just fine, you just have to have the correct one.
Obvious, but a 222, 222 magnum and 223 all have the same head size.
The Remington extractor myth is among the top five bandied about by people who have never seen one fail.
Does anyone actually think that Remington would have made and sold a zillion 700s if the extractor were defective ? Does anyone think the 222 is hotter than the 300 RUM ?
I have had a failure, but in a cartridge that runs about 10K psi over anything factory chambered by Remington.
A friend has one of the first 722 222s ever made. Best guess between Grand Dad (first owner), Dad (second) and him is 15,000 rounds .... still has the original extractor.

If you have never seen a 700 extractor fail, you ain't been around the block enough.

722s: 222s (5), 222mag, 244, 300 savage, 308
721s: 270 (3), 30-06 (2), 300 H&H (5)
725s: 270, 30-06
700 SAs: 222,223,308
700 LAs: 270, 30-06, 300 H&H (4), 300 RUM, 375 H&H (2), 400 H&H (custom)

LONG ENOUGH block for you ???? 40+ years long!

The ONLY failure we have ever seen or heard of from a reliable source was our own 244 H&H Magnum which, as we said, runs way hotter than any Remington chambering.

On one of my old 721s, Even pulled the rim off a 300 H&H due to a handloading error. Knocked the case out with a rod and it still works fine.

The idea that Remington would sell more bolt action rifles than any other maker AND furnish it with a defective extractor is just teats over the back fence BS, said by one idiot gunwriter and then repeated, w/o verification, by all his fellow idiots.

Show me ONE documented case of any hunter getting stomped, eaten or gored by some big nasty because the extractor on his 700 failed in the field.

Now you wanna talk about 400 Whelen headspacing or some other tall tale handed down from fool to fool?

The 244 H&H and the 400 H&H (FYI)

First, I am a big Remington fan, and while I don't think the Remington extractor is a problem, I have replaced several dozen, or more, extractors on Remington 700's and their kin over the past 30+ years in my role as a full time gunsmith. These particular extractor failures weren't written up in some rag and spread about by word of mouth, these were actually extractors belonging to real people which had given up the ghost for one reason or another. The majority of these were replaced with factory extractors and continue to provide terrific service to their owners. A bunch were replaced with Sako and M-16 type extractors, and likewise, continue to serve their owners well. Just because a person hasn't experienced it, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. With the shear number of Remington bolt guns in the hands of the public, some of whom don't know when to quit adding powder, or properly take care of a weapon, some of these are bound to fail. Sometimes parts just fail for no reason.That's probably why Remington makes and sells these as replacement items.

As a foot note, the owners of those bolts who's extractors were replaced by the Sako type extrtactors, shouldn't have to worry much about any possible gas handling problems provided they don't exceed the safe pressure envelope that the rifle/cartridge was designed to safely handle. If a person is prone to being stupid when reloading, then there is nothing anyone can do to protect them from themselves. Regardless of which extractor system is used, guns are not idiot proof.

All I shoot are Remington.......700, 600 and 660's.

I have had 2 extractors fail in my 700 in .308 and I think I have a extractor going out in my 700 in 300WSM.

Still love my Remingtons, but extractors do fail.

Yup no doubt you can make them fail by too hot loads that stick cases. I have also seen P14 and P 17 Enfields with controlled feed and Mauser style extractors fail for the same reason. The last New Haven Model 70s had extractors that failed, why Brownells sells a superior replacement.

The fact remains that the U.S. military uses one heck of a lot of 700 type rifles in matches and sniping. Were the extractors a problem it would be no secret.

Zillions of 700 series rifles out there working every day in all kinds of conditions. Try to make a 30-06 a 300 RUM and something might go wrong but for those who can read a reloading book .... well they just work fine.

STILL waiting for the documented story of Mr Client being eaten because his 700 extractor failed.

Now you want to talk about another of my favorite myths ? .... the low number 1903 Springfield ? Note the serial # on this one 5 digits made in 1903!) and the caliber. Killed a lot of game in Africa and has yet to explode.
Just more "expert" BS, before you quote Hatcher. fire up your computer and do a statistical analysis of his data.

And like in my case they can just fail.

I would also imagine that the military keeps extractors on hand for repairs as do most gunsmiths because they just sometimes fail.

Would Remington still repair an M721 or a M722?

I think it boils downt to having confidence in your weapon. When you have a problem such as failure to extract because of a worn out or misaligned extractor you become leery. I have experienced extraction problems like I said earlier with a 722 and I know the diffuculty in finding them. GOOD LUCK!!! I bought a weatherby vanguard new that had to be sent back to a factory authorized service center twice because it would only extract about 25% of the time. Because of this, I don't trust these extraction systems and rely heavily on my CRF Pre 64 mod 70, M1917, Mauser 98 and ruger 77's. I've never been let down with these CRF actions and that is what builds trust and confidence for me. BSA

Boring!

For the guy looking for a 721 extractor:

Gun Parts Ltd, West Hurley NY

85670K Ejector, .30-06, .270 & .300 H&H Mag $7.90

I spent quite a few years doing Remington warranty and did replace a lot of extractors. However, every case was an example of failed quality control rather than a failure of extractor design. The 700 design is an improvement over the 722/721 design.
An ejector isn't an extractor. I don't believe extractors are available for the 722/721 rifles but I've been wrong before. GD

Hey greydog, giver her a break. Some women i've been with wouldn't know the differnce between a pickup and a sedan. You know how it is.

Imagine that... what everyone else has known for a long time, the 721 extractor is nearly extinct... And ejectors pop up all over the place!

Confused much?

Boss lady, I stand corrected and must apologize. I recant my original "around the block" statement and will revise it.

I now think you may have been around the block TOO many times. Are you dizzy?

You know this has lost any meaning. Go spend your money on SAKO extractors, they work fine and if you feel better it is money well spent. Or be really safe and buy a CZ Mauser, a nice CRF rifle.
If you have any 722Bs or 721Bs, even with broken extractors, drop me a PM as I'll be happy to pay you a fair price and save you from that charging Woodchuck or Whitetail.
NOTE: B models ONLY, like this:

Bosslady, only one person has mentioned charging animals in this thread. It wasn't the OP. He asked about an extractor for a 722 in 244.

...wish we had a ejector button for Framis/Karen/BossLady/oldman...

+10,000:(

+10,000 more!

A PTG bolt body is another option. Opens a new door to changes too...

The answer is Yes, NO and maybe.

I contacted them over 20 years ago through Grice Gun Shop and their reply was we feel for you. Although you bought one of our precious firearms, we have not manufactured that particular model in over 35 years ( now 50 years) and no replacement parts are available.

But - if you are willing to pay us $125.00
We will take your rifle back to our shop and refit it with a new model 700 bolt and return it to you.

Their advice at that time was to check Shotgun New's from time to time and maybe someone had a NOS extractor clip.

On the other hand there was a class action lawsuit that stated that you had to take off the safety to open the bolt to remove the shells from the magazine. When you put the weapon on fire - there was a chance that the gun would accidentally fire and they have a free update which replaces some of the parts in the trigger assembly which allows the gun to be unloaded without taking the gun off safe.

I guess it all went back to the military style Enfield rifle, that was used in combat, where you did not want the bolt to come open or you wanted to ensure that the bolt was closed and the gun was ready to fire as soon as you took the gun off safe. So those features was carried over to the civilian production style weapons of the day and that style of thinking was not changed until people realized that it was not safe to take off the safety to unload the weapon.

Although they had a trap door style magazine that you could purchase as a option, most people who bought the model 721 / 722 did not op for this option because it was a added expense.
So the gun had to be unloaded by cycling each round through the chamber to unload it. 4 or 5 chances for someone to bump the trigger while they are unloading the gun - was one time too many for some people - including me. I almost shot the family Blazer and the hunting camp because I had my firearm pointed in a improper direction.

About 10 years later, a company, maybe Brownell's produced a jig type fixture with a hardened drill guide which allowed a machinist to machine the bolt to accept the later style model 700 extractor clip / rivet. It is not as simple as drilling a hole to accept the rivet. You have to machine a counter sink to give the rivet a place to be peened into. It also requires a gun smith to have the proper rivet set tool to peen the rivet into the recessed area.

I believe that the cost of the jig was $125.00 - which was as much as the cost of a new bolt. So on the one hand, unless someone was a gunsmith that could recoup their loss, there is no advantage to buying the jig over buying a new bolt for a one time repair. What do you do with the jig once you have drilled the hole.

The rivet has to be in a precise position to make the extractor work correctly. If a person had the tools and a print, they could measure everything, lay it out and machine it on a Bridgeport style knee mill without the jig.

So I guess the only reason for having the jig would be if a gunsmith did not have a print, could not work from a print and did not own a Bridgeport style knee mill. You could do the same repair with the jig and a drill press - which would allow a weekend warrior handyman to do the same job with little skills or machining knowledge.

How did I break my dad's extractor clip?
I was hunting in a tree stand and shot a deer and lost the empty shell. Wanted to see how far the gun ejected a empty shell. Did not have a empty shell for that gun. Took a empty shell out of a box of shells for another gun. Put it in the chamber and it got stuck.. Wouldn't go in, wouldn't come out. Slammed the bolt against the shell a couple of times, trying to force the shell to grab the rim of the case and the extractor clip broke and that was all she wrote.

I took the antenna off the Blazer and pounded on it till the shell fell out. I hunted two years with a ram rod until I borrowed another gun to go hunting with off another family member.

Spellbinding account...

lol