Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing 1903 a3 extractor problem

hello I have a 1903-a3 30-06 .If a shell gets into the chamber before the bolt the bolt will not close and the bolt will not grab the shell to extract it ....as I go to chamber a shell most times it works and the gun fires and the extractor does its job..but sometimes the shell is pushed ahead of the bolt and gets pushed into the chamber without the bolt being attached to the bullet.At this point the bolt will not close or go forward to grab the shell to extract it .With my other bolt rifles I can manually push a round into the chamber and then close the bolt and it will close and the extractor will grab the shell..the 1903 will not ....if the round is put in the chamber first and you try to close the bolt it will not close...I assume that the extractor is not springing back to get on the front side of the rim ...or possibly bent a bit ..thanks for your time and help in advance ...I am a tinkering fool and dont want to try to fix this with out some help from some of you experienced 1903 experts and wind up replacing a bunch of parts because I tried this without help . I would hate to wreck the gun and have someone say "if only you removed the muffler bearing first "ha ha ha ...thanks Pat

problem was the extractor over the years must have spread out from being hit ..I took off the extractor and the bolt closed with an empty brass in the chamber...then I put the extractor in by itself and I could see that it was wider on the bottom and not getting by the rim on the shell...a small round file and a little at a time we got it to work...now I can chamber a shell and then close the bolt and the extractor grabs the shell like it should ...any one know where to get a new extractor?? thanks

spring fields are designed for magazine feeding only. an old trick that doesn't always work is to press on the extractor side when closing the bolt on a cartridge placed into the chamber, thus helping the extractor engage the extractor groove on the chambered cartridge. this sometimes works or doesn't. I think army rifleman used this trick to load 6 cartridges into the gun. mel chung

On the contrary, Springfields were designed for single cartridge loading according to Otteson in his first book "Bolt Actions". Perhaps the extractor was replaced somewhere along the line and the beveled face that allows single loading is not properly shaped. It should not be a problem to recut the bevel with a round file to fix the problem.

RAN

I agree. The '03's were designed so as to be used as a single shot with a full magazine held in reserve- should the trooper be ordered to do so by his CO- hence the magazine cutoff switch on the left side of the receiver. It sounds like the OP has solved his problem.

that's right, they did feed the guns single shot with the five shells in the mag in reserve with the magazine cut off in the "OFF" position. my apologies for the misinformation! mel

thanks so much for the response ...I did get it solved by reshaping the extractor hook as it was to big ..it now works either single or multiple shot ...thanks again ...I should probably get a new extractor for it ...I would also like to get new sights ...It has the very thin front blade sight which is almost impossible to see especially in less than perfect light ..the rear sight fits the bevel on the reciever and is adjustable for elevation by loosening a screw and moving the peep up or down (the peep is actually the screw with a hole through it ..The windage is adjusted by tapping the sight either right or left on the bevel...I could use better sights if anyone has any thanks Pat

The 98 Mauser is the one that will not snap over a round in the chamber. The extractor has tapered front in the guide grove that fits into a tapered cut in the bolt which prevents it from flexing outward to snap over a round in the chamber. If the bolt is worked hard enough to close the shell will be missing a piece of the rim.