Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Sako extractor vs stock Remington extractor on M700s

Years ago i saw a article where they took 2 cases and brazed them together. They then set up a 700 bolt and a pre 64 winchester bolt for a pull off. They didn't like the results because the 700 won but they did admit it. I also have a friend who is absolutely a controlled round freak. One day he challenged me that my 700 would not feed under less than ideal conditions. After the gun was totally upside down and feed as slow as possible and still worked he just walked away. ED k

My amateur opinion is that fitting a Sako or other external extractor on a 700 transforms the action from one of the best ones to be using if a gas leak occurs into one of the worst ones.

Ya , what he said , much ado about nothing ! I've never had a Rem. extractor fail . When one does , just replace it !

Several years ago, I heard there was actually a death as the result of a Sako extractor being blown out of a 40X action. I can't confirm this but at the time, I had no reason to doubt the source.
I have fitted Remington bolts with Sako-style extractors and have used them on my own Home-made bolts as well but I admit that they could become a missile under the right (or wrong) circumstances.
If the barrel counter bore is fitted a little closer than stock, it should help. It would also be possible to fit the Remington bolt with a Sako-style block (what many call the "guide rib") or a Savage 110-type of baffle. On the last bolt I made, which I made with a removable bolt head, I actually intended to use a Savage baffle but changed my mind because I didn't want to wait for a parts order to come in.
Remington's gas sealing system really does work and there is little doubt that the use of a Sako-type extractor compromises the design. It's a choice one has to make. By the way, failures of the Remington extractor in standard (473 head dia)chamberings is very rare; especially if the extractor is of the earlier riveted type. Magnum extractors are less reliable and would have benefitted from having a bolt about .030 larger in diameter. GD

If people want those extractors so much, why not just buy a Sako?

Exactly.

I could never see doing a mod to the Remington.If it matters that much to a guy,get the Sako..or Mauser or M70 or whatever.

I recall the test....it was not done with a brass case, but a steel one IIRC,the objective being to test the "strength" of the extractor.

Problem was a Rem extractor would likely have pulled through the rim of a brass case, but not a steel one. That is exactly how I have seen Rem 700 extractors "fail"....not by breaking, but by pulling through the rim of a stuck case.

(BTW this is not that uncommon with many small clip extractors, as I've seen it with PF M70's (a 458 and a 257 Roberts);a Savage 110 (extractor broke),and most recently about two weeks ago,with one of these new el cheapo Marlin bolt rifles.All these problems occured at the range.)

I have never seen a M70 or Mauser do that,although no doubt it happens but I think both those extractors grab a bigger portion of the rim;less likely to pull throug the softer rim of a brass case.

Being a Rem 700 clone,where does the Lawton 7000 action fall in terms of reliability ? I had Rem 700 300WM that had very sticky extraction with even factory loads,tried handloads and could not go anything close to max without pressure signs.My current rifle is a Lawton 7000 with a 22" bbl in 338 EDGE,I keep the pressure low and exceed 338 RUM velocities in a longer bbl.Don't need failures of any kind while in Grizz country.

Personally, i would never choose to use a M700 in a dangerous game setting as i have seen extractors fail and because there are better options that don't cost any more. But replacing a M700 extractor seems silly. Just limit their use where you are happy to accept that very occasionally one might fail. Which is the vast majority of shooting and hunting scenarios. There are simply too many other good rifle actions out there for me to be bothered modifying a M700. A M700 action is fine as it is, live with its limitations.

SANDRAT: I'm afraid I don't know anything at all about a Lawton 7000 action but maybe others on here can help.

Gunsmiths love sako extractors on 700 bolts. Easy money!

I believe you have the small sako that is captured in the bolt lug and the reciever integral lug would block it from blowing out in the event of a case failure,the Sako installed in a 700 is inline with the raceway!

BOBIN- You ae problably correct because it was a long time ago and i just remember the results. I wonder about the pull through because i have had to remove some stuck casaes from a couple of friends guns by beating the bolt open with a 2x4 about a foot long. Thats about as extreme as i can attest to but that is pretty extreme. I'm not talking love taps here either. ED K

My limited experience is this. All extractors have the potential to fail,but rarely do.
I've had three fail,all operator err (unwittingly commenting on my reloading practices)which by the way have improved over the years.
One was a Rem. 700 in 17 Rem,another was a ULA in 17 Rem, and the last was a 20 Tactical with a Sako extractor on a 700 action.
One comment on a sako modification on a Rem action. Depending on the cartridge and scope height, cases can fail to eject.This is caused by the change in ejection angle which is higher than original.This sents the spent case into the scope and then coming back down in the magazine.This leads to a jam. In the wrong situation this would be as bad as a failed extractor.

ed: WOW! Sounds like serious stuff! I am chuckling thinking about how that all went down!

That is all true, but it makes me wonder what all the custom action makers do to make the sako extractor "safe".

It make me wonder what makes Sako rifles safe if the extractor is so dangerous?

Well I've only read about 22,000 of these arguments and I seem to recall that argument made with the sako extractor on a sako had something to do with them being a three lug design thus the extractor is not in the same position as it is when installed on a Rem bolt or any of the dozens of other custom 700 clones. Got to be a reason why they are safe on a custom but not so safe on a Remington bolt.

PM sent!

Have a feeling that guys like, Borden, Stiller, Pierce, McMillan, GAP, Defiance, Nesika, and a half dozen others haven't overlooked this vexing INTERNET problem.