Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Pro's & Con's Sako Extractor Rem 700

I called my local gunsmith about a year ago and told him I would like a 250-3000 on a Remington 700 action.He said no problem he had a new action in stock. He spends a lot of money in my auto repair shop so I thought I would return the business. He called the other day and said he was all done so I drove over to start the paper work and look it over. When he handed to me I noticed he had took it up on him self to install a Sako extractor. I did not say much at the time for it was within the price we had discussed. The rifle is very accurate and fuction perfect. I have heard pro's and con's on the sako extractors, but was wondering what you folks experience was. Thank you

My shooting pal has had several placed on 721's and 722's.. Not a problem so far...

A long-time gunsmith I know, who's worked on a lot of 700's, says he'll put a Sako extractor on one but prefers not to. That's because he's seen far more Sako-type extractors break on 700's than original factory extractors--and the factory extractors cost less and are easier to replace.

Can a M16 extractor be put on a 700, and if so, would it be better than a Sako-type?

I always liked the concept of the Sako type extractor until a gunsmith friend showed me a right-hand 700 that had one installed. The rifle had been subjected to an overload which blew the extractor out the right raceway, it had hit the rear receiver opening with such force that it had put a dimple into which was about a 1/4 inch wide and nearly as deep.

Luckily the shooter was a right-handed shooter, if he had been a left-handed shooter there is no doubt that the extractor would have been embedded somewhere in his head. The gunsmith has never installed another one since then. Anytime someone wants one installed he shows them the action and in most cases they change their mind. I know it changed mine.

With that said, I have had a couple of Remington extractors give me problems which went away with an extractor change. Anymore I simply keep a couple on hand, it only takes a few minutes to change them and they are inexpensive.

drover

If I was forced to hunt with a model 700 for the rest of my life (and I hope I am never subjected or reduced to such) A Sako extractor would be one of the first modifications I had done to it. Second would be to have a stiffer spring put into(behind) the ejector rod and that rod polished and possibly coated with something like Cerrakote and polished again to a high shine. Thus, mitigating the Model 700's two main failure points as best as can be done. The 'problem' noted above was with an overload. Easy solution to that is don't shoot overloads or try to turn your 280 into a 7 Mag. As with any rifles, if you want magnum speeds, chamber the rifle to a magnum caliber. Many do not get this simple concept and thusly we get wild claims about how a 25 Gibbs or 25/06AI is just as fast as a 257WBY and other zebrapoop.

You gunsmith did you a huge favor and should be thanked and rewarded for this, IMO.

I have no personal experience with them, but I have read the M16 extractors work great.

Yes... not sure it's a whole lot better but it is pinned in place,the bigger issue with these type extractors is the position of the ejector, but in a custom action they are usually postioned so the ejection angle is lower and cases don't hit the turrets on the scope!

The 721/722 extractors aren't available anymore and very difficult to find. When one fails people go to the Sako or M16 extractor out of necessity. But for reasons mentioned I'd never convert a 700 just to do it.

Rem 700 extractors are easily fit to 721/722's. Get the riveted kind and drill the rivet hole.

I've done three or four of these.

A couple riflebuilders have told me a 700 extractor wouldn't work. If one can be made to work that's good to know.

I would not own a Remington rifle with a Sako extractor. Too many dangerous incidents to feel good about it. Dave Kiff of PT&G highly recommends the M16 over the Sako. A friend of mine is a BR Hall of Fame shooter and hunts anything that moves on his ranch daily and had one blow out the right raceway and went through the metal rear door to his house. He was peppered and burned by the unburned powder that came out. Fortunately he had glasses on. He ordered new bolts for all of his that have Sakos as his girl friend is a left hand shooter and shoots his rifles a lot.
I know a lot of you have used them through the years and don't worry about it. Hopefully none of you will be injured with yours.

I wouldn't have one with a Sako extractor either. It's an answer to a non-existing question.

BINGO!

Putting a Sako extractor on a 700 makes as much sense as putting an afterburner on a turtle.

Exactly.

My gunsmith friend reports as many breakage problems with M-16 extractors on 700's as Sako extractors, and as Butch pointed out, there have been a number of blown-off extractors too. Not all happen with hot loads, either.

While I am not dumb enough to believe 700 extractors never break, I've been shooting 700's for 40 years now, in chamberings from .17 Fireball to .416 Remington Magnum, and haven't had it happen yet in hundreds of thousands of rounds. Have seen a very few failures to extract, due to hot loads, but have seen just as many with other extractors, including those on some legendary controlled-round actions. As a result I keep wondering what all the fuss is about, and have come to the conclusion that it's another rifle loony theory about what MIGHT happen, not what actually does.

I've posted this before. I have two friends who each had a 700 extractor fail, both in nearly new rifles. First was an 8mm mag in AK in the late 70's, the next was a 7mm Mag Sendero about 12 yrs or so ago.

Rick Boucher is the former NCOIC of SOTIC at Ft Bragg. After he retired he went back to work there as a DA civilian. He has posted at Sniper's Hide that he has yet to set his first 700 extractor fail.

Lesson? 700 extractors work great in standard sized cartridges, in magnums maybe not so well.

In my opinion it is just a mistake to use a Sako exractor on a Model 700. All of the problems that have been mentioned here, should make folks wary of that modification, which I have always felt unnecessary. I have one model 700 action, which is now a 35 Whelen which I bought in 1968, same extractor, same trigger as adjusted in 1969, and has been shot enough to wear out the original 270 Winchester Barrel, and then the few hundred rounds as a 35, still funtions perfectly.

Jerry

Want a better extractor? Get a Clone/custom. If not, want a Sako type? Get one IN a Sako. OR just get a Ruger, Winchester, Howa, etc. - all in my opinion more rugged/dependable. Rems often do fine, but they can get problematic if dirty or worn, etc.

Said it before, a Rem is NOT my choice if I am down to one...they usually work fine, but I have had issues before, bolt handle falling off, extraction issues, and an AD...accidental discharge. All can be addressed, or repaired, but as I age, I like to K.I.S.S.

Hopefully you have no problems and enjoy a good shooter.

Take a Knee,

I remember you posting that before, and it makes a certain amount of sense. But I've also heard from people who've had 700 extractors break that it happened very early in the life of the rifle. So maybe it's more related to finding a defective extractor through a little use, rather than the rifle being a magnum.

I've owned several magnum 700's and fired some of them quite a bit, with no extractor problems.

I have 15++ Rem 700s, from 17FB to 300 win and many in between. Many are customs. One has a sako extractor. I have had zero issues with there Rem factory extractors and see no reason to replace them.