Firing mechanism- extractor - trying to fix

[davis911s]

I have an old savage 1904 that used to belong to an old relative. I am trying to get it fixed for my kids to shoot gophers.

It didn't have a firing pin when I got it so I fabricated one, now I have it so that it shoots, but it doesn't extract the empty shell? The weird thing is the extractor works well until the weapon is fired. So if I put a shell in the chamber, the bolt will extract it if it is not fired, however once the shell is fired it will not extract.

Any ideas?

[Indigo22]

It sounds like you have a rough or dirty chamber... Or another problem people have is leaving excessive lube in the chamber. The lube will boil in the chamber with each shot and turn to a gummy gue first then a scorched crust making extraction near impossible. Clean and scrub the bore/chamber, lightly lube, then wipe it dry with a clean patch before shooting. Someone may have been shooting shorts or longs in the longrifle chamber so there may be a little lead ring build up. A good scrubbing will help clear this too. Start there, if the problem persists have a gunsmith inspect the chamber as it may need to have a reamer clean it up.
Edit: Oops' almost forgot in a rifle that old black powder rounds were likely fired in it. If it wasn't cleaned after use the bp may have etched a rough spot in the chamber. How does the bore look? Shiny? or Rough/cloudy? Let us know how this is turning out.