Extractor Failure

I have a new Stevens 200 .223 heavy barrel that I finally took to the range today. I put 9 rounds through it and the last one stayed in the chamber. The extractor refused to close down over the rim so the bolt would not pull the cartridge out. I used 6 Remington factory loads and the last were military. All of the rest extracted without a problem. Up until then, the only problem I had was with the stack magazine, which appears to be the worst idea I have ever seen. Why in the world did Savage go to this Rube Goldberg design. Anyway, the rifle shoots great, I just need to know if I have to use a cleaning rod like it is a muzzleloader.

Is the extractor claw stuck to the side? could be gunked up a bit. Make sure it's able to slide. if it moves side to side like it's supposed to you may need to rod out the case. Probably wont take much more than a light poke or two.

223 or 5.56? If military 5.56 you should not shoot it in a 223. Loco

This is a brand new rifle. The extractor will not clamp over the rim. I have never seen that before. I never had a problem shooting .223 in a AR but is there a headspace problem using 5.56 in a .223?

5.56 is loaded to higher pressure longer free bore on barrel. In a 223 barrel pressures are to high. you can shoot 223 in Militry rifle but not 5.56 in SAMM chamber. Or should I say you can but not reccommended. Loco

also there are alot of AR problems for the ones that are marked 223. That is not for the 5.56 loaded ammo. Usually thats when they don't eject properly and stick cases. Loco

look on ther base of ammo 5.56 if there is like a circle with a line thru it, thats A Nato load 5.56 I wouldn't shoot that in a 223 barrel. loco

OK. I'll be giving all my 5.56 to my brother to shoot in his AR. I never had a problem using ball in a .308 but apparantl there is a difference.

Now if someone would tell me who the idiot was that changed to the stack magazine .......

I found this.

http://le.atk.com/pdf/223VS556.pdf

I believe this says it all.

So is the claw stuck or not? Did you get the case out? If so, was the rim buggerd up?
Usually where this argument comes up is with reloading 5.56 cases using 223 data. 5.56 cases are thicker, this can cause pressure issues when using 223 data because of less case volume. There are other folks on here that know a lot more about 223 and 5.56 cases than I do. Maybe someone else will chime in.

No, it did not stick. It would not close over the rim. Again, this is a brand new rifle. It appears that military ammo is loaded to a lot higher pressure, and an inspection of the case shows that there may be some gas leaking from the primer pocket, a sure sign of excessive pressure. The primer is not flattened out, but military primers are a lot thicker so pressures may not show up there. I did get the case out, with a cleaning rod. It wasn't stuck, it fell right out when the rod hit it. I think I'll stay away from GI ammo and only use the brass.

To cure extraction problems, you may have to go to a larger .140" bearing under the extractor. If you become a paid member (12/yr), you'll have access to all the technical articles to help you out.

A little further checking shows this was not a military 5.56 round, but Norinco .223. Either the base of the brass is a little small, or there is a burr somewhere. The rest of the cases feed and eject just fine. I ran the case through the sizer die and the primer was nice and snug and no ecidence of any leaking. Also, the bolt face seems a little lose which may be the design as apposed to an enclosed bolt like a Remington 700. Maybe the spring is a little limp but this is a new rifle(?).

It was probably just one 'out of spec' case. No need to panic.

After thinking I had this figured out, I decided to give the cases one last look. The two Norinco I had left had cratered primers, but they were barely flattened! I would insert a picture if I could figure out how. I think I will pass the Norinco on to an AR shooter.