Originally Posted by
Jim K
Since the main cause of extraction problems with the trapdoor was the rifle extractor partially tearing through the thin copper rim of Benet-primed cases, inserting the headless shell extractor into the chamber clearly would not work. The only headless shell extractor that would work in that situation would be one that could be inserted through the barrel, then expanded to grip the case, as shown.
The only alternative would be a knife or some other tool to pry the remains of the case out of the chamber, a method we know was used and did not always work. Unfortunately, either method required taking the rifle out of service for a period of time, a risky procedure in combat if the soldier wanted to retain his scalp.
The issue of drawn copper and brass "solid head"* cases after 1879 effectively eliminated the extraction problem.
*We would call them "balloon head" but they were a vast improvement over the folded head Benet primed cases.
Jim