No4 Enfield 7.62 Extractor

After a generous donation of a No4 7.62 extractor a while ago I decided to get off my butt and fir it today.
Firstly, a comparo of old and new:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...tractor2-1.jpg

You can see the 7.62 extractor is somewhat larger than the 303 extractor. I had no issues fitting it ( so simple even I can do it ) but when I went to put in the bolt and close it I struck a problem in that it wouldn't close properly.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...tractor4-1.jpg

The extractor binds up adainst the side of the breech.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...xtractor-1.jpg

it butts up hard against the inside wall. I know the answer .. I will have to get it milled out but this is the first I have heard of the issue. The extractor is genuine EFD so I am assured that the dimensions of it are correct.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...tractor3-1.jpg

Any ideas before I have to get it milled out and relieved? Can I do it with hand tools?

anyone ?? huh ?? huh ??

If you could remove the barrel, it could be done with hand tools. But I think that it's unavoidable to remove the barrel, and enlarge the cutout for the extractor. Before you do this though have you considered using a .303 extractor? Plenty of people do on their 7.62 conversions. You might have to try a few, or even modify one a little. Buckets less trouble if you can get it to function.
See this: Military Surplus Collectors Forums
I have also heard of this issue on No4s, recently with one using a .303 extractor on a 7.62 actually. The extractor had "mashed" the leading edge of the extractor cutout a bit and hey presto, rifle wouldn't chamber rounds. You might want to get a light and magnifier and have a good look at the cutout, if it is a burr then hand tools should do it fine.

Thanks TBone. I have a 303 extractor that it was using that functioned okay but was given a proper 7.62 extractor and wanted to use it if possible. If it can;t be done without removing the barrel I might have to put the 303 extractor back on ... bugger

Strange, if not damaged, the barrel must have been made to suit a .303 extractor. Havn't seen it before

it looks properly machined and so on which was why I was very surprised it didn't fit. If it was something I could do with a dremel I would take it on but I don't have any better facilities than that unfortunately.

Exactly where is it binding? Is it on the top edge of the extractor cutout, or the bottom? Remove the bolt, eyeball the face of the breech and the position of the extractor cutout. It should be properly centred with a small equidistant ledge top and bottom. If the barrel is slightly off centre the cutout will favour one side, when the bolt is pushed forward, if there is insufficient slop (you like that word?) in the guide than the bolt will not be able to twist away from this lip.
If this is the case you may be able to relieve it with a dremel, but normally the barrel would need to be removed to rectify this problem.
Also worth checking with bearing blue, it may be the top of the extractor binding, in which case a minimal amount of metal could be removed from this area. Have fun.

If you look at the picture you should be able to see that the extractor is touching the right side of the breech. As I see it, I have three options. One being that I grind the extractor down a bit, no2 is that I gring the inside of the breech a bit or three, put the old extractor back in. I will look at it tomorrow and see what option I go for. It is really a small amount that is giving me grief but I don't want to ruin either the extractor or the rifle by being bubba-ish.

My 7.62 LE No. 5 had a .303 extractor that I changed when I got a 7.62 strengthened one. It all fits together and no problems what so ever.

I put a 7.62mm extractor in three .303" bolts today and they all functioned perfectly. Also put .303" extractors into an L8 and a couple of L42's and they worked perfectly.

There COULD be a problem is the extractor way didn't align perfectly with the extractor in the bolt head.

What sort of barrel is it? If it's a commercial barrel it would appear that the ramp of the extractor way has been machined wrongly. They've tested it using a .303 extractor and it works but with a deeper 7.62 with a more acute angle and deeper claw, the top of the extractor arm is binding on the underside of the breech ring as the claw is opening (and temporarily releasing it's grip on the cartridge) while riding up the ramp.

Never heard of it affecting our service rifles although we'd occasionally see .303 extractors fitted to L42's and 39's

forgot about this for a short time !
The barrel is a lithgow .. probably when it was fitted no one bothered to do a 7.62 extractor as it worked fine without it. I am not sure if it was fitted by lithgow though I suspect it may have been. Anyway, I can wonder out loud all day and it won't fix it. I will take it out and have a good look and see if I have done something wrong ( quite possible ) . If it's not ever going to fit I will put the 303 extractor back in.