Thanks to Daan Kemp, Scout Sniper, Peter Ladler and Lee Enfield for the valuable suggestions and links.

Having followed Scout Sniper's link to Fitting A No4 Rifle Extractor I saw that my bolthead didn't look like the one pictured. Where there should be a hole for the extractor screw, mine had a filed down surface with indication of a filled hole.


instead of



Apparently, someone had put in a screw and filed the head off. Consequently, I can't get the screw out and release the extractor to do the installation properly.

I tried pulling the spring through with dental floss as Lee Enfield suggested, but the floss was cut in the tight fit between the spring and the sides of the slot.

I tried inserting the spring from the back while pressing down to compress it, but couldn't get it compressed enough to go in.

Thought about grinding a slot in the bolthead across the screw head, and trying to get the screw out with a screwdriver, but ended up using a vise to press the spring in[/B] from the front. It seated well, and for a while it was tight - it repeatedly stripped a round off the magazine, held, fed, extracted and ejected it. But the spring came loose again when I cycled the action multiple times, and, as I feared I would, I had bent the long arm of the spring into into a tighter curve in the pressing operation.

I may try grinding the screw slot, or just order a new bolthead, spring, and screw, and be done with it.

Thanks again to everyone.

-- David