Remington 597 extractor issue

[bigbossman]

I was out in the desert having a good time with my 597, when the ejector came out. The ejector itself was lost in the desert sand, but the spring and plunger were still in the action and were recovered.

I'm looking to replace the extractor and have found them online, but my question is more to what might have caused it in the first place, and if I still have all the parts or need something in addition to the extractor itself.

Is this a common problem with these guns? I bought it used, and it functioned just fine until it came apart on me.

[GreggieBoy]

Getting it out is a chore so I can't see how it could just work itself out. You have to compress the plunger and spring then lift the extractor up and out. Curious if maybe the extractor broke somehow? Maybe since the gun has had a number of rounds run through it.

Brownells has a reasonable price on a good aftermarket extractor:

http://www.brownells.com/rifle-parts/bolt-parts/extractor-parts/extractors/remington-597-case-extractor-prod19675.aspx?avs|Make~~Model_1=Remington__597

When you replace the extractor you might want to do it inside a large clear plastic bag. The spring loaded plunger has been known to fly into the unknown very easily. When I replaced mine I used that method, doing it slow and carefully.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[Occams Rasor]

Vid on how to change extractor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXrQu5cf8is