Rem 721 won't extract

Kilo Charlie

Kilo Charlie

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I recently picked up a Rem 721, cal. 300 H&H from the exchange. It appears to be in good shape. I loaded up some 90% handloads with H4831 and N160.

After firing, the bolt lifts easily until the last few degrees, say 15 or 20 degrees. Then it becomes very sticky. If I jiggle it back and forth a bit at a time, it MAY eject my empty, or the empty may remain chambered. If I just whack the bolt handle, the case stays stuck and when I knock it out with an aluminum rod, there is a short radial cut where the extractor has ridden over the case rim.

The cases come out fairly easily, a couple taps with a hammer on an aluminum rod does the trick. The primers are not backed out, flattened or cratered, but they do have a pattern of fine scratches that circle the case from the shoulder to the belt. I'm wondering if the problem more likely lies with a rough chamber than a worn extractor?

To my inexperienced eye, the extractor does not appear worn, and the rifle will extract and eject empty, sized cases no problem.

Is polishing a chamber a job one can do at home? This rifle shows some accuracy potential so I'd like to get this issue fixed!
 
Your problem as described is not an ejection problem. If they fail to extract from the chamber it is an extraction problem.

When using reloaded ammunition and the bolt lift is hard after firing, this is usually caused by a load too hot or a sizing problem.

Without firing does the bolt close easily and open easily on the loaded round? If it does, then fire that round and if it is hard to open the bolt when it engages the initial extraction cam, the load is too hot or the chamber very rough. If it is a rough chamber I would wonder how that happened and polishing it is not a repair I would suggest.

Does the rifle function fine with a factory round?

721 extractors are considered extinct.... extremely hard to find a replacement.

Quality pictures of fired brass may help this thread.
 
I'll try to get pics. The loads were full-length resized and were starting loads, 10% below max. powder charges. The rifle closes and opens easily on unfired cases and ammo. I haven't tried factory ammo in this rifle.
 
I'm seeing conflicting info here for a 67 year old rifle(721's were only chambered in .300 H&H in 1948.) having issues. First post says sized cases extract, but you're having extraction issues. Then it's FL sized. Which is it?
Either way a rough chamber you should be able to see. Isn't likely anyway. Possible, but not likely. The whole arc of bolt lift would be hard with a bad chamber. Far more likely to be a weak extractor. Kind of an odd shaped extractor and a pricey wee thing, if you could find one. Gunparts is sold out, but they wanted $33.60US for one. Western Gun Parts maybe.
Exploded drawing is here. No W's. stevespages.com/ipb-remington-721.html
 
Thanks Sunray.
I don't see any conflicting info; the rifle does extract and eject sized cases easily. Note, I said sized cases, not FIRED cases. Nor did I say that the rifle easily extracts sized cases after firing. I just took some sized, unfired cases and a couple FL sized dummy rounds and cycled them through.
Where I said the ammo was FL sized, I was talking about ammo I fired.

I have read that the Rem 721 extractor is made of unobtainium.

It is hard to see into the chamber but it really doesn't look rough to my naked eye. This morning I scrubbed the chamber best I could with a bore brush, oiled lightly and took the rifle and my last 6 handloads to the range. The first two shots extracted fine, the next four stuck. My intent now is to get a proper chamber brush (where are those available?) and order in some factory ammo to try. The brass I made these loads from is quite old (R-P marked ".300 Magnum", some W-W Super-X and 3 or 4 Imperials). If a spotless chamber and factory ammo don't help with the problem, I may try to find a new extractor. Or have the conversion to 700 extractor done.

The 721 was available in .300 H&H from 1848 until it was discontinued in 1962. The date code puts mine at 1952 or 1953, still an older rifle!
 
Kilo Charlie said:
Thanks Sunray.
I don't see any conflicting info; the rifle does extract and eject sized cases easily. Note, I said sized cases, not FIRED cases. Nor did I say that the rifle easily extracts sized cases after firing. I just took some sized, unfired cases and a couple FL sized dummy rounds and cycled them through.
Where I said the ammo was FL sized, I was talking about ammo I fired.

I have read that the Rem 721 extractor is made of unobtainium.

It is hard to see into the chamber but it really doesn't look rough to my naked eye. This morning I scrubbed the chamber best I could with a bore brush, oiled lightly and took the rifle and my last 6 handloads to the range. The first two shots extracted fine, the next four stuck. My intent now is to get a proper chamber brush (where are those available?) and order in some factory ammo to try. The brass I made these loads from is quite old (R-P marked ".300 Magnum", some W-W Super-X and 3 or 4 Imperials). If a spotless chamber and factory ammo don't help with the problem, I may try to find a new extractor. Or have the conversion to 700 extractor done.

The 721 was available in .300 H&H from 1848 until it was discontinued in 1962. The date code puts mine at 1952 or 1953, still an older rifle!
Click to expand...

how tight is the chamber? how much difference is there between the fired and unfired cases?

i would try and get a bronze shotgun brush first, maybe .410? and clean the chamber with it, i doubt your extractor is the problem, that case has a fair bit of taper so it should almost fall out of a good chamber, it should not involve a hammer if it doesnt extract properly. you also describe scratches on fired extracted cases, i think your problem is in the chamber. if it looks smooth and the brush doesnt help, perhaps take a chamber cast and measure it
 


Thanks for your reply, Scott.
Here is a fired vs unfired case. You can see the scratch pattern on the upper of the two. Mind you, it was stuck in the chamber and knocked out.
I don't have my micrometer at home right now but will be measuring the cases later.
No idea how tight the chamber is; I do know that FL resized cases or cartridges chamber easily.
My big worry cleaning the chamber with a shotgun brush is making sure not to get the brush stuck and unable to reverse!
What you say about the extractor makes sense; it does actually cut through the brass as it pulls off the rim.
 
Looking at the case it appears to be a lousy chamber... not really acceptable. The barrel should come off for a careful polishing of the chamber...

But wait until you fire some factory rounds and see what happens then.
 
guntech said:
Looking at the case it appears to be a lousy chamber... not really acceptable. The barrel should come off for a careful polishing of the chamber...

But wait until you fire some factory rounds and see what happens then.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. As well, it looks like I may go ahead with a Model 700 build in .300 H&H......just need a reamer.

Worthy of note, I contacted the seller, who has a high trader rating. He says he and a friend both owned and hunted with this rifle, no issues. I have no reason to doubt the man but I will ask what they were shooting in it.
 
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I picked up a box of factory ammo on my travels. 10 shots, no problem extracting. There is a bit of that scratch pattern on the fired cases, but no sticking at all.

I know for certain that my loads were well below SAAMI pressure, or at least the data said they ought to be. The only thing I can point the finger at is the very old brass I used; some was Dominion, and the Remington brass is headstamped ".300 Magnum", not the ".300 H&H Mag" they switched to later.
I am going to dispose of the old brass and stick to new stuff and see what happens. I'm just glad it's working, it's a nice old rifle.
 
I had a similar problem with a Rem700 right outta the box, except i couldn't lift the bolt at all. After getting it open with a rubber mallet and getting out a case that looked much like yours it went back across the country to the gravel agency and had the chamber polished. Works like a hot damn now. My first thought was the ammo was too hot but turned out to have a bur in the chamber.
 
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