A view of the break-action of a typical , with the action open and the scalloped triangularly shaped extractor visible at the base of the two barrels. The opening lever and the safety catch are visible">double-barrelled shotgun, with the action open and the scalloped triangularly shaped extractor visible at the base of the two barrels. The opening lever and the safety catch are visible
In
breechloading
A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle).
Modern firearms are generally breec ...
firearm
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
s, an extractor is an
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
component that serves to remove spent
casings of previously fired
cartridge
Cartridge may refer to:
Objects
* Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition
* ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device
* Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators
Other uses
* Cartridge (surname), a ...
s from the
chamber
Chamber or the chamber may refer to:
In government and organizations
* Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests
*Legislative chamber, in politics
* Debate chamber, the space or room that houses delib ...
, in order to vacate the chamber for loading a fresh round of
ammunition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
.
In
repeating firearm
A repeating firearm or repeater is any firearm (either a handgun or long gun) that is capable of being fired repeatedly before having to manually reload new ammunition into the weapon.
Unlike single-shot firearms, which can only hold and fire o ...
s with moving
bolts, the extractor is often one or a set of
hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
-like
flange
A flange is a protruded ridge, lip or rim (wheel), rim, either external or internal, that serves to increase shear strength, strength (as the flange of an iron beam (structure), beam such as an I-beam or a T-beam); for easy attachment/transfer of ...
s on the bolt head that grab onto the casing's
rim, so when the bolt moves rearwards the casing is pulled out of the chamber. It is typically aided by a protruding ejector in the
receiver or the bolt, which provides an opposite counter-push that
couple
Couple or couples may refer to :
Basic meaning
*Couple (app), a mobile app which provides a mobile messaging service for two people
*Couple (mechanics), a system of forces with a resultant moment but no resultant force
*Couple (relationship), tw ...
s with the extractor pull to expel the casing entirely out of the gun.
In modern
dropping block,
break-action (e.g.
double-barrel shotgun
A double-barreled shotgun is a break-action shotgun with two parallel barrels, allowing two single shots to be fired in quick succession or simultaneously.
Construction
Modern double-barreled shotguns, often known as ''doubles'', are almost u ...
s) and
revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
firearms, the extractor is a protrusible piece with flanges on the
barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...
/
cylinder
A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...
side, which pushes rearwards on the casing's rim and slides it out of the chambers. Some such extractors can push hard and far enough that they completely clear the cases out of the gun, thereby also performing the function of an ejector.
Use
simplified 3D model of an ejection process
Extractors are a hallmark feature of repeating firearms, and can be found on
bolt-action
Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed).
Most bolt-action ...
,
lever-action
The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms
Lever-action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocking handle located around the trigger g ...
,
pump-action
Pump action or slide action is a repeating firearm action that is operated manually by moving a sliding handguard on the gun's forestock. When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge
Cartridge may refe ...
,
semi-automatic, and
fully automatic
An automatic firearm is an auto-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firearm is capable of harvesting the excess energy released from a previous discharge ...
firearms. Extractors are also found on
revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
s, removing cases either in succession (as in a fixed-cylinder
single-action revolver) or simultaneously (as in a
double-action
Double action (or double-action) refers to one of two systems in firearms where the trigger both cocks and releases the hammer.
*Double-action only (DAO) firearms trigger: The trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. There is no single-action f ...
revolver with a
swing-out or
top-break
Break action is a type of firearm action in which the barrel or barrels are hinged much like a door and rotate perpendicularly to the bore axis to expose the breech and allow loading and unloading of cartridges. A separate operation may be requir ...
cylinder
A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...
). For rimmed cases, the protruded
rim serves as the grabbing point from which the extractor works. For rimless cases, the groove at the base serves as the grabbing point from which the extractor works.
Not all
single-shot
Single-shot firearms are firearms that hold only a single round of ammunition, and must be reloaded manually after every shot. The history of firearms began with single-shot designs, then multi-barreled designs appeared, and eventually many ce ...
firearms have extractors, though many do.
Break-action shotguns
Break action is a type of firearm action in which the barrel or barrels are hinged much like a door and rotate perpendicularly to the bore axis to expose the breech and allow loading and unloading of cartridges. A separate operation may be requir ...
,
double rifles
The double rifle, also known as a double-barreled rifle, is a rifle with two barrels mounted parallel to each other. Synonymous with big game hunting found primarily in Africa and India, the double rifle is a purely sporting weapon with no militar ...
, and
combination guns typically have an extractor that push out the casings when the action is flexed open. Most modern extractors are forceful enough to completely eject the casing from the gun (i.e. integrating the function of an ejector), but some require the user to manually remove spent cartridges. In this situation, the extractor loosens and moves the case out of the chamber just far enough to allow the user to grab and pull out the casing, but not far enough to remove the case entirely from the chamber. This situation is encountered on some single-shot rifles, single-shot pistols (such as the break-action
Thompson/Center Contender
The Thompson/Center Contender is a break-action single-shot pistol or rifle that was introduced in 1967 by Thompson/Center Arms. It can be chambered in cartridges from .22 Long Rifle to .45-70 Government.
History
Warren Center, working in his ba ...
), and on some break-action single- and
double-barrel shotgun
A double-barreled shotgun is a break-action shotgun with two parallel barrels, allowing two single shots to be fired in quick succession or simultaneously.
Construction
Modern double-barreled shotguns, often known as ''doubles'', are almost u ...
s.
In bolt-action, lever-action, pump-action, semi-automatic, and fully automatic firearms, the extractor typically work in conjunction with a separate ejector to remove completely a fired, empty cartridge case from the weapon. The extractor moves with the bolt to pull the cartridge case rearwards out of the chamber, and at some point the ejector eccentrically exerts a frontal push (from the case's
frame of reference
In physics and astronomy, a frame of reference (or reference frame) is an abstract coordinate system whose origin, orientation, and scale are specified by a set of reference points― geometric points whose position is identified both mathema ...
), which
torque
In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...
s and "flicks" the case out of a side opening on the
receiver known as the ''ejector port''.
History
A flip-up barrel and lack of extractor on a semi-automatic pistol">Beretta Bobcat semi-automatic pistol
Some very early
blowback pistols used ammunition with no rim or extractor groove on the cartridge cases (e.g.,
5mm Bergmann), and such pistols therefore lacked extractors. The spent case was forced out of the chamber by recoil, and was subsequently ejected. As this system did not provide for easy clearance of misfires, it was not very successful, especially for self-defense handguns needing to be cleared quickly and reloaded in the event of a cartridge primer
malfunction
A malfunction is a state in which something functions incorrectly or is obstructed from functioning at all.
Some types of malfunctions are:
* Malfunction (parachuting), malfunction of a parachute
* Sexual malfunction, also called "sexual dysfunc ...
. Nonetheless, there are examples of contemporary modern semi-automatic pistols that do not have extractors even to this day, such as the
Beretta Bobcat, Beretta Model 21A, and clones of the Beretta designs such as the
Taurus PT22
The PT22 is a .22 LR semi-automatic pistol produced by Taurus and features an 8+1 round capacity magazine. The PT22 is often viewed as a Taurus copy of the Beretta 21 Bobcat due to having a similar " tip up" barrel. In fact this small pistol is ...
that are successful. These modern pistols typically have flip-up barrels, to permit easy loading without necessarily cycling a slide against a strong recoil spring, making these pistols suitable for use by people with minimal hand strength. The trade made is that in the event of a cartridge primer malfunction, the gun is rendered useless until the action can be cycled by someone with full hand strength. Still, for someone without the hand strength to handle a semi-automatic firearm with a slide against a strong recoil spring, the trade is often made.
An extractor also performs the function of an ejector in revolvers. When the striking force applied to the ejector rod is hard and fast enough, the extractor will typically eject the empty case(s) from the cylinder. Some break-action shotguns are also designed to eject empty shells completely out of the chamber when the barrel is opened.
{{Firearms
Firearm components