Dummy Inquiry: Explain extractors to me, please

[yhtomit]

Hi there!

I've owned guns for more than 10 years now, but my knowledge remains lower than I'd like (and I shoot less than I wish I could afford to ). So here's one of the many dummy-level questions I'd like to see answered, with large print, small words, and pictures: What is the difference between an external and an internal extractor?

I know what an extractor is -- at least, while this may be an incomplete description, I know it to be the part of the gun that actually pushes out each spent cartridge.

But I'm confused as to the different types, and would like to see side-by-side-with-arrows pictures that show why internal or external extractors are so named. They're all "inside" the gun's frame, aren't they? Internal and External are words that need some sort of reference point, but I don't understand what the point is in this case.

Note: This is the sort of question that makes me which this forum had an "Anonymous Coward" option

Thanks for any gentle replies!

timothy

p.s. Perhaps some of you could help expand the surprisingly thin entry at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extractor_(firearms)

 

[The Bushmaster]

You have two main parts that get rid of a expended case. One is the "extractor"===Pulls the case from the chamber. Second is the "ejector"===Flips the case out of the port by being struck by the case head as the "extractor" pulls the case clear of the chamber...The "extractor" hooks over the case head into the rim groove...The ejector is an elongated horizontal post the is fitted to the frame back and to one side of the breach face...

 

[Impax]

Internal extractor


External extractor

 

[MaterDei]

Top pic is a Browning with an internal extractor. The bottom is with the external extractor.

 

[rcmodel]

1911 with external extractor:
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...angId=-1&parent_category_rn=15709&isFirearm=Y

1911 with internal extractor:
http://www.kimberamerica.com/pistols/custom/tlerl.php


rcmodel

 

[Mad Magyar]

Timothy, that was a good question & the replies were excellent, beyond the typical responses....You recall our teachers telling us to go on & ask since there is someone else that has the same question....

 

[yhtomit]

wow -- thanks for the answers and pictures!

Excellent, informative, appreciated -- thanks esp. for the side-by-side pictures, which I had requested, but not expected.

EDIT: Hurrah! The Wikipedia entry is suddenly and mysteriously much better, too Awesome.


timothy

 

[The Bushmaster]

yhtomit...If you look at Impax's first photo. It shows both the extractor (top) and ejector (bottom)...

 

[yhtomit]

Bushmaster -- Yes; that picture along with the other responses helped things make more sense very quickly. I can't say I yet understand why people would prefer (or design) one rather than the other, but at least my grasp of the mechanism itself is suddenly much better.

Thanks!

timothy

 

[1911 guy]

Why one is better than another.

This actually depends on what the firearm was designed with. We'll use the 1911 as an example, because that's the pistol with the most "innie" vs "outie" controversy. The pistol was designed with an internal extractor. The placement and geometry work well. External extractors on a 1911 compromise this. Sure, they can be made to work, but only after a little creative engineering by some egghead with a CAD/CAM program. The location often causes undue stress and premature failure of external extractors on 1911's. If, however, we were talking about an autopistol designed from the ground up to have an external extractor, the location and geometry would be correct and able to handle the stress induced. On such a handgun, the internal type would be a step backward.