Marlin 60 (.22 LR) NEVER ejects live rounds (no FTE upon firing)

[Macchina]

I have a Marlin Model 60 I purchased (brand new) about 5 years ago. I don't know if this issue was present when I purchased the gun. I fire all rounds in the gun while plinking so the issue didn't present itself until I hunted with the gun and had to unload the last round.

The extractor seems to just skip right over the rim of the round when trying to manually eject an unfired round. When firing the gun, all spent rounds eject (due to this being a blowback) and fresh rounds are put into battery.

Any clue as to what is happening. I'm pretty handy, so if there is a fix for this I'm ready with my hammer and bastard file!

 

[Macchina]

Note: I don't think is am issue with the ejector spring: it's as tall as a Nickle and the rounds don't even leave the chamber to be able to get to that spring.

 

[carbine85]

Make sure the tube mag is clean and has some lube. Clean up and lube the action. Mine doesn't like weak ammo but other than that it's very reliable and accurate.
What ammo are you shooting?

 

[Macchina]

Winchester bulk 555. I also have some Winchester Wildcat that does the same thing. I'll clean it (cleaned it after the last time I shot it), however I don't see how a dirty mag tube would affect a manual ejection.

 

[MIL-DOT]

Just taking a shot in the dark here, but if you're only having problems when manually ejecting, it could be that pulling on the handle is pulling the bolt out and to the right ( obviously by a very small degree), causing the extractor to slightly miss the rim of the shell.
Of course, this isn't your fault, it shouldn't be happening,regardless, I'm just suggesting a possibility.

edit: Please, if you don't mind, humor me here, and try manually ejecting again, but take care not to pull OUTWARD as you pull back, try and press the handle/bolt in towards the rifle, as you pull the bold rear-ward (if possible). I could be way off base, but this is still the only thing I can think of that would cause manual ejection failures, but not cause failures during operation.

 

[rcmodel]

For some reason your extractor hooks are not getting a good hook behind the rim of the unfired round.

Check the extractor hook grooves on both sides of the barrel shank for packed bullet lube and crud.

It can hold the extractors from fully seating all the way behind the case rim.

Other then that?
It could be the hooks are hitting the bottom of the grooves prematurely do to manufacturing tolerance issues.

The cure there is to remove a slight amount of metal off the outer edge of the hooks so they can seat deeper in the barrel notches.

Other then that?
It could be one or both extractor hooks are worn off rounded on the end and the hooks are just slipping off.

Do the hooks look sharp and straight like this?

http://www.brownells.com/schematics/Marlin-/60-sid285.aspx#r19sid285

rc

 

[Macchina]

I think it's a combination of problems. For one thing, either both types of ammo (both Winchester, but different bullet weight/type) are oversized or my chamber is undersized. I cleaned the chamber REALLY WELL but still about half the rounds stick. If you look at the far right bullet, it's polished near the case: this is the only one that stuck out of the three. Having said that, it was easily removed with a screwdriver and the extractor should have removed it. I tired removing it with different pressures on the bolt and no go. Good idea though. I think my extractors are weak. I will try removing some material RC. Thanks for the advice so far guys.

 

[Elkins45]

For some reason your extractor hooks are not getting a good hook behind the rim of the unfired round.

Check the extractor hook grooves on both sides of the barrel shank for packed bullet lube and crud.

It can hold the extractors from fully seating all the way behind the case rim.

Other then that?
It could be the hooks are hitting the bottom of the grooves prematurely do to manufacturing tolerance issues.

The cure there is to remove a slight amount of metal off the outer edge of the hooks so they can seat deeper in the barrel notches.

Other then that?
It could be one or both extractor hooks are worn off rounded on the end and the hooks are just slipping off.

Do the hooks look sharp and straight like this?

http://www.brownells.com/schematics/Marlin-/60-sid285.aspx#r19sid285

rc

All this was what I was thinking as the second thing to look for. The first thing that came to mind was that your extractor spring is weak. The extractor is sliding over the rim because the spring doesn't have enough oomph to keep it pressed against it. Dirt and improper shape would exacerbate this problem, or it may be a combination.

A strong enough extractor spring wouldn't need much of a hook on the extractor to work...lateral force alone would grip the rim. The problem with that is that it would also likely be so hard to slip over the rim it would set off the priming compound. Extractor springs on rimfires are generally pretty weak for that reason. Yours is probably just a little too weak.

 

[Macchina]

Awe crap: I took the gun apart again and looked at the extractor as I manually brought the bolt into battery. Sure enough the extractor hits the barrel!

I go to work removing and filling it: everything was going great but I hit it with one sweep at a bit too steep an angle and I'm afraid I took too much off. Side note: this extractor is made from very soft steel! Literally feels like mild steel...

Now to find a new extractor. Probably for the best. Hopefully this one is within spec.

 

[Elkins45]

One errant swipe with a file probably didn't ruin anything. No harm is trying it out.