I was a range officer for a carbine class put on by [url]www.pro-tac.net[/url] this Saturday and saw my first broken extractor.

This was on a well-maintained Colt shooting surplus 55gr loads. I got handed the rifle when it wouldn't extract (for obvious reasons) the fired case in the chamber. When I broke down the rifle, I found that the extractor had broken off just at the notch that grabs the case rim. We were at a range that has a gunsmith, and he had a new extractor, so the student was back on the range in five minutes.

No other real malfunctions in 8 hours of pretty steady shooting, although some folks were a little too stingy with the lubrication. I saw some non-GI mag bodies that flexed and wouldn't feed when loaded out to 30 rounds. This allowed the rounds to sit side-by-side in the mag instead of staggered, resulting in two rounds being fed at once.

That were my Carbon 15 used to break them ,every other round.I cant believe the gas system in them was at fault for FTE.Opened up the chamber and it works now.

You should carry a small stash  of small parts that can be lost or brocken. They can fit in the pistol grip.

In fifteeen years of shooting hipower with AR-15's, a broken extractor in my wife's at a regional match, is the only stoppage we've had.
I carry a complete bolt, easier to change in the wind and rain in the pits, which is where you end up fixing such things.

I thought broken extractors only happened on rifles that use Russian steel cased ammo?

Maybe all those that have encountered broken extractors using Wolf and Barnul will check in here?

[/sound of crickets chirping]

Warlord, that definitely convinced me that I need to carry an AR survival kit with me.

I broke an extractor 12 years ago. I bought spare parts including 4 extractors and have never needed another one since(or any other parts for that matter).