I forgot if the blue or the black insert indicates the correct extractor for the 16" carbines.  Just picked up a new 16" Bushmaster and it has the blue extractor insert.

Thanks,

Coffee

Bushmaster does not use the colored inserts, Colt does.  The balck one is the heavier one.

Despite what a peddler of Colt parts has sneeringly posted on this site a few days ago, the blue and black inserts are exactly the same.  Black is what Colt packs with the heavy duty springs sent out for armed forces armorer use, to identify the spring.

That being said, I have a strong hunch that what Bushie is putting in their factory pieces is still the old unit.  Given the really cheap investment, I'd go ahead and get a few of the Wolff heavy duty jobs [url]www.gunsprings.com[/url], and be on the safe side about what's in your piece[:D]

DevL,

Don't know if it's a new thing or not - but my new Bushmaster definitely has a blue insert on the extractor spring.

Coffee

Wolff XP

I have three Bushmasters. All have blue inserts. I put Wolff XP springs in all three. They all work now.

Coffee,

       All the Bushmaster's have BLUE inserts.  I have talked to techs at both Bushmaster and Colt.  The BLACK insert is for the FULL AUTO Colt.  If you are not firing full auto you do not need a BLACK insert.

       The Wolff extractor spring is a great improvement.  I've got 1 Colt, 1 Eagle Arms, and 4 Bushmasters...ALL of them have blue inserts and all of them have Wolff extractor spings and I haven't had any problems with any of them...some of them are 10+ years old and have several thousand rounds through them.

As said, the black insert is Colt's way of identifying the spring to be the new heavy duty (HD) spring.  If you have the HD spring, you don't really need the Wolff spring, but if you are going to replace the spring you got (with the blue insert/non HD spring), then you might want to just get the Wolff spring instead of trying to get the Colt part.  The Wolff springs are sold in packs of three by Brownells, handy for people like me.

Edit to add:  If the black insert is stiffer than the blue (according to you know who), I can't see that it would be significant enough to make any difference.  Also, if you are using the Wolff spring, I found it unnecessary - even detrimental, to use an extractor extra force o-ring device.  I tried that on my F/A setups, and found it was sometimes difficult to chamber the first round, and unnecessary as the Wolff/HD spring was all that I needed to ensure reliable extraction in F/A.  While you may not need the HD or Wolff spring in a semi-auto, I found it good insurance since sometimes your chamber can get dirty enough to need it, depending on situation (as in chamber size and ammo used).

Coffee357,
Rather than worry about the extractor springs, the color of the rubber insert,D rings,Wolfe Springs, etc., and the high price of some of these items,  just contact Maj. Vince Jiga (Ret.) at 740-783-8303.  Vince sells an "O" ring for less than a buck, that solves the extraction problems on short bbl AR's,(on any AR's for that matter). They withstand the heat and solvents.  I have been using these "O" rings for about 2 years and have not had one problem, with any type of ammo (including steel cased).  We have put over 10,000 rounds (each) thru an AR and a Colt M4, no problems. I installed them in 4 AR's that have gone thru 2 training classes at Thunder Ranch (1200 rounds each/class, not including their 3 months of practice), and none of the guns skipped a beat.  This is a simple, cheap solution, to the question of extractor problems, and you don't have to keep track of insert colors and spring tensions.