Okay, I finally managed to unscrew the darn thing (had to secure the services of a bench vise).  How do I get the extractor and ejector out?  I've poked and prodded but they won't budge, and I can see lots of grime in there.

I mean, Mossberg must have gotten them in somehow, right?  ;)

Did you try soaking it in Kroil or CLP or something else?

BTW, this advise may be too late, but NEVER run a brush through the barrel of a Mossberg M44. The barrel is lead lapped and brushing it out will destroy the accuracy. Wet and dry patches is all that is recommended. HTH

So does that mean I should avoid solvents that advertise their lead removal capabilities when cleaning out the barrel?  And if the barrel is lead lapped, will the patches ever actually come out clean?

Cleaning solvents such as Hoppes, CLP, mineral spirits, or Kroil are okay, just don't use any abrasives like JB Bore Paste or bronze brushes. Nylon brushes and wet/dry patches are okay.

Here are the basic bolt disassembly instructions, which I found on www.jouster.com/ .22 Smallbore Rifle forum. There is more M44 info over there if you're interested.

- Turn bolt handle clockwise to allow striker to move forward to the fired position.
- Grip bolt and rear domed end firmly (a padded vise or padded pliers may help). Unscrew end piece from rear of bolt. CAUTION! Striker spring is under tension!
- Move bolt handle sleeve to rear with striker. When sleeve has enough clearance remove to rear.
- Remove firing pin/striker from bolt.
- Remove extractors by pushing plunger to rear and lifting extractor out of recess. CAUTION! Plunger is under tension! This isn't usually necessary and is easier said than done :-( If you're having trouble with your extractors try soaking in mineral spirits and/or Kroil and/or repeated blastings with brake cleaner/Gun Scrubber first.
- When replacing the striker and bolt handle sleeve note that the sleeve must be fitted onto the rear of the striker before the striker is fully inserted into the bolt.

If you decide you absolutely, positively must remove the extractors, here's what I did:

Warning! There may be (hope there is) an easier way

-Get everything as clean and dry (non-slippery) as possible
-Start with the left extractor
-Place the bolt in a padded vise. Use the end corner of the vise and have the bolt at an angle, bottom toward you, left extractor up. You'll need access to both the outside and inside of the bolt
-Press the plunger way down. I used a medium-size flat jeweler's screwdriver (which is still pretty small). A dental pick might be good too. Anything that's small, thin, and stiff so you can jam it between the extractor and plunger, push the plunger all the way down, and still have room to get the extractor out
-While pressing and holding the plunger down take another small screwdriver and push the extractor out from inside the bolt. Wiggle the extractor a bit and you'll see where to push
-Get down on your hands and knees and find where the extractor and plunger landed ;-) To bypass this step someone else suggested doing all this inside a big plastic bag. Good advice
-That was the easy one. If that hasn't convinced you to leave them in and go the soak-and-spray route repeat for the right extractor except...
-You won't be able to push it out as easily as you did on the left. You can push with a rod through the left extractor hole across the bolt or grab it with needle-nose pliers and wiggle it out
-When replacing the plunger the flat goes in facing up and in

HTH