AR15 Extractor spring

[Julien Boit]

Hey all,

I have a question for all the certified riflemen and gunsmiths and all the other, In fact anyone who can help me

What's the length of an original AR15 extractor spring ?

How many coil does it have ?

Is it the kind of thing you replace when tuning your rifle ?

DVC

Julien

[EricW]

Julien,

The spring out of my Colt is right at 4mm long and has 3 coils.  It also has a blue, plastic/rubber/elastomer piece inside the spring that gives it extra tension.  My understanding is that the plastic piece is critical in getting proper extraction.  I don't know much about tuning, b/c mine worked out of the box, but having a couple extra spring/inserts around is probably a great idea.  I put my spares in a plastic baggie and leave them in my buttstock.

I think you can order them from Bushmaster.

http://www.bushmaster.com/shopping/uppers/...r_receivers.asp

If you look at the page, I think there is actually a mistake.  The "Extractor Pin Insert" is actually an "Extractor Spring Insert" I believe.  You'll need both that plus the spring.  

Thanks for reminding me, b/c I needed to order spares of these and forgot.  

E

(Edited by EricW at 8:53 am on Nov. 21, 2002)

[RL17]

Brownells sells a Wolf extra power extractor spring. They come in a package of 3. You don't use the insert in it. They work really well, and improve or even cure extraction problems with short barrels.

[Julien Boit]

Thanks for the advice Pat

DVC

Julien

[grywlfbg]

Holy zombie thread Batman!

Ok, resurrecting this one. I pierced a primer on my CTR-02 and it blew some crap down into my ejector causing FTE's. I figured since I'd have to take the bolt apart I might as well replace the ejector and extractor springs. So what's the consensus on extractor springs? Wolff? Insert, no insert? The JP bolt did have an insert (or what Brownell's calls an AR-15 extractor buffer).

[rvb]

I've been switching over to the newer "gold" Colt spring on my guns when it comes time for PM:

http://www.brownells.com/rifle-parts/extractor-parts/extractor-springs/extractor-spring-assembly-prod4840.aspx

seems to work well with both carbines and rifles w/o having to remember what color insert goes where, o-rings, etc. Not a great number of rounds with them yet [personally].....

-rvb

Edited May 15, 2013 by rvb

[Klemmer]

Colt gold spring is the current military standard. You also want a black insert inside the spring. Blue inserts are the old style and weaker than the black ones. My rifles are split between the Colt gold/black combo and the Wolff extra power springs without inserts.

[grywlfbg]

Looks like colt gold/black insert is the way to do. Thanks for the info!

[Mark Gale]

Looks like colt gold/black insert is the way to do. Thanks for the info!

You'll notice that the Colt spring has closed ends and is ground. This isn't the case with the Wolff spring (closed but not ground). The grinding operation ensures that the ends of the spring are square to its axis and subsequently compresses along its axis. The Wolff spring is also "extra power" but this doesn't translate to extra life.

[Smokecloud]

any good quality spring will do, but black inserts are for carbine, but will also work in rifle. Blue inserts are for rifle and not strong enough to work reliably in carbine. If you have a good spring and black insert, your fine. No doghnuts, too much tension and it starts wrecking the rims on the cases.