Failure to go into battery every time

[DonVoigt]

Under normal operation, those little projections do not touch the breech block itself.

Grinding them off intentionally is a practice I've not heard of before - I don't think such was ever an "approved" practice, JMHO.

If the projections did not serve a purpose they would not have been included in the design or would have been eliminated during production- they would simplify mfg. of both the extractor and the recesses in the bolt quite significantly.

I believe such purpose is to aid in retention of the extractor in the breech block; without them there is nothing to prevent the extractor from moving forward and out of the block except the curve of the projection under the cross pin. Of course later on the Swiss altered the design to a full circle for the pin- did they eliminate the forward projections ?

I don't collect Swiss lugers, so can't check an extractor for its shape; GT ? Luger doc ?

The chips in the picture are a well known type failure, but not one frequently encountered - it can only be caused by a major malfunction = a punctured primer/ruptured case and the resulting significant gas leak.

[G.T.]

Althought not a great design for large quantity manufacture, I agree that every nuance of the extractors design has a reason behind it! As for the Swiss extractor, it seems to be identical with the exception of the hole for retention rather then the small spur that protrudes from the bottom. I have had some few applications where there was enough clearance for the Swiss extractor to fit and work freely, most of the time, no...
But, whe I removed this extractor, I found that the spring OAL had been reduced by at least a third, which reinforces my theory that the tab stops on the breech block are there to prevent overcompression of the small coil spring that was used? And BTW, when I checked the Luger initially for head space, the action closed easily on the "NO-GO" gauge? I replaced the breechblock with a Mauser one, probably "byf" and ended up replacing the middle toggle pin and rear toggle part to get the proper head space back into tolerance... With the ramp correction and all the rest, the Luger is now smooth and snappy and I have every confidence that it will work properly at the range. Of course, I remember that thoughtfull phrase, Optimism-Is Going after Moby Dick in a Rowboat and taking Tartar Sauce With You! I will keep all in the loop as we progress! BTW, Santa was good to me, shorts, colorful socks, a Marvin the Martian tee shirt! (from a disitant planet not to far from here) Suspenders, and chocklate covered cherries! Last but not least, a bottle of Crown Royal which is directly tyed to my problem solving sessions... Now who can top all that! Meeerrryy Christmas! Ho, de, hoho,,,, best, til...lat'r....GT....

[G.T.]

Hi to all! Well, if the problem was in the top end, it's not there anymore? The barreled receiver ran perfectly thru three mags of 7 and/or 8 rounds and never missed a beat! I inspected the brass, and although the primer strike was deep, it didn't pierce the primer and was consistant all thru the test. I even swithched ammo from WW white box 115 gr. ball to Federal 124 gr. ball and it ran along perfectly and un-changed... I am pondering taking a few firing pins with me back to the range to see if it makes any difference on strike depth?
I'm going to pow-wow with RW and see what we need, or maybe want, to do going forward..... But, success was the final verdict... Best to all, til....lat'r....GT....

BTW, problem, block won't close, solution: re-eatablish correct feed ramp angle & depth, and, also tune and straighten forks to eliminate binding and drag, which one was the cure, anyones guess...... best, GT

[G.T.]

Well, never one to trust fate, I got out the old magnafying glass and took a closer look at the problem pin? I cousd see immeadiatly that the tip was rough and although not corroded, it showed signs of irrgularity. I check the protrusion and depth to the breech face with about a dozen pins and all were within + or - .002" Soooo, I took some 400 W/D and smoothed everything out, and polished with a dremal fine buff and back to the range we went! I loaded and fired three rounds, covering the luger with my straw hat, (only way I can catch brass!) Looked like an idiot, bet mission accomplished, nice smooth pin strike.. I think no more issues, boxed it up and it'e on it's way back to Darian!
Always something new and interesting to learn on these Lugers... Just more fun for me! Best to all, til....lat'r.....GT....

[G.T.]

Hi to all! Well, I've not heard whether or not we cured the issue with the top end mods performed? I am sure he is busy making a living and probably will write when he gets time? I'd really like to know how it turned out, but sometimes, we don't get that privilege? On to the next quest, I know there is a windmill turning somewhere!!! Best to all, til....lat'r.........GT...