doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Preference: Extractors or Ejectors?

Stan, you're right. Catching shells from an ejector gun becomes so second nature that when you switch to an extractor only gun you still cover the breech with your hand to the point that it's a difficult habit to stop.

I think English hunting where the shooting was fast and furious (and where they had someone else to pick up the shells) ejectors were necessary. I can go either way.

I don't know about English guns, but I prefer both ejectors & extractors and my Syracuse A grade can't be beat in that department. In fast and furious shooting action like "live" barn yard pigeon shooting you have very little time to reload, so I prefer ejectors. But on a "moving forward" hunts like long cornfield pheasant hunts I like extractors, so I don't litter.

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I'm in the same camp as Stan here. I've shot ejector guns most of the time and have never had a problem with retaining empties by simply cupping my hand over the chambers upon opening the gun.
I don't think there's any question that ejectors add value to a gun.
If you really don't like ejectors it's usually a straight forward task to disable them and then re-activate them when you sell the gun.
Jim

I hunt with a Model 1889 Remington 10 bore and a Model 1900 Remington 12 bore. The 12 bore has ejectors and the 10 has extractors. I prefer the ejectors. I guess I'm like Elmer Keith, old and set in my ways. Like Keith says in his book Shotguns By Keith, "It's a pleasure to use a fine double with ejectors.....you hear the soft "punk" of the ejector locks." When I open the 1900 it kicks the empties on the ground so close they kiss each other. So what if I have to take two steps back to pick them up. At my age I need the excersise.

I prefer an ejector gun, if the cocking mechanism is timed so it doesn't hold the gun slightly closed, preventing a new shell from being fully inserted. I have a couple guns like this. It's a pain.

If the subject is English bespoke hammerless ejector or extractor guns, I'll vote for the ejectors, they seem to have overall better finish and attention to detail. I suppose if the buyer could afford an ejector, he would also pay extra for those nice touches that set guns apart.

In regards to the usefullness of the ejectors, they're nice at the target range, less distraction and wasted time pulling out empties plus it typically is not littering to let them hit the ground. In the field ejectors are usually unneccessary and lead to littering (once they hit the ground, that's where they stay). Also if the ejector springs make closing the gun take significantly extra effort, it becomes tiresome. I shot an AYA 10 that could throw empties six feet but closing it in a pit blind was a real PITA.

The idea that ejectors are useless for hunting today is also one that I disagree with. But, this is relative, relative to the type hunting/ shooting in the field that one engages in.

I can see where a grouse/woodcock hunter would have no need for ejectors. Quail hunting, too, may be something that one would not NEED ejectors for, though my quail guns have 'em. Usually, two shots on a covey rise is aplenty.

I, however, do a lot of dove shooting in fields where the birds may all pile in at the same time, offering fast paced shooting for a few minutes. With a limit of 15, I want to fill it if at all possible. Many times the circumstances calls for as fast a reloading as I can do. I spent one whole season shooting an extractor Sterlingworth, and though I enjoyed the gun very much, I wasted many, many shot opportunities while digging empties out of the chambers. There were shoots that left me with broken fingernails, it was so furious.

I can reload an ejector gun much faster, and I can leisurely pick up my empties around my stand after my limit is filled. I prefer ejectors for ducks for the exact same reason. In my case, "once the empties hit the ground it is" NOT "where they lay"!

Call me a game hog if you wish, I don't think I am. But, I shoot my limit everytime I can, and love eating them all. I make no apologies for that. And ejectors make it easier and more fun for me.

SRH

Amen Stan. I eat them all too but I also eat all of them. Meaning when I shoot a pheasant I don't just take the breast. I clean and cook the whole bird, nothing wasted except guts and feathers.

I prefer extractors. i don't have to worry about the empties go flying out of the breech when I open the gun. So much easier to pull them out of the breech, instead of having to go look for them. When I bought my Browning Superposed in 1970, I had the ejector springs pulled. I hate that no pick up rule that one runs across at the trap and skeet range. When I bought my Bernardelli back in 1990, it came with extractors.