Redneck Gun Repair

or How To Replace A Hakim Ejector Spring On The Cheap.

First, let me note that it's possible to shoot over 50 rounds of surplus 8 mm and have all of them extract without the spring. I'm a little surprised by this, but having unintentionally done it, it's possible.

Seen clockwise above, the breech cover, bolt carrier, bolt, extractor, and safety housing. My first clue something was off occurred when disassembling the rifle for cleaning, and the extractor just fell onto the table.

Looking at this, my first thought was to wonder where I could buy a small piece of leaf spring material. Then, how to grind/cut/shape it for a good fit. That's when it occurred to me that I have a pile of leaf spring material sitting around:

The easily acquired, cheap stripper clip. In this case, from 5.56 rounds. These were sitting in the corner of the basement for the last 10+ years, but the rust scrubs off with a little steel wool and oil. A brief touch with a cutting wheel, or an appropriate handsaw, and a small length of leaf spring is available.


The piece above needed a little grinding along the long edge to adjust the width, and another cut to remove the retention curve at the tip.

Below, the finely-milled slots for receiving the spring can be seen at the base of the extractor recess.



With a bit of gentle pressure, the new spring can be slid into the milled recesses:


Next, gently prying upwards on the spring allows the extractor to be started into its recess:



A bit more gentle pressure, and the extractor will snap into place:


Total time to make, less then ten minutes, and a hell of a lot cheaper than buy the original parts via online auctions.