As I posted in another thread, the extractor claw on my SW40VE broke during my trip to the range Friday. A quick call to S&W and they will be taking care of it. But after some research online, I discovered quite a few forum posts and other content related to broken extractors on the Sigma. Is it simply a part that needs to be replaced every so often or bad design/materials? I'm nearing the 2500 round mark through my Sigma and I still love it. Just wondering if this is to be expected.

I think it has been decided that 1911 extractors can't be MIM'ed parts. Are the Sigma extractors MIM?

1911 parts are effectively a flat spring with a hook on the end, while a Sigma extractor is rigid and pivots via clearance and is powered by a seperate coil spring and plunger....much of the Sigma and Glock and etc is either a stamping, casting or MIM, which is why they cost only $100 or less to make, aside from the obvious plastic...

This is an application where the more porous MIM or cast part should work fine, and a few posts out of all the Sigmas sold does not make a trend....neither do a few broken strikers......IF there is a trend, the part is either poorly designed or poorly executed, such as heat treated....which will vary to one degree or another by batch, the only thing that matters to QC is the statistical mean in the larger view....so, IF you and a couple of other guys get one from a batch too brittle, rest assured also a couple of guys will get one from a batch too soft, while most will be just fine...

I would wonder whether opening up a 9mm extractor might cause problems with a .40, the only problem with that line of inquiry being the Sigma was conceived and designed to be a .40 from the start when Glock's was having serious issues with kabooms from too slobbo a chamber and case reveal at the ramp.

That's a very good point. I suppose I was mostly wondering if the extractor is something that is expected to break or need replacing as part of long term maintenance.

well no part lasts forever even on legendary guns....especially strikers/firing-pins, and extractors.....they might have an average very long service life or only average....if you go to a forum of any brand of any make of any model of gun, you will find posts about parts failures...you could remove parts known to break, send the gun back, and have your spares...i don't think there has ever been a truly concerted effort on the Sigma to track what parts fail most often, but it shouldn't be any different than any other gun...parts subject to repetitive shock and stress would be a good place to start.