I was at a Steel Challenge match this weekend, doing very well with my transition to using optics this year. Well, at the end of my third stage, I inserted my chamber flag (a pretty large one made of nylon - fills the width of the opening), and released the bolt.

I usually try to hold the handle so the bot doesn't slam against the chamber flag, but it slipped. I thought I saw something fly out of the chamber, but didn't pay much attention.

Well, on the next stage, I was having all sorts of problems. Found out that what had flown out was the extractor. It hit the chamber flag and popped out.

Fortunately, I have a spare ejector and spring with me. No plunger, but I found it laying on the ground.

So, two lessons learned. One, was that I put a groove in the chamber flag so that if I lose grip of the bolt release and it slams forward and hits the chamber flag, the bolt will contact the chamber flag and the protruding extractor won't make contact.

Another, mentioned by a friend, was to get a whole bolt assembly, so that if there is any failure during a match (e.g. striker, extractor), I can quickly swap it out. Later, I can use spare parts to bring the bolt back into ready condition.

I just need to find a bolt assembly. Found two places that sold them, but they were both out of stock.