For those shooters interested in the 6.5 Grendel in the AR-15 there has been a couple of new magazines released recently.  There has been an E-Lander 25 round steel mag on the market for about a year.  These mags are manufactured in Isreal and imported by the Mako Group.  These mags reportedly are similar to the H&K steel mag design.  The reports I've read about the 6.5 Grendel E-Lander  25 round mags has been positive.  I was looking on Alexander Arms web site and noticed they are now selling a 17 round 6.5 Grendel mag.  This mag has the curvature of the 25 round 6.5 Grendel mag or a 30 round AR-15 5.56/223 mag.  The length should be comparable to the 20 round 5.56/223 mags.  E-Lander has also released a 10 round which is shorter in length than the 20 round mag.  All three mags feature a white follower which should aid with quick identification.

I haven't ordered any of these mags but will do so in the next couple days.  Hopefully these mags will be reliable as they are a little more expensive than the ASC or CPD mags currently on the market.  My C Products and ASC mags which look like 20 round 5.56 mags only hold 14 rounds but have been reliable.  Other 6.5 Grendel shooters have reported spotty reliability with the original C Products, ASC and C Products Defense mags.


http://www.shopalexanderarms.com/Magazines-17-Round_6_5_Grendel_Magazine_by_E-Lander.html

Thanks!

I ordered some of the E-Lander 6.5 Grendel mags online Saturday, looks like they shipped out today.  Hopefully I can test these this week.

Would love to hear some feedback on these mags.

I have some of the original run C Products mags.  A couple of 4 rounders and 14'ers and twenty or so 25'ers.

I've used the 4 and 14 round mags exclusively, and I haven't really tested the 25 round mags.  They are all still in the wrapper except for two of them.  With the introduction of Wolf steel cased ammo, I'm gonna start cycling through these mags to check for function.  I'm hoping they all work, but if not I'd love to know if a reliable replacement exists (i.e., these e-lander mags).

Please let me know how they work out for you!

Thanks,
-Chase

E-Lander magazine evaluation.

I had a chance to test a 10 round and 17 round E-Lander 6.5 Grendel magazines today. I received the mags via UPS yesterday.  The mag springs were very tight out of the package.  I loaded the 10 round and a 17 round mag to capacity last night and left them loaded till I had a chance to use them today.

The temperature was 52 degrees with a steady 20 MPH wind gusting  to 25 + MPH.  I shot 10 rounds out of the ten round E-Lander mag first.  I tried to use the most likely round to cause problems with the E-Lander mags.  I had loaded 100 grain Sierra Varmint bullets into fire formed 7.62 X 39 brass loaded with 26.0 grains of Accurate 2230 powder with S&B LR primers.  The 100 grain Sierra is a blunt HP bullet with a short C.O.A.L. which can lead to feeding issues compared to an A-Max/SST bullet.

When I attempted to load the first round the bolt did not go completely into battery.  I thought I pulled the charging handle fully to the rear but the round failed to completely chamber.  I dropped the mag and cleared the first round.  I locked the bolt to the rear and inserted the mag now loaded with 9 rounds.  I hit the bolt release and the top round chambered.  I fired the 3 rounds off hand at a plastic bottle filled with water with no issue.

I fired the remaining 6 rounds off the bench at a paper plate 150 yards down range.  The bolt locked back on the empty mag so I loaded the first round again and inserted the mag into the rifle.  I hit the bolt release and the round chambered, fired and the bolt locked back on the empty mag.   I loaded 3 rounds into the 10 round mag and proceeded to put those shots into the same target to make a 10 round group.  Again these rounds fed and ejected and the bolt locked back on an empty mag.

I next inserted the 17 round mag into the rifle and hit the bolt release where the round chambered.  I fired the first round and experienced a failure to feed.  The hollow point struck on the bottom edge of the feed ramp.  It appeared the mag may have let the  nose dive causing the failure to feed.  I dropped the mag and removed the round that jammed.  I then inserted the mag with the remaining 15 rounds and proceeded to fire semi rapid fire at the 150 yard target.  The remaining 15 rounds fired and the bolt locked back on the empty mag.

I then loaded 5 rounds into the 17 round mag and fired these 5 without issue.  I loaded another 5 rounds  into the 17 round mag and these fired without issue.  Overall I think these mags will be fine and I attribute the feeding issues to being brand new.  I intend on loading these mags to capacity and letting them set for a few days.  

The fit and finish of these steel E-Lander mags is very good but I can tell the finish will wear just like my original C Products mags.  The finish looks exactly like the glossy finish on the C Products mags.   I like these 17 round E-Lander mags better than the 14 round ( supposed to be 15 round but only hold 14 rounds) C Products mags.  The E-Lander mags are slightly longer than the C Products mags but are still short enough to use off the bench.

I used the E -Lander mags in my 16" CAR gas system J & T distributing 6.5 Grendel with six position stock and carbine buffer.   I fully expect these mags will function in my  other 6.5 Grendel with 20" Shilen barrel.  By the time I paid shipping the E-Landers cost me $21 each.  I have several ASC and C Products 24 round mags so I didn't buy any 24 round E-Lander mags but other reviews have been positive.  Another nice feature of the E-Lander mags is the locking floor plate.

The only disadvantage I see to the E-Landers is cost and my two mags rattle when loaded, the 17 round is worse than the 10 round.  I did lock the two E-Lander loaded mags into my rifle and they did not appear to rattle, which is good.

E-Lander mag photos.

This picture is from left to right an E-Lander 17 round mag, 15 round C Products mag ( only hols 14 rounds), E-Lander 10 round mag and an ASC 10 round mag which only holds 9 rounds.



This photo is of a C Products 15 round mag setting on top of the 17 round E-Lander mag to illustrate the difference in length.



This photo is of the glossy finish E-Lander 10 round mag sitting next to an ASC 10 round mag with matt finish.



This photo is of the 10 round E-Lander mag setting on top of the 10 round ASC mag.  Notice the E-Lander 10 round mag has a slight curve near the base where the ASC mag is straight.  The E-Lander 10 round mag is slightly shorter than the ASC.



This picture is of an E-Lander in the plastic bag as shipped and purchased.

Just an update on my E-Lander 6.5 Grendel mags.  I've left the two 17 round and one 10 round mag loaded till today.  The mag springs seem to have taken set now and the mags unload easily and are easy to load.  Once loaded the 17 round mags do not rattle.  The 10 round mag was stiffer than the 17 round mags to unload.  The 10 rounder was easier to unload than when new but not quite as easy as the 17 round mags.  The 10 round mag rattles unless you put a little pressure on the top round.  The top round wants to let the nose raise above parallel.  Holding the tip parallel stops the rattle.   Neither mags rattle when inserted in the rifle.

I really like the 17 round E-Lander mags as they have great capacity without undue bulk and can still be used off the bench.  At this point I see no real advantage of the 10 round E-Lander mags compared to my 10 round ASC or C Products mags as they have all functioned.  Maybe I just got lucky but my ASC and C Products have been reliable but reports have been spotty on ASC & C Products reliability.

I agree about the 17rd mags.  They compliment the gun well, stay clear on the bench, and are what AA asked for back in the day with the originals, but got straight instead, which were rejected.

Any more updates or reviews on the e-lander grendel mags? I haven't built my Grendel yet, but did order a couple of C Products from Brownells.

What COAL do these mags allow for?

I just measured my E-Lander 6.5 Grendel mags with my calipers.  The 10 round magazine measured 2.303 and the 17 rounders measured 2.313 and 2.316 with the calipers from the rear edge where the rim lies to the front inside edge of the mag body.  These mag bodies are very rigid but I haven't actually experimented with maximum COAL.  My loads are generally less than 2.260 and my two 6.5 Grendels seem to very forgiving on variations in COAL in relation to accuracy.

I use a 2.270" COAL even with the Berger 130gr Tac Hybrids. Seems to work just fine and is compatible with all the Grendel mags I have.

I will have to pick up some of these just based on the fact that they say 6.5 grendel lol.  Honestly when I have two 6.8s, a 6.5,  and a 223wylde it will help prevent me from making mistakes and loading the wrong mag.

I have one 17 round Elander magazine. It is the only mag I have for my Grendel.

I have only fired 30 rounds through the gun with only this one mag with no issues.

One issue I do have is that I have to push the magazine in fairly hard to get it to seat with the bolt locked to the rear. I believe this is due to a tight or out of spec upper I recieved on a trade that I used for this build. The bolt rails make contact with the mag and are 2 earing the mag finish.

I don't notice any dents and I guess only time will tell what effects this has. I did load the mag in my 5.56 rifle and it seated with no issues.

Does anyone know of another source for these mags? AA's price plus shipping is a little steep. Just wondering if there is another source.