Grendel Magazines

[Pugsbrew]

OK, OK, I know this is covered somewhere, but where is the best place to buy Grendel mags? Ones that work.

Is a Grendel mag really required? If not, which 5.56 mag works?

How about metal mags from ASC??

Thans of your patience, and comments.

[NugginFutz]

Short answer:

Use E-Lander, C-Prod, ASC or AR-Stoner mags. Of these, most people agree the E-Landers are superior. The rest are favored by some, opposed by others, depending on who you ask.

Can you use 5.56 mags? Yes, but you can only get 4 or so to reliably feed.

The E-Landers can be purchased from Alexander Arms, Brownells, Larue Tactical, JP, Mako, etc.

[Kswhitetails]

I can't get Grendel to feed at all from my BCM steel mag. I can from Magpuls, but only about 5 rounds, and if you leave more than one in them they swell over time and you'll have to cuss yourself for ruining it. I've used Troy Battlemag 30s as well, but they swell immediately after more than three are loaded. Again, DONT leave any poly mags loaded with any Grendel ammo or you'll come back to a mag that has seemingly permanent swell. I got my two to work again, but they don't work well. I've relegated them to trash basically. You can use 30 round poly mags (The ones I have tried that worked the best were the gen 2 Magpul 30s) to get started, but be prepared to load 4-5 at a time, as you shoot.

The Stoner mags are the sharpest edged things I've ever used. The ones I've got scream "hurry hurry hurry get them out the manufacturing door before folks realize how cheap our QC practices are". These mags are my - only if I lose every other mag I own - mags. They are 5 rounders, and what they did was take a 30 round mag spring and compress the coils together to take up the room in the bottom of the mag that would normally be filled by another 5 rounds. My E-landers have all worked well, but one of them arrived with a bent-in spot weld in the front right at the top, so that particular mag limits my OAL to a rather short 2.235sh. That one happens to be my only 17 rounder; my two tens, and my 4 24s all work like clockwork, with any round I feed them. I have two ASC mags, and one 6.8 PRI mag. None of them feed reliably. I heard that the PRI 6.8 Waffle mags work fine, but I have not found that to be the case with Hornady Black, Federal, or Starline brass reloads.

Of all the mags I have on hand, only the poly mags did not scratch or scrape new brass while feeding into the chamber. Some (the darn Stoner are by far the worst) worse than others. My ASC and Stoner mags look to be made at the same place, but the ASC are definitely more finished looking.

The E-landers are finished in a slightly glossy black powdercoat or paint which resists chipping, but is starting to wear at the edges; The Stoner mags have cheap black paint that is chipping off in big flakes; while the others are all parkerized or anodized. The ASC and Stoner mags would likely "wear in" and not scratch as badly but for me, because I have other options, I have not spent the time or effort to fix the issues. None of the mags scratched the brass bad enough to make me concerned about the life of the cases.

I have a feeling after hearing about LRPPF's visit to the Ammunition Storage Components booth at SHOT '18 that ASC has stepped up their game a little on the Grendel mags, giving them an AK like curve. I think this was a move Alexander thought helpful if I recall correctly. I hope this to be true, as better mags are a welcome note for Grendel owners.

My recommendation would fall with the E-lander 17 rounders. They are the right length for prone hi-cap shooting with a bipod, they are the better of the options quality wise, and they function well.

My two cents.

[Tipsymutt]

I have a few from all the manufacturers, and some seem to be mostly good (elander) and some seem to be mostly bad (in my particular rifle) whom shall remain nameless as I acknowledge that all rifles are different, and I don't want to disparage unfairly. Most are somewhere in the middle, but I do find that 5 and 10 round mags in general out perform the larger capacity mags.

I must say tho, that I have a super old grendel mag that I got in 2005 or 2006 that has been absolutely flawless. It is the only one I've ever seen in brilliant blue (almost like Colt Royal Blue).

[robertWperret]

I have 2 e-lander 17 rounders that work 100% of the time. I bought 2 e-lander 10 rounders and they are not reliable at all. I think the springs are too strong. I stored them completely loaded for 2 weeks and that seemed to help a bit so I loaded them back up and will put them away for a month to see if that helps. The 10 rounders I bought were marketed as combination 6.8 spc and 6.5 grendel but are only stamped 6.8.

[Popeye212]

I've got a C product and an Elander both 10 round and going to buy 4 more Elander 10 round. I eventually will pick up a 17 but don't see a need for it right now. Both work fine had some problems earlier but it turned out not to be the mags.

[1Shot]

I have Elander, ASC and AR Stoner which I am sure that ASC makes and have never had a problem in two rifles. I am running Anderson lowers in both. It seems to me from what I read from others that some of the problems with magazines may be the lower that you are using. Some fit too tight or at a slightly different angle etc. With the Elander mags you can not load a round as long as you can in the ASC made ones. And yes the Elander does have very strong springs that need to wear in to loose a little strength. I have never experienced this with ASC, they have run perfect from day one. The ASC or AR Stoner are much less expensive.

[Lastrites]

I will add that most will benefit from breaking down their new mags, dehorn any sharp edges on the lips and inside the body of any raised rough areas. Also check for excessive or left over flashing on the followers. Dry lube them and reassemble.

[joedirt199]

Have a bunch of asc 15 rd and 10 rd mags. The 15 rd mags are basically the same size as 223 20 rd mags. Took them apart and sanded the inside of the feed lips to break the sharp edges. No problems with feeding and have been fully loaded for some time now.

[cb4017]

I have ASC and Elander. The ASC mags have sharp edges on the feed lips from when the steel is stamped that will scratch the brass. I normally take them apart and smooth the sharp edges with some emery cloth then put a slight bevel on the front edge of the mag. Much easier on the brass. That said I really haven't had problems with either brand.

[ErikS]

My E-Lander mags were not perfect out of the bag. I had to trim the front of the mag down just a bit and tweak the lips up on the front edge. They fed okay but were so tight they were slow to cycle. It only took a tiny bit of work on them to make them run perfect.

I only have 14 round mags, I need to get a couple of the 24 round mags and try them out.

[Londerko]

I had 4 ASCs..... I tried 1 Elander....
I then sold my ASCs and replaced them with 4 more Elanders.
IMO they are superior in every way except COAL

[Popeye212]

What Londerko ^^^ said.

[Crusty]

I have ASC, CPD and Elanders and all work fine (now). My SOP with a new mag is to take the follower out, smooth the sides of it with sandpaper and ease all sharp edges with a file. The CPD performed noticeably better than the others so I compared it with an ASC (which occasionally misfed and badly scratched my cases) and I noticed that the lip edges on the CPD were not exactly parallel with each other, so I taper filed the ASC lips to match (the gap between the lips is around 1/64" wider at the forward end), beveled and dressed all metal edges near the feed path with a fine file and beveled the forward edge which can catch bullet tips and now it works just as good as the CPD with no scratching.

[sneaky one]

The angle to the feedramps is key. Slo -mo a round going into the chamber, outside pointing in a safe direction!,, put a dot of, say, your gals lipstick on tip of bullet. Adjust feed lips as needed, a small smooth faced crescent wrench and some patience helps tweak the feed lips upward. It's easy..


Make sure it hits center of height and width on feed ramp.