Edited to add: (I hope this doesn't count as a thread hijack. I'm running into Elander issues as well, but slightly different than the OP.)
I agree with the OP. I've got 6 Elander mags. Three are 17 rounders, the other three are 24 rd.
I am having a lot of issues with failures to feed. Some are bolt overruns (some of which totally miss any round, some of which push a round from the middle of the case so that it jams between the bolt face and the breech); most are nosedives.
After increasing my buffer weight, I've eliminated the overruns. Now, I am getting a lot of nosedives. The tip of the round points below the lip of the magazine.
To solve this, I've disassembled the mags and checked for smoothness. All good. I've loaded them and let them sit for a couple of weeks. I've grabbed a paint stir stick and rapidly jammed the follower to full compression and full extension over 200 times for each magazine. I've then reloaded and unloaded the mags.
At this point, I have some observations.
1. The 17 rounders seem far better than the 24 round magazines. The spring force on the 24 round magazines is impressive.
2. The base of the round (Hornady Black 123gr) will catch on the rear-most rib of the magazine when stripping them out by hand. I don't know if that has been an issue in the weapon. But, it is bad enough that I must twist the round to get it out if it catches. The ribs are deep and catch the rim and hold it solidly with the spring force. This is noted when I unload/strip by hand. (I'm doing this to find out what is going on with the ammo stacking/feeding issues.)
3. If one round nosedives (is nose down in the magazine) the next dozen or so will be as well. These rounds cannot be fed. They must be "fixed" and then stripped. This is VERY COMMON. I've loaded by hand, round by round, and using a Podavach loader. There is no difference in the occurrence of nose dives. Somehow, once the round is pushed down, its relative position shifts such that the tip gets pointed down. When it comes back up, it maintains that position and will strike, and get stuck against, the front face of the magazine.
I am new to the Grendel, but not new to the AR platform. I bought the Elander mags based on community reviews. If these are the best out there, I am not going to build/buy any more 6.5G firearms. The lack of reliability is a deal-breaker for me. I cannot trust this platform on a hunt or for self-defense/home-defense. It is a range queen, at best (with a tool bag nearby).
I agree with the OP. I've got 6 Elander mags. Three are 17 rounders, the other three are 24 rd.
I am having a lot of issues with failures to feed. Some are bolt overruns (some of which totally miss any round, some of which push a round from the middle of the case so that it jams between the bolt face and the breech); most are nosedives.
After increasing my buffer weight, I've eliminated the overruns. Now, I am getting a lot of nosedives. The tip of the round points below the lip of the magazine.
To solve this, I've disassembled the mags and checked for smoothness. All good. I've loaded them and let them sit for a couple of weeks. I've grabbed a paint stir stick and rapidly jammed the follower to full compression and full extension over 200 times for each magazine. I've then reloaded and unloaded the mags.
At this point, I have some observations.
1. The 17 rounders seem far better than the 24 round magazines. The spring force on the 24 round magazines is impressive.
2. The base of the round (Hornady Black 123gr) will catch on the rear-most rib of the magazine when stripping them out by hand. I don't know if that has been an issue in the weapon. But, it is bad enough that I must twist the round to get it out if it catches. The ribs are deep and catch the rim and hold it solidly with the spring force. This is noted when I unload/strip by hand. (I'm doing this to find out what is going on with the ammo stacking/feeding issues.)
3. If one round nosedives (is nose down in the magazine) the next dozen or so will be as well. These rounds cannot be fed. They must be "fixed" and then stripped. This is VERY COMMON. I've loaded by hand, round by round, and using a Podavach loader. There is no difference in the occurrence of nose dives. Somehow, once the round is pushed down, its relative position shifts such that the tip gets pointed down. When it comes back up, it maintains that position and will strike, and get stuck against, the front face of the magazine.
I am new to the Grendel, but not new to the AR platform. I bought the Elander mags based on community reviews. If these are the best out there, I am not going to build/buy any more 6.5G firearms. The lack of reliability is a deal-breaker for me. I cannot trust this platform on a hunt or for self-defense/home-defense. It is a range queen, at best (with a tool bag nearby).