Another First Time Out with the Grendel

[djw]

The springs are very stiff on E-Lander mags. Load your E-Lander 6.5 Grendel mags to full capacity and let them set loaded till you go to the range again. If the springs are still stiff load them back up to full capacity and let them set loaded. Once the mag springs take set I?ve found the E-Lander 6.5 Grendel mags are very good mags.

I did have them loaded, but maybe the largest was not to full capacity. Will try that.

The recoil impulse of Wolf steel case ammo is significantly less than the Hornady or Federal 6.5 Grendel ammo. New stiff mags put upward pressure on the bottom of the bolt carrier adding friction/drag which zaps bolt speed. The failure you experienced was a because the carrier didn?t move far enough to the rear to be stopped by the bolt catch. The forward moving bolt caught on the raised mag follower. When you withdrew the mag the bolt carrier closed.

I could see that, but the weird thing was that dropping the mag did not release the bolt. I only first noticed the bolt not being all the way back when I couldn't seat the fresh mag.

This is not uncommon on new AR-15?s. Use plenty of lube and shoot your new AR-15 till it wears in. Many of the PSA 6.5 Grendel uppers ship with an adjustable gas block. Depending on temperature and ammo you might need to open the gas block a little more to function with all ammo, especially in cold weather.

Ah, yes, I had forgotten about the adjustable gas block. I looked, and it does appear that mine has one. I neglected to include that the upper has a rifle-length gas system.

Thanks for the feedback and advice.

Don