Lancer L5AWM

[Krazykarl]

For the guys that report no issues, what date code are the "good" magazines?

[Krazykarl]

My date code is "7 - 20"

[Hank6046]

For the guys that report no issues, what date code are the "good" magazines?

I'm not available to check mine currently, but I've got magazines dating back to '13 or '14 when Lancer used to sell the 3 packs in stores, at the time Lancers and Troy's were some of the only magazines I could find after the 2012 buying scare

[georgeib]

For the guys that report no issues, what date code are the "good" magazines?

Just checked a few, and I have mags from 2012-2019. No issues in the dozen or so that I've actually used. Mostly the older ones.


ETA: Found one from 2011. It's a clear 20 rounder. This was the mag I kept in my truck gun and has been constantly fully loaded for the about 12 years. Have also used it for occasional bench shooting. No issues.

[the AR-15 Junkie]

Same, never had any issues with the L5AWMs outside of some of the tabs breaking off near the feed lips, which Lancer has told me has no functional impact. That being said, these days I only use them for FoF, as the translucent ones are easier to verify that I'm loaded with Sims, and Lancer has slightly better customer CS for broken mags compared to Magpul IME (Lancer paid shipping for my replacement mags, Magpul had me pay out of pocket for shipping). A friend of mine did mention that the L5AWMs he'd seen in the field before had some feed issues due to the steel feed lips developing rust and thus causing additional drag when feeding, this was when he went through a rotation at JRTC.

Any idea what these non functional tabs breaking off are actually for? I have never liked the looks of those tabs as some have it, some have it more and some dont have it at all.

[Alpha-17]

Yeah, another voice here for the "never had a problem with them" camp. Ran them pretty extensively for a while about a decade ago, and only switched back to PMags once the MCT Gen 3s came out.

[Slater]

There's a footnote on Lancer's website: "NSN: 1005-01-657-7839 (L5AWM 30 – Translucent Smoke)". Are these a training use item or some such?

[Krazykarl]

I was wrong. I had 30 not 15 Lancer magazines. Sold them all yesterday. Magpul gen3 magazines are on their way. I don't have the patience nor time to troubleshoot magazines. The Lancer product did not work for me.

[BufordTJustice]

I have had over a dozen AWM's in rotation (mostly translucent and black 30's) for the last ten years or so. Along with D&H + MP follower, & PMAG Gen M3.

Though PMAG's are certainly my favorites, I have not had any issues with my AWM's.

This doesn't negate your issues. Just adding another data point.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Joe Mamma]

Is there a particular date code that I should look for? In the haze of my memory, I thought I read somewhere that Lancer was aware of the issue. It had something to do with the steel feed lips and burrs. Lancer made a change. But I can't remember when this change occurred....

I guess it's too late for the OP, but hopefully this will be helpful for others.

My understanding is that followers with the 3/15 manufacturing date code (March 2015) are problematic. My understanding is that these followers are only in mags that also have the 3/15 manufacturing date code, and Lancer was aware of the issue.

I have used 30 rd Lancer L5AWM mags quite a bit for years (none had the 3/15 date code followers). They have worked fine for me, and are probably my go to mags.

Joe Mamma