Yesterday, I had the chance to visit Pennsylvania-based Lancer Systems. All I really knew about them is that they make a great AR magazine along with some really cool 3-Gun carbines. Aside from with the carbon fiber furniture, the guns’ most prominent feature is the flared Magwell.
The thing about these Magwells is that they were originally a component in a modular lower receiver that could be swapped out for different degrees of flare. Think of this as a big funnel that, once you get your magazine into, it’s going to seat home and I can tell you, this isn’t some 3-gun gimmick, it works.
The story I’m told by Lancer’s Director of Advanced Weapons & Components Ty Weaver, is that someone with the Army saw this feature but mentioned that there was no way they were going to buy a million new lower receivers. That’s when the engineers at Lancer Systems went to work and developed the two-piece Adaptive Magwell which can be retrofit to any mil-spec AR lower receiver as well as few others. It will give your existing rifle that flared Magwell.
One thing that is required to mount the Enhanced Magwell is a standard AR-style triggerguard because the Magwell mounts into the triggerguard slot in front of the trigger. The two-piece design was meant to accommodate slight variances in AR Magwells. It’s available right now and mounts using an Allen wrench.
That Allen Wrench was a point of contention for GI use since most troops don’t run around with tools, so Lancer Systems came up with a one-piece design that can be mounted using the tip of a 5.56mm cartridge. Prototypes were made by welding the current two-piece models into a single unit. This eliminated the need for an Allen wrench.
You may also notice that the Enhanced Magwell opens up the trigger guard a bit which can help while wearing gloves. But, you’ll also notice it doesn’t widen the gap under the trigger so you won’t get caught under it.
Some readers may not understand the advantage to a flared Magwell, so now that we’ve talked about how easy it is to install, I’d like to explain what using it did for me during a range session. I ran numerous reload drills. I didn’t have to remove my carbine from my shoulder and put the Magwell into my workspace in order to see what I was doing out of the edge of my vision. Instead, I kept the weapon shouldered and was able to guide the magazine into the enlarged Magwell while keeping my attention on what was in front of me. For me, that was the huge advantage and sped up my reload times.
The Lancer Systems Adaptive Magwell is great for anyone that wants to incorporate a flared magwell into an existing rifle in order to speed up magazine changes. Because it allows the weapon to be returned to its original configuration by removing the magwell, it should be an attractive option for law-enforcement and military use. The two-piece model is available now and can be easily installed with the supplied Allen wrench. The new one-piece version which can be installed using a cartridge tip comes out around SHOT Show.
If all of that doesn’t sound good enough, how about this? It’s only $99.99 retail.
store.lancer-systems.com/product/adaptive-magwell/rifle_accessories
Tags: Lancer Systems
Now all we need is a good NSN# …..
If they could add the trigger guard (similar to the enhanced Magpul trigger guard) into that as a one or two-piece unit that left the trigger guard pinned to its original/standard placement/position then I would be all over this for every rifle I own.
I was thinking the same. I use the Magpul enhanced triggerguard as well. If it were compatible, I’d snatch this up, right away.
I’m kind of curious why you’d want to use both? Together?
So, this just snaps on like a Lego?
My 58 rounds a year TDA organization doesn’t require this, therefore it is stupid!
LOL, you won the internet today.
+5 for laughs
They give you 6 attempts on the Zero Line before they throw you into Qual?
You must be in one of those bearded baller units…
That only happens when some other unit fails to show up and extra ammo is left over. LOL
Yep. We’ve got an easy dozen “Shaving profiles”……
looks like a pretty well thought out solution! nice work guys!
Seems like a hardware solution to a software problem to me.
Just when you didn’t think anyone else could contrive a need.
Flipside, I wonder if this would offer some offset, and thereby help with the nasty tendency of the selector to flip from “SAFE” to “OOPS” when working with a weapon slung…
Please explain your comment.
First point pertains to people coming up with stuff “needed” to optimize what already is a petty good platform. But hey, a couple of my pistols (and one of my AR lowers) have flared magwells…
Second point is this: I’ve used some kind of variable-tension sling on an M4–Eagle, SOE, BFG–since the 1990s (musket in Desert Storm). After years of begging, the unit I just left got BFG VCAS NSN slings.
This setup allows carrying at the ready, or tensioning the sling (either with a slung weapon clip on the belt or without) to do stuff like assist in vehicle recoveries, move crew-served weapons and ammo, handle casualties or even carry boxes of Stuff into host nation buildings. The reality of modern assymetric, feel good warfare is that “most” military personnel no longer leave our shores to spend deployments at low ready, waiting for hostiles to ventilate. Many of us spend months on end literally doing the heavy lifting for people who we can’t trust to let us doff armor and stack arms as we do so.
Upside is that the longarm is reasonably out of the way but ready for employment. Downside is that the Selector is against your body, and prone to rotating as it moves against your mag pouches or whatnot. This has gotten me in the habit of marking the “blind side” of the Selectors of every long arm belonging to people who work around me (we’ll probably have ambi selsctors one day but we’re not cool like that).
In concert with something like the DD Duffer Tube Sling Mount, this Magwell could provide standoff that could keep one’s equipment from rubbing the Selector off “Safe”.
Apologies for the long reply, didn’t have time for a short one…
That is an excellent post Straps but I was inquiring about Andrew’s sound bite.
#Bqhatevwr 😉
hmm, in regards to the selector being against your body – this sounds like a right handed people problem. lol
Tried this on a Colt 6920. Went on very easy and works well with traditional steel mags and Lancer mags however all of my PMAGS were a very tight fit. Not sure if it was our mags (GEN 2) but the flared mag well did not work very well with them.
Will the magwell accommodate a Surefire 60rd mag or X-Product’s X-15 drum mag?
The SureFire yes, not sure in the X-15. Do you have one?
They had me hooked until the 100 dollar price but ya know ill save up my pennies and getone ….
Only EOD guys and hellen Keller use this magwell. Please just work on your muscle memory instead of limp wristing your mag changes or turn in your man card.
Yes, and please also remove the safety, buttstock and any other thing that aid using the weapon Form all rifles.
Or, someone redesigned magwells so that you could stop fighting the gun and concentrate on fighting the enemy.
Your comment is like a slogan for lazy combat developers. They’ve probably already printed it out and framed it. Your argument can be taken to its nth degree of “why do you sharpen stick into spear? This club is just fine!”
A lot of guys in the 75th rock polymer mag-well flares. It decreases reload times noticeably and makes it easier to reload under nods. The “man card” is irrelevant if your slain because you couldn’t reload a half of a second faster. Your not a man when your dead. Just dead.
Awesome, do the guys in the 75th call out ” I’M Dwyyyyy, Wewoadiiiiiiiiiiig”
Does this use the existing trigger guard, re-installed after mounting the adaptive magwell?
You don’t uninstall it. You just disengage the front connection as you would if you were in arctic conditions, except then you reconnect it to the Adaptive Magwell.
Awesome stuff.
I also had the same problem with my pmags being tight and not dropping with the bolt locked. I removed about 1/8 of material on the rear of the lancer mag well where the back of the mag makes contact and works perfect. I did this mod because all I use is pmags, at home and down range. X products drums won’t go up far enough to lock but my surefire mags will (P’sOS). Ive used this product in the field and while in contact and I felt it was an advantage. Do you need this to make fast reloads, no, but under stress my reloads were smoother. If you dont like how it looks, dont buy it. But it does help and I’ve never fought fair.