REVIEW: Lancer Advanced Warfighter Magazine

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Metal or plastic? This is the question you ask yourself when it comes to acquiring new magazines for the rifle. Since Magpul released the polymer magazine, you can see almost every weapon with one – at least those for which such are available. In addition to Magpul, some other manufacturers have also released their own polymer mags, so the choice is great. We have been using the Lancer Advanced Warfighter Magazines for some time now and can report (almost) only good things about them.

The advantages of a plastic magazine are obvious: cost-effective production, lightweight, various color options, shape stability, and viewing windows. But everything has a downside, and a well-known problem with ammo containers is stretching in the upper area during bullet feeding. Due to material fatigue, the open part widens, resulting in malfunctions when ejecting the magazine.

Lancer has eliminated the dilemma of choosing between metal or plastic with the Advanced Warfighter Magazines (AWM) by simply combining both. The magazine body is made of polymer and reinforced with metal in the upper area.

This prevents deformation of the feed and retains the other advantages of polymer magazines.

The AWMs come in a wide range of versions. First, they are divided by calibers 5.56/223 and 7.62/308. Then you can choose between capacities of 5 - 25 rounds for the 308 magazines, and 5 to 30 rounds for the 223 ones.

To comply with laws or regulations, the 223 versions also include a 10-round magazine inside a 30-round body (permanently installed), and for the 10-round magazines there is a limiter for 5 rounds (available for purchase additionally).

All magazines have a ribbed surface for excellent grip. They are very easy to disassemble and are just as stable as Magpul magazines.

In terms of color, you can choose between Black and Flat Dark Earth as opaque options, and Smoke, Clear, and Flat Dark Earth Smoke as transparent versions for the 308 magazines. The 223 version also adds Olive and Foliage Green as solid colors.

The transparent magazines provide precise information about the cartridge capacity, as the entire body is transparent and not just a small viewing window installed, as is usual with other manufacturers. Additionally, markings in increments of 5 or 10 rounds are embossed on the outside.

In practice, the magazines are proven to be reliable. Feeding and ejection run smoothly in the popular semi-automatic rifles from Heckler & Koch, Oberland Arms, and Sig in Europe. We also tested some other American lower receivers and found no defects.

Particularly worth mentioning is the follower, which prevents cartridges from jamming in the magazine and does not have a "nose" that can break off.

CONCLUSION: For a slightly higher price than the competition, you get the Lancer Advanced Warfighter Magazines, but in the long run this pays off: It's better to pay a few euros more and get a magazine for life, than to change magazines annually because they are stretched out and no longer fall out of the weapon by themselves. The Lancer magazines are truly well thought out from bottom to top and can handle everything you expect from a magazine.

They are available in Germany at Horner Arms upon request (only a few are listed in the shop). A short email is enough to find out about availability and versions. The prices for the AWMs range from about €24 to €50 – depending on caliber and size.