AllOutdoor Review – Elite Tactical Systems (ETS) Nylon AR Magazine
Eugene L. 09.29.23
The thing that most gun owners almost never have enough of are magazines. Having a quality rifle, but not enough quality magazines does you no good. So, to solve that problem, there are a lot of options out there in the AR world. Some are specifically designed for .223 Rem/.556 NATO, and others are made for 300 BLK (.300 Blackout). Elite Tactical Systems has released their new Nylon AR Magazines that are supposed to fill out both of these caliber roles. This new polymer magazine is made from ETS’ advanced long-fiber polymer material. I’m reviewing one of their Nylon AR magazines in black today, used in both a 5.56 NATO and 300 BLK rifle.
Elite Tactical Systems Coverage on AllOutdoor & TFB
- M&P Shield Magazine Showdown: Elite Tactical Systems vs. OEM vs. Hyve
- AllOutdoor Review: Elite Tactical Systems Carbon Smoke G19 Magazines
- 40 Round Magazines For HK, S&W, and SIG Pistols From Elite Tactical Systems
- Elite Tactical Systems – New 40 Rounds 9×19 Transparent Magazine
Specifications – Elite Tactical Systems Nylon AR Magazine
- Over-Insertion Tab for Better Mag Retention
- .223/5.56 and .300 Blackout Compatibility
- Standard 30-Round Cap
- No Tilt follower
- State-of-the-art Long Fiber Polymer Material
- Advanced Polymer Material – Extreme Impact, Heat, Cold, UV, and Chemical Resistance
- Fast and Easy Disassembly with No Need for Tools
- Enlarged and Ergonomically Designed Floorplate for Better Grip from Mag Pouches
- Magazine Ribs for Superior Grip and Control
- Available in Three Colors: Black, FDE, and OD Green
- Lifetime Warranty
- MSRP – $11.99/Magazine
First Look – Elite Tactical Systems Nylon AR Magazine
Taking it out of the plastic, the mag feels pretty typical for a polymer-style magazine. The ridges on the body of the magazine are just sharp enough, with the mold flashing to be very grippy. The base plate is pretty big to double as a grip when you pull it out of a mag pouch. The mag also comes with an impact/dust cover, which is a nice little extra. The magazine has both 5.56 NATO and 300 BLK molded onto the side of the magazine right near the top to tell users that it can use both cartridges. Standard 5.56 NATO AR mags can have issues with 300 BLK, where the first few rounds can hang up due to the inside dimensions of the magazines. Taking the magazine apart is very easy as well. Just press on the red piece under the base plate, and the base plate slides easily off, the spring and follower then easily just slide out. Overall, their first feel at the desk feels like a solid polymer mag with no flex in the body or the feed lips.
Magazine in Use – Elite Tactical Systems Nylon AR Magazine
So, to test out the ETS magazine, I took it out to the range with a 5.56 NATO rifle and a 300 BLK SBR (Short-Barreled Rifle). First, I messed with the magazine by using 55, 62, and 77 Grain ammo out of an 18″ rifle. I shot a bunch of each grain weight with no issues. This was both with and without a suppressor on the rifle to see if I could get it dirty enough to cause some issues.
So, the .223 Rem/5.56 NATO testing was a couple of full magazines of each grain weight of .223 Rem/5.56 NATO. The first was a set of all three weights without the suppressor on the rifle, and the second was with the suppressor on. All the mags were loaded into the rifle with 30 rounds and a closed bolt. Even with 30 rounds in the magazines, the ammunition seated well and stayed latched in. Firing both rapid fire and slowly, there were no issues with any of the .223 Rem/5.56 NATO tested.
After messing with the ETS magazine using .223 Rem/5.56 NATO, it was time to switch to testing it with 300 BLK. I used three loadings of 300 BLK to test out the magazine: 220 Grain sub-sonic, 149 Grain super-sonic, and 125 Grain super-sonic ammunition. All three of these were shot out of my suppressed Sig Rattler with a 5.5″ barrel. First off the bat was the 220 Grain sub-sonic ammo. A lot of AR magazines that aren’t dedicated to 300 BLK struggle with this. The heavy weight of the bullet and longer overall length (O.A.L.) of the cartridge cause feeding issues.
The ETS Nylon Mag, unfortunately, suffered a bit from this. It wasn’t every time, but the second round would nose dive and fail to feed. After clearing that second round, the issues would clear up. I tested a few more magazines of ammo to test this issue out further. It didn’t happen every time, though. Some mags fed all 30 rounds with no issues. So, a bit of a concern, but I only had one type of 220 Grain with me. So, this could be an ammo problem, not a magazine problem. Again, this is a common issue for a lot of magazines. Often, the only fix for failure-to-feed (FTF) with heavy sub-sonic ammo is just to run dedicated 300 BLK magazines.
To test some durability of the magazine while I was using the heaviest ammo I had, I dropped the ETS Nylon AR Magazine several times from shoulder height with around 15 rounds of the 220 Grain 300 BLK loaded into it. This was on a mix of surfaces: grass, gravel, dirt, and concrete. On both the base plate and feed lips. Besides being a bit scuffed after the concrete, the magazine survived the drop tests with flying colors; no cracking in the polymer. Even if something happens to the magazines, ETS has a lifetime warranty for any bad mags, so they have you covered.
Besides the 220 Grain 300 BLK, the magazine ran flawlessly with both the 125 Grain and 149 Grain 300 BLK supers. No issues at all with feeding, even when the magazine were filled up with a coating of carbon after being shot suppressed a ton. It performed very well compared to other polymer magazines that I had used in the past with 300 BLK. Overall, the ETS Nylon AR Magazines are a solid option that is great for shooters on a budget.
While the MSRP is at $11.99, you can often find them for even less which is perfect for shooters who want to stack a few mags at a time every time they visit the range. The magazine exceeded my expectations; the phrase “Jack of all trades, master of none” came to mind when I first heard about these magazines. I worried they were claiming too much right off the bat, but the ETS Nylon AR magazines performed well, only having a few feeding issues. A lot better than any other non-300 BLK dedicated magazine I’ve ever used.
