Olympic Arms AR’s, where do they stand in AR World?

[kwelz]

I am sure he wasn't thrilled. He wanted to sell a gun.
I wish I would have found this for you earlier but I forgot about it.
http://aimless.blogs.ar15.com/media/blog.html?bl=106&bp=209

My suggestion. Try to recoup your purchase by selling it and buy something with a better reputation. Which is anything except Hesse.

By the way, Standard Irons won't work on that. Notice the Gas block rail is lower than the receiver top rail.

 

[snakeman]

Well i liked mine it never jammed and always group under an inch at 100 if that helps shoot first then evaluate

 

[22/17 SHOOTER]

OK, so i took the gun to the shooting range today.
Snow all around, 28 degrees or so, windy.
I put 250 rounds down the range, not a single jam, no misfires, no feeding problems. I tried both 30 and 20 round mags, no problems.
Gun functioned flawlessly and i'm impressed with the accuracy. When i had the scope all dialed in, the gun shoots 1 inch groups at 100 yards. I took the scope off and put it back on, no visible difference in point of impact.
Iron sights are very good as well. Easy on, easy off, no need for adjustments at all.
I field stripped the gun at the range, put it back together, still functioned without single problem.
One thing that i will do is to put better trigger on it, maybe two stage one ?
Any recommendations ?
So, to close things out, i'm very happy camper so far. Granted, only 250 rounds but i will rarely shoot more at the time.
Thank you all for the input,
Cezar.

 

[mcdonl]

22/17... good for you. There are always one or two in every crowd who will tell you your gun is junk. Take it with a grain of salt. Have a BLAST!!

 

[riflenut]

olympic rifle

if your buying it to use for fun and target shooting,which i believe most of us on this board do. you are fine buying it .I have had mine for 3 years now with no problems of anykind.

 

[mshootnit]

Also that 25 WSSM looks interesting and whats that 300 OOSM or whatever cartridge they list?

 

[Bad0men]

I had a K3B I believe it was? The bare bones Ar-15 offering with tele-stock and 16" barrel. It was my first Ar-15 and I shot it alot. It wasn't my favorite rifle by any means, but it was fun for plinking around, it shot decently enough to hit my targets 100+ yards away with iron sights. As someone said it is a mid range rifle. There are better ones out there, however I wanted something that was going to fit in my budget and at that time it was the right price. I sold it some time ago for something new, but I never did regret buying it, it was a good decent rifle.

 

[Kentuckiana rifleman]

I think Olympic arms makes a pretty good product. I think that they produce a decent AR for the shooter on a budget.

 

[lilquiz]

I have two, a plinker 16" ,converted with A3 hardware.I also have the 300 ossm bbl model, which is shooting 1/2 moa. I do not know where the bad rep comes from.I guess from the same purists that will pay double the price for a mag , just because it says Colt or Kimber.

 

[kaferhaus]

you did good 22/17. Nothing wrong with your rifle and it'll last just as long as the ones that are priced at double or more than what you paid.

My son still has one I bought in the mid 80s and I'd burned through 2 barrels on it before I re-barreled it the third time and gave it to him. It has to have had over 15K rounds down the barrel(s) by now and with the exception of a couple of extractors a bolt and a few pins it's needed nothing but regular cleaning.

I owned a indoor shooting range at the time and used it as a rental for years.... so it took that kind of abuse without breaking a sweat.

 

[Sniper X]

I still can't believe some of the horrible things I read about this or that gun. I had a PCR16 just like that bull barrel one pictured and it was BY FAR more accurate than my Bushmaster carbine, Colt SP1 carbine, and even a Colt AR-15A2 rifle I had! It only gave me one problem the entire six years of ownership, and that was solely due to a cracked mag I didn't knwo was cracked until I looked with a magnifier. I have also heard goo things about their customer relations as well even though I never had to use it.

 

[Philo_Beddoe]

By the way, Standard Irons won't work on that. Notice the Gas block rail is lower than the receiver top rail.

Numerous quality manufacturer make folding and fixed front sights for gas blocks, its not a big deal.

 

[kwelz]

That is why I said a Standard Front won't work. I wanted to make sure he got the right part for his needs.

 

[Philo_Beddoe]

I have owned two olympics and a bushmaster.

All the same quality, except the bushmaster did have a chrome lined bore.

Zero problems with all three, I sold two of them for financial reasons and kept the K16, its that good.

 

[kwelz]

How hard have they been run? What is your benchmark for calling them "That good"

 

[kaferhaus]

How hard have they been run? What is your benchmark for calling them "That good"

See post 35

Nothing at all wrong with a Oly.

There are AR snobs just like there's Weatherby, Kimber, Sako, whatever other brand you want to name snobs. I sold all of them and loved the snobs, they were always willing to spend the most money for a rifle that performed no better than the Remington, Winchester or most any of the other rifles on the rack. They were usually prettier though....LOL

I sold a boat load of Colt ARs and they were and are very good rifles. I also sold three times as many Bushmasters. They are and were good rifles too.

The biggest difference in the high dollar ARs is the barrels and furniture. Some and I mean some because not all the upper end ARs have what could be described as a premium quality barrel and higher quality stocks and hand guards.

The Colt barrels are "mil-spec" but that means nothing so far as accuracy goes... in fact a chrome lined mil-spec barrel will usually be less accurate than a non lined barrel. It will however last longer and perform better dirty.

The S&W M&P 15 is NOT a mil-spec AR. However it was fired 5000 times without even cleaning it and had not one malfunction. and that's with the nasty direct impingment gas system.

The Oly I owned has at least three times that and my nephew is still shooting it.

I'm not saying it's the best out there it isn't. But it's plenty good enough for what anyone needs.

Many "mil-spec" parts are not even the equal of the aftermarket parts out there. Don't get carried away with mil-spec, it's turned into nothing more than a sales gimmick.

There are better sights, triggers, barrels and furniture on the market than anything mil-spec.

It's nothing more than a minimum standard to meet DOD requirements.

Just like the "mil-spec" filthy ammo that the army changed too early in the vietnam war that played hell on the AR's gas system and cost many GIs their lives. That change in mil-spec is because the ammo could be produced more cheaply and they could run the machines faster as it was a ball powder.

So Mil-spec ain't always what it's cracked up to be.

 

[mcdonl]

The guy bought the gun, based on the advice of about everyone but one person. Continuing to degrade the gun in this particular thread not only is not going to be productive but it will border on being rude.

Good for you OP, I plan to purchase a Del-Ton in the next couple of weeks and I know they have their share of haters but I am not on a swat team, nor do I compete in several high profile matches so it is good enough to suit my needs. I hope I have the luck that you had.

 

[kwelz]

See post 35

So your benchmark for a good rifle is a Gun that is ~25 years old and has only 15K rounds through it? I am sorry but that is pretty light use of a gun to claim high quality.

Nothing at all wrong with a Oly.

There are AR snobs just like there's Weatherby, Kimber, Sako, whatever other brand you want to name snobs. I sold all of them and loved the snobs, they were always willing to spend the most money for a rifle that performed no better than the Remington, Winchester or most any of the other rifles on the rack. They were usually prettier though....LOL

So a person who refuses to accept sub par parts is a Snob?

I sold a boat load of Colt ARs and they were and are very good rifles. I also sold three times as many Bushmasters. They are and were good rifles too.

So Bushmaster has better marketing? That proves what?

The biggest difference in the high dollar ARs is the barrels and furniture. Some and I mean some because not all the upper end ARs have what could be described as a premium quality barrel and higher quality stocks and hand guards.

Yes because barrels are important. And cheap untested barrels are a liability in many peoples book. For the record I had an Oly. It was junk and the barrel was a big part of the problem. Sure it was a sample size of 1. But my experience fit in with many others.

The Colt barrels are "mil-spec" but that means nothing so far as accuracy goes... in fact a chrome lined mil-spec barrel will usually be less accurate than a non lined barrel. It will however last longer and perform better dirty.

Maybe because tack driving accuracy isn't the only reason to have a weapon. Reliability under all conditions is important as well.

The S&W M&P 15 is NOT a mil-spec AR. However it was fired 5000 times without even cleaning it and had not one malfunction. and that's with the nasty direct impingment gas system.

No it is not Milspec But it is also a higher quality weapon than the Oly. Many people forget the fact that quality is what we are really talking about. Smith has it. Oly doesn't

The Oly I owned has at least three times that and my nephew is still shooting it.

We have already established it is a low round count gun and that proves little as to reliability.

I'm not saying it's the best out there it isn't. But it's plenty good enough for what anyone needs.

And this is the Crux of the problem. It is NOT good enough for the needs of many people. Including myself. It works for you. Great. Don't try to tell people it is as good as a better gun though when it is not.

Many "mil-spec" parts are not even the equal of the aftermarket parts out there. Don't get carried away with mil-spec, it's turned into nothing more than a sales gimmick.


There are better sights, triggers, barrels and furniture on the market than anything mil-spec.

It's nothing more than a minimum standard to meet DOD requirements.

Yes there are better. No one is arguing otherwise. I have said it many times. the TDP is the Minimum. Oly does not meet those minimums, much less exceed them.

Just like the "mil-spec" filthy ammo that the army changed too early in the vietnam war that played hell on the AR's gas system and cost many GIs their lives. That change in mil-spec is because the ammo could be produced more cheaply and they could run the machines faster as it was a ball powder.

So Mil-spec ain't always what it's cracked up to be.

Now you are just trying to confuse the issue. You are referring to a problem that was fixed. The current TDP is the result of all that trial and error. The mistakes and the fixes.



I used to sell guns as well. Wholesale in fact. I sold a lot of DPMS, RRA, and Bushmaster as well as LMT and Colt. The Colt and LMT had a far smaller percentage of problems than the others.

 

[mcdonl]

I sold a boat load of Colt ARs and they were and are very good rifles. I also sold three times as many Bushmasters. They are and were good rifles too.

Your a gun salesman. That explains a lot.

 

[Philo_Beddoe]

How hard have they been run? What is your benchmark for calling them "That good"

Did a 500 round 1 day carbine course with the Olympic, shooting dirty wolf steel case ammo. Zero problems and I took high score on the FBI qualifcation over classmates with the much more pricier rifle.

I was using my plink plus model too, plane jane 16 inch barrels with A1 iron sights. Beat all shooters with $2000 Colt and LMT's all decked out with the gizmos with my $600 Plinker plus and cheap wolf ammo.

Apparantly shooting skill > gear, at least that day.

I would argue a person with a Olympic plinker, a carbine course, and a case of wolf ammo for $1500 is far more deadly then a person with $1500 colt, no training and no ammo

No I didnt run it like a combat rifle, but it performed fine shooting dirty ammo with no cleaning.

 

[bannockburn]

22/17 SHOOTER

Congrats on your new AR. A friend of mine has had an Oly for 5 or 6 years now; probably has run 2500 to 3000 rounds through it. Except for some questionable surplus ammo (some had poorly seated bullets, crushed case necks, and a fair number of squib loads among them), the gun runs just fine, and is capable of some pretty decent accuracy. I think he paid $600 for it at the time, and has probably spent about that much on upgrades (new trigger, handguards, retractable stock, scope and mounts, etc). Primarily used as a range gun, which is basically all that he wanted it for. I know he feels that with his Oly, he got a good deal for a basic entry-level AR.

 

[kaferhaus]

Actually yes in a fashion I was a gun seller. I preferred selling Colts and weatherbys because I made more money on them.

But even back then people knew 'value for the buck" and as a result we sold many more Bushmasters and Oly's than Colts. Never had a customer complain about the durability or accuracy of any of them.

15K rounds may be just breaking one in in your weird opinion but if a rifle is going to exhibit any problems it's going to be well before 1000 rds have been down the bore.

I don't care what the mall ninja's spend their money on. Some folks are just suckers for slick advertising especially the wannabe's... same guys that go out and buy all the military or black ops gear.... we have some at the range and giggle at them every time we see them.

I use my ARs for plinking, target shooting and competitive events (NRA high power for one) I've owned all manner of them over the years from Colts on down and have never been able to tell one iota of difference in any of them when it came to putting bullets down range except for the target rifles.

You can spend upwards of 2k on one or 7-800 bucks. Chances are very high the cheap one will run every bit as good as the 2k one will. But you may not look "cool enough" with it...

Cool is expensive and fairly useless.

 

[kwelz]

Actually yes in a fashion I was a gun seller. I preferred selling Colts and weatherbys because I made more money on them.

That is strange. Our margin on Colts was always smaller than most other brands.

But even back then people knew 'value for the buck" and as a result we sold many more Bushmasters and Oly's than Colts. Never had a customer complain about the durability or accuracy of any of them.

If there was a big difference in price sure. But there is not.

15K rounds may be just breaking one in in your weird opinion but if a rifle is going to exhibit any problems it's going to be well before 1000 rds have been down the bore.

I know a lot of civilian shooters who put 500+ rounds through a gun in a single weekend. Hell I have been doing that a lot lately. Training, practice, More practice. Many put even more than that downrage.

And problems most assuredly do not occur within 1000 rounds every time.
Do you understand what heating up and cooling does to metal? This repetition is part of what causes parts to fail and why testing is so important.

I don't care what the mall ninja's spend their money on. Some folks are just suckers for slick advertising especially the wannabe's... same guys that go out and buy all the military or black ops gear.... we have some at the range and giggle at them every time we see them.

We all laugh at these people. But some of us actually take out gear seriously.

I use my ARs for plinking, target shooting and competitive events (NRA high power for one) I've owned all manner of them over the years from Colts on down and have never been able to tell one iota of difference in any of them when it came to putting bullets down range except for the target rifles.

You have already stated you don't run your weapons hard. Fine that is great for you. It still doesn't make them equal to a better quality gun.

You can spend upwards of 2k on one or 7-800 bucks. Chances are very high the cheap one will run every bit as good as the 2k one will. But you may not look "cool enough" with it...

Where are you getting your numbers? A Del Ton or Oly will run you around 800. A BCM DD or colt will run you 1000-1200 and a spikes will run you less than that. At this point I think you are just making things up to try to support an unsupportable argument.

 

[Patriotme]

Enjoy your rifle and come back in a few months with some updates and more range reports. BTW, what scope is that?

 

[22/17 SHOOTER]

The scope is a cheapo NcSTAR, made in China. Nothing special and brand name but good enough for me. 3-9 power, bullet drop compensation, glowing cross hair.
Once again, nothing to get exited about but OK for me.

And gentleman, please don't turn this into flame war. everyone has right to his own opinion, please just leave it there.
Best regards,
Cezar.