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.