Why is an Olympic AR-15 Bad?

[W L Johnson]

He asked if they are any good. The answer on the whole is no. It isn't even a matter of "combat worthy" like Bryan commented. It is a matter of the quality of parts. I would say the same thing about people claiming that a Hipoint pistol is as good as a Glock or HK.

Using your logic if my car can't take what a Humvee can then it's no good. My car will never see the sands of Iraq and probably won't survive long there anyway. But does that mean it no good despite being good for what I need it for?

No one here is claiming that they're going to be in the jungles of Vietnam one day and in the sands of Iraq the next with an Olympic. Heck it may do just fine, but I don't care, it's never going there. And as far as being good for home defense, I don't think most homes in America are as bad as the jungles of Vietnam or the deserts of Iraq.

 

[FlyinBryan]

I know of a few SMEs who are on this board. But they don't see a point in even trying anymore because of the terrible signal to noise ratio that has cropped up on this board.

please be advised that i consider that as my opinion being viewed as noise, and of less value than that of a signaler.

which are you? signal or noise?

(also understand that i am by no means offended by it, but slightly amused, lol, so dont worry about it)

 

[holdencm9]

RE: Home Defense

So nobody will ever use an AR for Home defense?

It amazes me the excuses people will come up with for buying low quality stuff, especially firearms.

It amazes me the excuses people will come up with to look down on people who didn't spent as much as they did.

Fact: The gun works for what he wants/needs it for, why some have issues with that is beyond me. Too many gun snobs around here and it's really killing this forum. Biggest reason why I'll not on the highroad much anymore.

Even if you do use it for HD, I'd hope you clean it after your weekend 1500-round torture test in a sandstorm, before putting that AR under your bed. A Colt with 1000 trouble-free rounds through it is no more or less likely to jam than a DPMS with 5000 through it. But the fact of the matter is, if you fire 1000 rounds through your AR (any AR) without a single hiccup, chances are you can run through a full magazine in a home defense situation without a jam.

Since apparently we need to vet the posts now, I will say I am not an AR expert or snob, not former military or LE, and haven't taken my PSA through any torture tests....yet. But I am just trying to be reasonable. Readers can decide for themselves if my lack of "credentials" voids my opinion.

Hypothetical, dope on your AR, 1000 rounds, 1 jam, you have a less than 3% chance of having a jam within a 30-round mag. But 1000 rounds and zero jams still does not make your chance of a jam 0%. Not even 10,000 rounds and zero jams.

 

[X-Rap]

He asked if they are any good. The answer on the whole is no. It isn't even a matter of "combat worthy" like Bryan commented. It is a matter of the quality of parts. I would say the same thing about people claiming that a Hipoint pistol is as good as a Glock or HK.

Using your logic if my car can't take what a Humvee can then it's no good. My car will never see the sands of Iraq and probably won't survive long there anyway. But does that mean it no good despite being good for what I need it for?

Those analogys are apples and oranges.
A better one would be using Napa parts to repair your Humvee compared to the "TDP".
Comparing a HiPoint to a Glock or HK in the same terms as comparing AR's from many popular makers isn't even close.
Aside from the stamped parts I would like to see someone tell the difference but for someone who has indeed put their gun through some "serious use" I don't see the point in saying they have junk.

 

[jerkface11]

So nobody will ever use an AR for Home defense?

I don't plan on defending my home with 1500 rounds in a sandstorm. Maybe a mag full in the living room.

 

[R.W.Dale]

So nobody will ever use an AR for Home defense?

It amazes me the excuses people will come up with for buying low quality stuff, especially firearms.

Yes because it takes such a high quality top of the line military grade firearm to function well enough to fire four or five shots coming out of a case under the bed completely clean and oiled at room temperature.

That's such a torture test sub $2500 rifles need not apply.


All in all I find some of the operator wannabee posts here to be as fantasy filled as the zombists. Unless you're a particularly unlucky LEO chances are you'll die warm in a rest home bed somewhere having never fired a 5.56 bullet into anything in anger not made out of paper. In other words you have no REASON to look down on anyone aside from the monetary angle.

posted via tapatalk using android.

 

[trickyasafox]

sooo yea like I said- My oly upper runs great in 9mm . . . eats everything I feed it. . . (gently attempts to steer thread back on track)

 

[R.W.Dale]

Amazing how questions like this bring out the Internet commandos. The facts of the matter is no one here will use their ar15 running around shooting bad guys with their life dependent on their ar15. The only exception would be if someone was a cop, and even then the actuality of ever firing the weapon on duty is so remote, and the department should be issuing you a gun.

Own up to the reality that 99.9% of us buy these as big boy toys. The .1% buy it because their department is underfunded.

Best post EVER! May I quote you?

posted via tapatalk using android.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

I bought my AR for fun. I already did my time using one for work. Most of the guns I own are for fun.
Now, I don't sleep with my commando gear next to my bed. I don't jump up in the middle of the night to see how fast I can get suited up for a fire fight.
Heck. My AR is locked up in one of the safes along with about 300 other guns.
Now there is a 357 mag in the night stand and a Glock 22 4th gen hanging at the foot of the bed on my duty belt. But the Glock gets put away on the weekends. The bullet proof vest is at the foot of the bed and only gets put on when I go to work.
Being ready and knowing how to use your weapon is one thing. Training for war is another.
My Olympic AR will do me just fin at the house.
I guess the ones that like to play war with paper bad guys need better guns.

 

[marine 97-03]

For what it will be used for plinking....it will be fine....and if. He has to use it to stop an intruder ....well why. Don't you break in and tell us how it goes ......

 

[RX-178]

You know, one of the things that I find really amusing is how Olympic Arms has such a bad name here in the States, but a few gun people I know in Italy consider it a point of pride to have one nowadays.

 

[lead-inspector]

I like mine

Bought my Oly in April 1994 ar15a1 20in 1/9 National Match

shot 3 gun matches no failures*

January 2001 took Blackwater Tactical carbine course 1500 rounds no failures

Jan 2012 approx 10,000 rounds no failures

* gun jammed during 1 match. found buffer tube backed out causing jam. I failed to properly torque the tube after disassembly. note was disassembled due to being immersed in rain water. took 2 years and approx 2500 rounds for jam to occur AFTER improper maintenance.

 

[chad1043]

Well documented post Lead. Thanks.

 

[jerkface11]

January 2001 took Blackwater Tactical carbine course 1500 rounds no failures

If it wasn't in a sandstorm it doesn't count though.

 

[chad1043]

Jerk, have you been vetted yet... You can't post unless you are vetted. LOL

 

[holdencm9]

If it wasn't in a sandstorm it doesn't count though.

It can't be just any sandstorm. It has to have that fine powdery dust that gets in every nook and cranny. All sand is not created equal!

 

[ExTank]

My Oly went bang every time I pulled the trigger. Only problem was from crap mags, sooooo....not the gun's fault.

Emailed customer service with a technical question, got a great, helpful, detailed answer back the next day. So no problems with customer service on my end.

As others have noted, finish was a bit rougher than other models, but it didn't effect shootability.

 

[jerkface11]

Jerk, have you been vetted yet... You can't post unless you are vetted. LOL

Was that typed in a sandstorm? If not I'm not going to take it seriously.

Honestly though they only problem with my Oly gun is the quality of the lower parts kit. It still works but the selector just doesn't look quite right.

 

[chad1043]

I was just joking.

 

[jerkface11]

I only laugh at sandstorm jokes.

 

[FlyinBryan]

99% of the ar15 rifles available today are perfectly fine for 99% of the people buying them.

shoot it, shoot it some more, and then shoot it some more.

EDIT: to comply with the above, do the above in a sandstorm

 

[chad1043]

But i typed while I was in a sandstorm in the middle of a jungle...

 

[chad1043]

And yet again he disappears from a discussion... Maybe he vetted himself out of the debate.

 

[mustang 22]

Crap, I don't know what to think. I'm retired military (heavy on the Infantry) and have been in LE for the past 20 1/2 years. I have participated in a bunch of training. During all this time I have had first hand experience with a number of AR brands, some good some not so good. That said, I own Two Oly Arms products that I have put literally thousands of round through. I have found them to be completely reliable, as reliable as any I have used. As for their QC, don't know, never had to use it.

 

[Hacker15E]

99% of the ar15 rifles available today are perfectly fine for 99% of the people buying them.

This is true for the majority of internet gun discussions, to be honest. Which gun/brand is most accurate, which gun/brand is toughest, etc, all boil down to the fact that most firearms users in the United States today do not get "rode hard and put away wet", and thus most firearms produced today fit that bill really well.

There are a lot of discussions that amplify the differences in that remaining 1% and make it look like there are issues a lot more significant than they really are in the grand scheme of things.

For the AR-15 crowd, you also have to remember that on top of the normal sporting American firearms owners, there are also a good number of LEOs, security contractors, etc who use privately-owned AR rifles as duty weapons -- a number that pushes the 1% number above to some larger number (I don't know what it is, though) Those people actually do need a rifle that can stand abuse on a harsh duty schedule.

Add to it the number of 'tactical' types who don't actually have a need for such a rugged firearm but, for whatever reason, think they do, and now you have the makings of serious internet discussion.

All that being said, here's a pretty interesting thread from AR15.com where a "carbine course" instructor (this gentleman: Pat Rogers -- http://www.eagtactical.com/abouteag.asp) discusses his observations about the weapons he's seen used at his classes. He's not a brand snob, but has definitely seen trends in what brands work well in his environment and which ones tend to have problems -- problems that likely wouldn't be life-and-death to that 99% of sporting AR shooters, but would be VERY critical for someone with a heavy use duty weapon.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_118/360169_What_Parts_Break_in_a_Carbine_Course_.html

I think it's the heavy mixing of the "duty use" crowd, the "tacti-cool" crowd, and the "sporting" crowd which causes a lot of the brand snobbery in the AR world. For some people it matters, and for some it doesn't.