Olympic Arms AR-15

[choppers]

I saw that Bradis on kentucky ave was selling AR-15's made by Olympic Arms for $599.00. Does anybody know of the quality by this maker?

 

[LPMan59]

they have a bad reputation, mostly from a long time ago. the guys on this forum who own them really like them. me, i'm a colt kool-aid drinker.

 

[choppers]

Yes that's why i asked because i heard the same about the bad rep but like you said it was from the past. I didn't know if they got any better? I was also told they don't crome line the barrel, is this true and how important is it? I'm sure its for durability but also heard it hurts accurracy. Don't know if true.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Basically, if you are looking for a cheap plinker they are fine. If you are looking for high quality or the best possible accuracy and reliability, they are not so good. Probably for 90% of the people who are not mil or LE, Olympic is just fine. Chances are the gun will be more accurate than you are, and unless you are planning on shooting many thousands of rounds the barrel not being chrome lined is no big deal. I wouldn't buy one for more than the $600 that Bradis is asking. $700-750 starts getting into the low end DPMS and $750-1000 can get you into the higher quality manufacturers.

 

[clfergus]

Take this for what it is worth.... I am not a basher of any brand at all being a relative newb AR-15.

I bought one of these Oly PP a few months back at Bradis. Got it home and the safety selector switch was broken. Bradis fixed it at no charge..no biggie.

I took it out to Atterbury on 4 seperate occasions and had multiple jamming issues. As suggested by other members I tried different ammo, different mags including PMAGS which are some of these best to no avail.

Probably just needed to break it in more, spend time figuring out what was wrong. I traded it off as I didnt have the patience to figure out the issue.

Looking back, I should have just spent a few hundred more to get a better quality.

Many guys on here like them and have good success. I just got a lemon.

 

[XMil]

I have 2 Oly uppers and two lowers.

Upper 1: Mounting holes mis-located. Pins are very hard to get in.

Upper 2: Dust cover will not stay shut.

Lower 1: Too tight for PMAGs.

Lower 2: Seems to be okay.

I'll never buy anything made by them again.

 

[IndyMonkey]

I bought one of them from bradis 4 or 5 years ago.

I took it shooting once. I couldnt get it to shoot more than 5 or 6 rounds with out having a malfunction.

Sold it the next day. For crying out loud why can all the other manufacture get them close to spec but they cant?

For 199.99 you can get a complete new DPMS lower. Find a use upper for 400.00 and your good to go.

 

[melensdad]

The PLINKER PLUS is the low end model of low end models. My daugther's first AR15 was/is a Plinker Plus. So far it has been flawless. But its not very pretty and its very bare bones, old style sights, etc etc etc.

If you are looking for an AR to modify up, the P.P. is not the gun for you.

I've got another Oly AR15 and have nothing but praise about that one. The Oly guns are not as finely finished as the Charles Daly Defense or Rock River Arms guns but they are serviceable and they are reliable. They are also a bargain. I've got a couple extra Oly uppers as well, not problems with them. Of all the Oly uppers I own, none have any problems with the dust cover staying closed or opening as designed. FWIW, Oly does do an unusual but still mil-spec variant type of staking of their gas keys, some people criticize them for that because they don't understand it. But it is effective and I've not had any problems with any of my gas keys (3 of my 4 Oly uppers have gas keys, 1 is a 9mm and doesn't need the gas key because its recoil operated). I would not hesitate to buy another OLY gun and actually mine are pretty much go to guns when I just want to go out shooting for fun. They work, they cost less than most other brands, and that is a good combination in my book.

Realize they also make many different various models from extremely accurate target variants to the low end Plinker Plus. Can't get more bare bones than the P.P.

As for chrome lining of a barrel. NONE of the roughly dozen AR15s I own have a chrome lined barrel. Its not anything I want in my guns. Others disagree and they are not wrong, they just have different priorities. Chrome is good if you want to beat up your gun and not have to clean it. I keep mine clean, and don't beat my guns. Once a chromed barrel has a failure of any sort it is trash; they cannot be repaired, but its pretty rare that a casual shooter will ruin any barrel. Chrome lining is NOT on any target grade barrels, there is a reason for that. Decide if you want it, if you do, then get a gun with it. If you don't, then get a gun without it.

The ONLY brand that I totally despise and avoid like the plague is DPMS. I've completely stopped using them and their parts. Too many out of spec parts. There have been a couple threads filled with complaints about DPMS parts.

 

[IndyGunworks]

the one oly i purchased needed a death grasp on the magazine and a solid yank to get it out... had some jamming issues but i fixed those myself.... gas block was not alighed right, fixed that to.... and the dust cover wouldnt stay shut... fixed that too.

shoot me a PM i can build you an AR for not much more money and i garrentee my rifles.

 

[M4_556]

Unfortunately, with many things in life you get what you pay for. You'd probably be happier down the road spending 100-200 more. Not everything Oly turns out is crap by a long shot, but you'll definately have a higher probability for problems than some more reputable manufacturers.

 

[nate77]

I've had an Olympic Arms K16 for about 6 months, and it runs flawlessly. I've shot 55gr PMC, 62gr steel core HotShot, and 40gr V-Max Fiocchi all fed, fired, ejected, and were as accurate as hell.

The finish on the gun is black, uniform, and durable; I don't know what else you would want, the Stag I was seriously thinking about buying a month ago, didn't look any better. As for fit everything fits and functions properly. The upper and lower also mate together perfectly with no sloppiness at all. Also don’t forget the lifetime warranty if you have problems, some gun manufactures only offer a couple years.

As for chrome lining it would be nice, but it is supposed to affect accuracy, and it adds about $100 to the price of a gun. It must not be that big of a deal since DPMS, and top tier RRA don't include it as a standard option on all of their guns; it is a special order item, so don't think you can go into an gun store and pick up any AR besides an OLY and it will be chrome lined. You have to look for the term "chrome lined bore", and not "Chrome-Moly Barrel" I guess some gun manufactures think they can trick consumers into thinking they have chrome lined bore.

 

[Dtruck260]

Ill be odd man out, I have three ARs, DPMS/RR/OLY

The oly is great! @100 yards I shot 6 rds two targets ((Wolf 62gr)(Three each) with all rounds touching! While standing on my head in a 40mph wind! (Ahem, resting on bags,sunny/warm/zero wind lol <--but Im gonna keep forgetting to say that)

I love my Oly!

Maybe I just got lucky! Mine is also a 2009 manufacture date

 

[x10]

I have an old oly that is great but I'm with xmil his oly is not up to par as mine,

I don't know if the gun rush of 2009 is the reason, if they just let their quality slip or what,

My oly was bought right before the Clinton ban went into effect so its at least 10 years old, reliable and reasonably accurate,

If I were looking at my oly I wouldn't hesitate a second to buy another,

Looking at xmil's oly I would never buy one

I guess take a koolaid sipping pmag with you and if it don't fit you must acquit, oops I mean don't buy

 

[nate77]

Ill be odd man out, I have three ARs, DPMS/RR/OLY

The oly is great! @100 yards I shot 6 rds two targets ((Wolf 62gr)(Three each) with all rounds touching! While standing on my head in a 40mph wind! (Ahem, resting on bags,sunny/warm/zero wind lol <--but Im gonna keep forgetting to say that)

Maybe I just got lucky! Mine is also a 2009 manufacture date

So your gun likes Wolf? I've heard mixed reviews on steel cased ammo in AR's; my AK loves it, maybe I'll get some to try in my AR if it's that accurate.

 

[A. Ramon]

I have had my Oly over a year now. 750+rds down the pipe without a problem. Its my patrol rifle. I got quad-rails mounted, M3 light on the bottom, Aimpoint sitting on top, and a single point sling. I had a bushmaster previously. I would pick my Oly over that anyday of the week. Simulated 100yrd heads shots all day long. But just my $.02.

Alex

 

[Dtruck260]

Yep, Wolf is GTG, so long as you like to clean it, only my RR hates it.

I just converted the Oly to the CMMG Pistion set, seems good so far, Ill post more after a few more rounds

 

[rlynch25]

I bought an Olympic Arms 16" plinker about a year ago. I've shot about 2000 rounds through it so far with zero issue. With my handloads (55 gr) I keep 5 rounds within an inch at 100 yds from a rest. Not the most accurate maybe but for plinking it's more than enough. I killed 2 hogs in Texas, both shots at a little under 100 yards, dead on where I aimed. Overall I've been very satisfied with it and would buy it again. The only thing I would do different is get a flat top receiver. I've bought 2 handle scope mounts and have a 3x9 scope on one, and a red dot on the other. This way I can switch back and forth easily.

 

[243rem700]

I got a 2009 manufactured M4 from Oly and it has been flawless so far, even when not cleaned for several hundred rounds. I do not baby the rifle but do not trash it either.

The fit and finish is decent. Not great, not bad.

I was very skeptical of Oly when I bought my rifle, but I am a big fan now.

 

[turkeykiller]

I love my
K3B-M4-A3-TC - M4 Tactical Carbine

 

[Dtruck260]

LOL, wow I remember when mine looked like that (same model) then AR-itus took over, the only cure was to steadily drain my checking account

I love my
K3B-M4-A3-TC - M4 Tactical Carbine