User Panel
Posted: 10/7/2004 9:21:50 PM EDT
Hi guys I am going to buy a new AR15. I already have a colt was just wondering what you guys thought of Olympic and Bushmaster AR15. IO am not trying to start a flame just want some honest experience with both products.
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Bushmaster makes a better rifle. Plus, you really do need to get a chromed bore, and thats standard on the Bushmaster, unavailable on the Olympic.
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BUSHMASTER
after hearing too much bad stuff about olympics, i stayed away from em i'll stick w/ my bushy |
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I agree, although you don't really need a chromed bore for most of what you will want to do short of taking it to war. Having said that, I still prefer a chromed chamber/bore. But I would also consider Rock River Arms and Doublestar/J&T Distributing... |
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I had an Olympic that was a jam-o-matic. I've never had any problems with my Bushmaster.
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I have had Olympic non chrome bores rust in the gunsafe. Everythingn rusts here. I buy chromed. |
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I'd second that. The second part, anyway. I've built several J&T kits, and I've been very happy with No experience with Rock River, though.them. Edited to add: Except the Rock River uppers. Those were pretty good. Except for that damn press-on fake flashhider that seemed like such a good idea at the time. |
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Conversely, I've never had a problem with my Oly. But, if I were buying new, I'd probably go with a Bushy. Unless you're getting a match/target style gun, then it'd be close.
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John wrong credit up there!
I had RRA, pretty good stuff, it will serve you well. Get chrome or stainless though |
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If I lived in WA, I would have a chromed bore for sure.
However, I live in CO, where humidity is something people talk about. Having said that, I still prefer a chromed bore. |
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Oly for the lower. Whatever you want for the upper. BM can be overpriced if you don't shop around. A forged lower is a forged lower though and I've been hearing way too much about the BM purple finish. Anyway, I like the Oly lion better than some pissed off looking snake.
Also, the Oly SUM barrels are great from what I hear. |
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OAI DOES make very accurate guns. Most of my lowers have been OAI, FWIW.
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It's high humidity here in NC too |
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I have had no problems with my Olympic other than replaced the moly steel barrel so I could have a chrome-line barrel/chamber. It has fired thousands of rounds without a single malfunction.
Having said that I believe Bushmaster makes a better quality rifle, and if I was purchasing a new rifle and had the extra money necessary, I would definitely go Bushmaster. Oly is OK, but Bushy is a notch better. Plus I am now a "go chrome or go home" believer, and Oly doesn't do Chrome. |
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My first response would be to buy a Bushmaster, however some of you guys have replied saying that Olympic Arms do not have chrome barrels, well I just found this on thier website.... am I missing something?
CHROMEMOLY BARRELS The next marking, or lack of it will determine the type of barrel material; in other words, what the barrel is made of. Since we know what to look for to determine the caliber, lets go under the assumption that our barrel is a .223 caliber (5.56), but this same system applies to all calibers. If the only barrel stamping is "5.56", then the barrel is made of 4140 chromemoly steel. Chromemoly is a type steel that incorporates chrome right into the barrel metal itself. This barrel material is corrosion resistant, but not as much so as a stainless material. Using the 4140 chromemoly material allows us to give the consumer a barrel with similar benefits of a chrome lined barrel, but maintain consistencies in the bore that allow for superior accuracy. Our studies have shown that without a doubt chrome lining of any barrel will deplete it's accuracy. If there are any stampings other than the caliber, they will answer other questions that we will address later. |
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You are missing the knowledge that "Chromemoly Steel" is the steel alloy that most barrel manufacturers use unless they are using stainless steel. The "Chrome-lined" steel barrels are lined with Chromium, which is a much harder, more durable and slicker metal. Chromemoly Steel, 4140 in the case of of Oly and 4150 in the case of Bushy, also referred to as "moly" steel, is nothing more than a steel alloy which include chrome and other components. this alloy will rust readily if not protected with lubricants. Chromium-lined Chromemoly steel will resist much more corrosion, corrosive chemicals and the like. It's not indestructible, but it makes the bore much more resilient over time. "Chromemoly steel" is not the same as "Chrome-lined" or "Chromium lined". |
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Let's make it easy and get the best of both world:
Oly Lower BM Upper |
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Oly uses SS for alot of their barrels which does not need chrome lining, I've never had any problems with my later vintage Oly, but I've had no personal experience with Bushmaster, but when I built my newest AR I built up from RRA & LMT.
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Look around. Don't just narrow it down to just Oly or Bushy. How about RRA, DPMS. I have Colts , Oly and DPMS all function flawleesly. Bushmaster and RRA are on my list to be purchased.
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Oly Arms anything is not the best of any world. |
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I have a complete Oly and another Oly upper. I have been very happy with both of them. Both uppers function flawlessley, and both are more accurate that my friends 20" Colt Hbar. Both uppers are quite reliable with everything I have put through them including Wolf, Barnaul, Sellier & Bellot, and even the horrible Olympic "SS-109".
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I wonder if you intentionally spelled it Bus-Hamster |
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I simply don't feel the two companies are in the same league. Sure, Bushmaster has had the barney finish, and a bbl. indexing problem...but...nevermind, I'm not going to talk about Tom S. tonight. I'm in too good of a mood.
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Lol. He gave me a hat at the last gunshow. I hear hes a rough guy to talk to though |
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I actually own both. However after watching a friend shoot his Bushy and getting some pretty impressive groups w/surplus ammo and irons, I decided taht I would get a Bushmaster when I had the money. I have a Bushmaster Varmint and LOVE IT! It has the flat top with a J&T detachable scope mount and will shoot sub-moa w/factory trigger(which I'm in the process of taking care of) . My Oly is the short commando w/11.5/4.5 inch flash hider. It used to have the 4 position collapsibl estock but I changed that out for a one piece skeleton stock ( can't remember the name of it and the boss is getting ready to kick me off the PC). It's ok but honestly , it's best day out at the range was about 4 inches.Anyway, go Bushmaster , you will not be sorry. take care. Coondog
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You know, I wonder if it has something to do in the gun industry with your name starting with the letter T. I can think of two "winners"...I'll leave it at that so I don't get sued. |
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I see where you are going with this....and I like it |
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Olympic, for sure... Oh wait, I thought you were asking who was the worst... Oh wait that would still be a tie with Vulcan.
Get Bushmaster, or Armalite, Or RRA, or anything besides Olympic Arms... |
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How can you even compare Oly to Bushmaster? It's like apples to oranges. Bushmaster makes a better rifle than Oly ever could or ever will, hands down.
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I wonder how many people bashing Oly have ever actually shot one of their higher quality models? I actually own a T3MX lower receiver and I am VERY SATISFIED with it. The finish is outstanding and far more scratch reistant than the finish on my RRA upper. I can't say anything about their barrels or uppers because just like a lot of people posting here, I really don't have very much personal experience with them. I probably wouldn't buy one of their complete firearms unless it was their PCR-1 but I definately would go with one of their lower again. Also, Oly has almost stopped making their cast receivers. Even their Plinker model now has a forged upper and lower.
That said, I also would never buy a BM for 1) their purple finish 2) the fact that everyone has one 3) they're overpriced and 4) their warrenty is crap compared to RRA or Oly. |
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I owned a BM and it was not purple, I also owned an Oly and the finish if I recall was thick paint. At least thats what I remember it being. It was cast and it was a POS. |
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How long ago was this? I don't think a lot of people care if 10 year old Oly stuff was crap, I'm sure it wasn't the greatest. I'm talking about new, purchased within the last few years stuff. After their fire, Oly got some of the newest CNC machines in the industry and ever since then, I've been very impressed with the quality. I can assure you, the coating on my receiver is NOT black paint.
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It was 10 years ago, thats why I made mention of the cast receiver.
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Ok, that makes sense. I'm not sure how long they're even going to make cast receivers since none of their rifles will use them in 2005.
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I am not trying to claim the new ones are junk, just their history is all.
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I can give some insight into this since I own a full size Bushmaster with a fluted barrel and an Olympic Arms CAR97-M4.
Firstly the Oly features a 4160 SS c-moly barrel which has eaten several thousands of rounds and shows no sign of accuracy loss or wear. Same for my Bushy, which is c-lined and made from 4150 grade steel. Some days I shoot my Bushmaster better, but most days my Oly groups tighter, mostly because I know the handling characteristics of the Oly better. Neither has ever jammed. The Finish on my Oly is darker and more Matte. There is no real quality difference between the two. I use only USGI mags and quality ammo and that alone will solve 75% of all your problems. This Olympic bashing borders on ignorant. Browse this forum and you’ll see Bushmaster has put, and is, putting out quite a few lemons, yet Olympic gets the QC rap. Half the guys in my shooting club use Olympic and none of them have a had a problem either. The only hitch I’ve had with my Olympic, and I do mean the only hitch, is super tight fitting Singapore military mags. But that is it. Currently I use nothing but La belle mags and English SA80 mags. Problem resolved... If chrome lining is the end all, be all feature you absolutely need because you cant live without it, then get the Bushmaster. That is the only real reason I’d have for choosing one over an Olympic. Since I have both, I’ll say easily that I can’t really tell the difference in terms of reliability and performance As far as I can remember Olympic had one cast lower on their budget Plinker model, which has been reintroduced recently. Every gun they make features a forged lower... |
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I think Oly and BM are getting closer in quality than most shooters relize. Oly has brought their QC up quite a bit in the last couple of years. As much as I like BM rifles and parts, BM never seems to have anything in stock, at least anything I want. You can also save $100s buying an Oly. But, I do think BM makes the better rifle overall. BTW, I have an Oly carbine upper on my issue M16 here in Iraq and have had zero problems with it. Functions 100% and I saved over $250 buying the package from Oly.
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I have heard that they (Army) are starting to slam folks that are useing their own uppers in Iraq right now, is this true? My unit was going to do this but then we were told that a couple of other units that let their guys do this were getting their uppers taken from them and getting punished for it. Thanks... |
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