I have two oly arms lowers that I bought stripped and I just assembled them the other day. When I slid a mag into the mag well I noticed it is pretty tight. Its tight enough where the mag will not drop free on its own, I have to pull it out. Anyone else have this problem? Will it break in over time or should I maybe use a dremil and polish the inside of the magwell? Thanks for the help.

I have 3 Oly lowers and they are all like that.. but I found some of my USGI mags do drop free,...I guess those are the mags I stepped on!

I bought an Oly lower (before I knew better [BD])and had the same problem.  Called Oly, got nothing back but a bad attitude, an estimate of 6-8 months turn around time to fix it, and a warning that if I did anything to the lower I would void my warranty....

I immediately cut a block of hardwood on my tablesaw that would just fit into the magwell and glued 100 grit emery paper to all four sides.  Removed the bolt stop and mag catch.  Making sure I kept the block square, I sanded the inside of the well until the block was loose; then checked the mag well with a couple of mags--still tight.  glued on another layer of emery paper and repeated.  I stopped at three layers.  All my mags drop free now, and the rifle functions perfectly.  I am sure I voided my "warranty", but the solution took about 4 hours as opposed to 3/4 of a year!

FWIW, I would call them to see if you might get a better response than I did, but doing it yourself is also an option...  Good luck!

I have two Oly lowers of recent manufacture (KX, JJ serial # prefix) that drop all metal magazines free.  The plastic mags are a little tighter, but not really difficult.

I thought that Oly had that problem fixed in late model lowers.

I had the same problem with my pre-ban Oly that I bought in '93 also.  I took a file and opened it up just a tad, 5mins and voila!.  Works like a champ now.

Same here.  I have a total of (4) post ban lowers with the [b]JJ[/b] prefix.  All drop any magazine free that I own (USGI, Orlite, Thermomold).  I bought all four lowers in 2000 and 2001.  

I know Olympic had a tight magwell problem in the past, but as far as I [b]seen[/b], it has been fixed.  

OSA

I purchased a new oly and all GI mags drop free. a few thermold mags do not, but this has improved with some use.

i am surpised that olympic arms staff would carry an attitude, they have always been curteous to me.

Same here libertarian, never had one that didn't drop empty 20, & 30 USGIs (if not imediatly, then after saveral hundred rounds - fer sure).
If it's that damned important, - send the lower back to Oly, they'll fix the phuck out of it! Oly isn't exactly a "fly-by-night" company - they're here to stay, and they DO care about whateverthefuckittakes to pacify their customers!

[i]]Not that I understand WTF everyone is bitching about, I'd rather NOT have the mags drop free too easily on a range gun.....[i]

I have a new Oly lower I bought in April.  Except for one magazine made by Kay, you either have to hit the mags pretty hard, lock the bolt back with the stop, or remove the assembly pin and lift the upper a few mm's to get them to seat.  The mag made by Kay inserts with only a little effort.

On a related topic, the bolt on my new Oly won't close over an inserted magazine.  I don't know what is out of spec, but I would guess it's either the lower or the bolt.  I asked Oly what to do about it, and they told me it was normal.  The rifle won't even cycle rounds with a mag inserted, and they claim that is normal!  I have never found a company less interested in helping a customer.

zoom,

Is this a rifle you still own?
Who TF is Kay? Do you mean O-Kay? (Great mags if that's what you mean).
This isn't a "sour grapes" thing (you still own the gun - right)?

If what you're saying is accurate, AND you've tried [u]DIFFERENT USGI[/u] mags (& NOT a run that may have low-cut catches ("rej-031", or just "31" prefix on the wrappers), then of course you're in the right, & the damned things are "riding high."

Olympic WILL FIX the damned mag catch for you, please post the name of the CSR you've talked to in the past, or send the name to me ([email protected]).
If the friggen rifle's not "right," they'll make it right.

Sorry to hear you think they're not interested in customer service, & sorry you've come into contact with a CSR that led you to that conclusion, but [u]the owners DO care.[/u]

FINAL-CUT, yes I still have the rifle.  I bought the lower and a friend bought the parts, then I assembled it.  I didn't eat lunch for a few weeks to afford the lower, a mag, and some ammo, so I'm very frustrated with the problem.

I didn't realize the company's name was O-Kay.  I thought the large circle on the baseplate was simply part of their logo.  The O-Kay mags are 0.02" narrower than any other mag I've checked.  That doesn't sound like much, but it does make it much easier to insert the mag.  I haven't sanded down the magwell, like it sounds most Oly owners have, because I don't want to remove any of the protective finish.  I'd rather have to bang on the bottom of a few mags than worry about oxidation on the exposed aluminium.  I'm not too annoyed by the overly tight magwell, because I simply test now before I buy.  It just means I can't mail order magazines.

I own about 10 mags, including a couple Thermolds, a Colt 20's, a few GI 30's, and a Bushmaster 10 rounder.  I bought one of the mags myself, and I traded-out work cutting grass in exchange for the rest.  The bolt won't close over the top of any of them.  I also took the rifle to a gun shop, and I tried-out about 4 dozen of their mags.  The bolt also hit the feedlips on them.  The unenjoyable part of that was listening to the dealer telling me "I told you so" the entire time.

There were a couple of long, drawn-out threads in the "Build it Yourself" forum about this problem with Oly rifles.



The consensus of the group was that the mag catches weren't the problem.  I personally shaved one down far enough to get the mag to seat low enough for the bolt to close over the top of the mag.  The problem was that recoil would sometimes knock the mag up into the path of the bolt causing a jam.  Think about it.  If you remove material on the top of the mag catch to make the mag seat lower, then there is nothing keeping the mag from being pushed into overinsertion.  Recoil would often do this and resting the mag (yeah, I know I shouldn't do that) on the bench will do it every time.

I called Oly several times to only be answered with insults.  I traded-out some work for a photographer to take a few very nice close-up pictures of the bolt in contact with 5 different magazines, and I mailed them to Oly.  I did that so they would have proof they couldn't argue with.  I haven't heard back from them.

I'd like to find-out which part is out of spec so that I can fix it myself, if possible.  I'm still waiting for a chance to swap-out parts with another AR-15 (especially the bolt and/or the complete uppers) to try to figure-out which part is out of spec.  I don't know if the channels on the bottom of the bolt are too narrow or if the (I hope this isn't the case because I don't know how to fix it) hole in the lower for the mag catch is out of place.

You claim Oly will fix problems?  I talked to Bruce Bell (before he left) a few times, and he didn't seem to be of that opinion of the company.  We have a few mutual friends, which was why I bought from Oly in the first place.

So, I have an expensive single-shot rifle.  I've gotten pretty good at hand feeding one round at a time.  On a more positive note, it's probably made me a better shooter, because I make every shot count.

Zoom,

Just a few quick notes. This thread was pointed out to me by a concerned customer who thought I should address this issue.

First off, let me say that as you can see, this problem is not relegated specifically to Oly's lowers. As the posters have attested to, most manufacturers will appear to have this problem from time to time.

In most cases, and true, not all cases, the fact that a magazine will not drop free from a mag well (and unlike final cut, whom ever he is, I do belive that it is important to the system that they do drop free, sorry final....) is generally related to 2 things:

1. Out of spec magazines.
2. Trigger Guard

With regards to #1, not all mags are good mags, plastic mags, and steel mags are specifically suspect. Even USGI mags (again, as some have testified to here) are not always up to par. Honestly though, your best bet is the USGI mags.

As far as the trigger guard goes, check the area in the back of the magazine well to make sure that your magazines are not impacting the trigger guard. This is a situation that is fairly common, and can even change from time to time on the same weapon based on the movement forward and aft of the trigger guard. If the trigger guard is in fact impacting the mags, trim the trigger guard.

As far as some other comments made, I do not agree with some of the language being used, but I will agree that we do care about our customers and products. What we find most frustrating at Oly is when people go out of their way to complain about things without taking the proper steps with the factory to correct any deficiencies.

I do not know what your allegiances are with Bruce Bell, but if you are calling here with regards to a customer service/product problem, you were definitely talking to the wrong guy. Bruce was nothing more than our accountant and financial controller. He had absolutely nothing to do with customer service, domestic sales, or returns and repairs. Although Bruce is a personal friend of mine, and decorated combat Vet  of Vietnam, he is NOT an AR expert, nor does he claim to be. If you want customer service, call the customer service staff, and let them help. The fact that you were talking with Bruce leads me to belive that you may have had other motives, otherwise, I cannot figure out why on earth you'd want to talk to the CPA of a company for customer service!

At any rate, if this is still an issue with anyone, take advantage of the lifetime warranty we offer and send the product in. If it is out of spec, we will fix or replace it for free. We live by this promise.

Tom S.
Oly Arms

True.  I haven't personally seen this, but several posters have mentioned having horribly tight magwells in a new Bushmaster.



Because when he transferred me to someone who could help, it "greased the wheels."  In other words, I wasn't just some "stupid chump to hang-up on", and by having his introduction, I was someone.



OK, then what is the spec?  All I've seen from you guys here are attacks on your customers.  I don't think I've seen a single time where you've tried to help someone.  You claim your magwells are within spec, then what is the spec you claim to meet, what's the spec for the magazine (so we can tell if your claim that most GI mags are out of spec is true), and what should we do if (when?) we measure our Oly lower and find it out of spec?  Help us out!  If you are within spec, then defend Oly.  Give us proof one way or the other.  Personally, I don't have much of a problem with the tight magwell, but other posters here do.

This still doesn't address the problem several posters have had that the bolt won't close over any inserted magazine.  My lower and upper fit together better than any non-Oly made pair of receivers I've ever seen.  It's nice and tight.  Is there a problem with the cut-outs on the bottom of the bolt?  Are they not cut deep enough?  Does the bolt ride too low in the upper receiver?  Is the magwell cut-out in the lower receiver too high?  You say Oly will replace something out of spec, but how do we know which part is the problem?