I am getting ready to purchase one of these Olympic Arms Plinker 16" AR15's and I was wondering if anyone has had any problems with them.
Thanks

I sold one to a local. It is clearly the ugliest finished rifle I ever saw. Never got a report back on the shooting. I would reccomend you spend a hundred more and get an upgrade.

You should be aware that while Olympic is a reputable company, the plinker has a CAST receiver which is weaker than forged. For $100 more you can buy their GI model, which has all forged receivers.

Ill third that. Spend $100 or so more, and get the GI model, its got forged upper/lower. Not cast. Havent seen one but I bet the finish is much better looking too... John

$699 for the GI-16 (bottom) that's MSRP, some dealers will sell them for less.

[img]http://www.olyarms.com/images/gimodels.jpg[/img]

What is your opinions about DPMS Rifles?  I found a Lite 16 for only $100 more than the plinker.

I'm going with David H. and all the others who reccomend spending alittle more. When the time came to get an AR I hit the first gun show in town and then hit the first dealer selling AR's. Which was the first rifle I picked up....the Plinker.

Then when I got home, came here to ARFCOM and started doing research, I realized I could have built a rifle exactly how I wanted it for less than the Plinker cost me....and I was a dumb ass and paid more than what they were going for at the time! I GOT RIPPED OFF!

The only parts remaining from my original weapon are the bolt, carrier and barrel which I sent to KKF to have turned down to M4 profile and get a A3 FFH installed.

Don't rush into purchasing your first AR, take your time and see what your options are, buy what you want the first time....coming here to ARFCOM was the first smart move!

There are 3 "Plinkers" in the family. All are used in combat competition, varmit hunting, and general target shooting. After ten's of K's of rounds all are performing flawlessly with 0 issues. These rifles haven't been run over by a truck nor thrown down the concrete steps. If they had been treated this way and the receivers broke, the receiver would be replaced free of charge by Olympic. Just a little annecdotal evidence for your information.

The problem with the Lite 16 is that it also has a cast lower.  The plinker and the lite 16 are the only ones I know of at the prestnt time that use cast receivers.  For a little bit more, you can get a rifle with a forged receiver and not have to worry about a cast receiver breaking.  It doesn't happen as much as people like to say, but it can and has happened.  However, I have never heard of anyone breaking a forged receiver, at least not around here and not an a semi auto AR.  For piece of mind, get a rifle with a forged receiver.

Get a forged lower all the way.
Someone will come by to comment on the lacking metalurgy(Yeah,I know spelling) of a cast lower.

The finish on the Oly Plinker is Gawd awful.

I think the quality of the casting has a lot to do with the strength, and Oly does a good job. An example of bad casting in receivers would be Hesse arms, where fractures have been seen with normal use. I would not hesitate to buy anything Olympic makes beacuse they back up their work, in general, like you stated.

to me it's kind of like like having forged vs Cast pistons in an engine, you won't see a difference unless you really abuse it.

    Complaining about the finish on a cast receiver is like complaining about the factory paint job on your Chevette....sure the car will get you to and from work and has a bumper-to-bumper warrantee but you wouldn't park it next to a gloss red Viper and wonder why the chicks are hanging off the other guy's ride.  
    The Plinker is not a high-end show piece.  It will get the job done for which it was intended:  PLINKING.  
    Massacre all the soda cans you want but don't go rock climbing with it.  The Plinker is fine for your first AR, but if you want to upgrade parts/accessories later, go with a PCR-16GI or PCR-5.  

Check this out.
This happened while the rifle owners daughter was shooting it.

[url]http://www.gunsnet.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=149425[/url]

They didn't replace it with a new one either, read the last post on the 2nd page.

Well, to be fair, they replaced the part that broke - the upper receiver.  What's wrong with using the other parts?  The kind of failure he experienced wouldn't have damaged anything else, unless the gas tube bent when the pieces came apart.

HOLLY SHIT!

....well folks. There you have it.
And I was under the impression they just broke by the stock and takedown pin.