Any way to find out if my lower is pre-ban.  It is marked SGW on the mag well, and Olympic Arms above tne triger.  Also any info on these lowers as far as quality.  Are they forged or cast?  Thanks.

I know nothing about Olympic Arms. Here's what I found very quickly for you:

Olympic Arms 360-459-7940
4-numbers only - very very old. Probably machined from bar stock. 1-letter and 4# - older receiver, but forgings. (Some are newer, POST ban castings - call to verify.) 2-letters & 4# - most receivers follow this pattern. 2#, 2 letters, 4# - the first two #'s are year of manufacture of the lower. 2 letters, 6# (separated 2 & 4 - e.g. SA 96 0000) - first 2 #'s are year of manufacture. "ICR" marked lowers are an European customer’s overrun, has an unused additional hole - all ICR lowers are post ban.
Olympic Arms Manufacturer’s Notes:
1. There were some odd variations and some custom serial numbers mixed in thru the years also. And, some receivers manufactured after the ban have the year stamp after the model name, not in the serial #. And if you don't see a year stamp on the receiver, it is not necessarily pre-ban.
2. Serial numbers that end in "D" were duplicates and one was changed using this letter.
3. Recently some serial numbers have left with one or two letters followed by FIVE numbers. The last numbers are either 5's or 0's. 99.9% of these are post-ban.
4. "Older" does not always mean pre-ban as per Corey Sattler.
5. "BL" serial number series lowers are transitional with some pre and some post ban. If you have a "BL" you’ll have to call to verify for certain.

I had an Oly/SGW stopsign-marked lower a few years ago. It was purchased during the AWB. It was good quality, however the finish was a bit shiny due to wear. This was a forged receiver.

Please note the Olympic Arms had a fire in 2000 that destroyed alot of records pertaining to production. There are gaps in their records pertaining "Pre-ban vs. Post-ban" manufacture.

Go here to see if you can find your serial number range to verify.

IIRC all SGW lowers were forged and pre-ban.  However, Olympic had a fire several years ago and most if not all of their records were destroyed.  I have two SGW lowers are both are very nice in fit, finish, and function.

And if you are not happy with the fit and finish of your old pre ban lower you can send it to Olympic Arms and for $150 they will re manufacture your old serial number onto a new SGW lower receiver. Can't beat that if you are stuck with having to use pre ban lowers.

Thanks guys.  Living in NY I am still subject to these rediculious laws.  Just purchased the lower at a gun show today.  Paid $450 for it which i thought wasn't to bad considering Colt SP1 lowers were going for $900.  Fits my LMT upper real good,  finish is ok, kinda shinny though.

IIRC all SGW lowers were forged and pre-ban.

Were the 93-94 cast ones marked as SGW or had they gone to the Lion marked lowers on all the cast ones?




This is from Olympics web site.

In closing here is some serial number information on cast receivers. We have made cast receivers on separate occasions, and these receivers have had distinctive serial number prefixes. When we first produced cast receivers in the 1993-1994 era, those cast receivers had a serial number prefix of "CA", which obviously stood for "cast". Our current production cast receivers have a serial number prefix of "SGW" which stands for our old trade name of "Schuetzen Gun Works".

I have an SGW lower and love it.  Don't let the Oly haters dissuade you.  

Max

Don't let the Oly haters dissuade you.

Where is there a negative post in the thread?

I'm with Max, you will love the Oly SGW. Just one suggestion, buy lots of ammo.

Quoted: Don't let the Oly haters dissuade you. Where is there a negative post in the thread?

There isn't, RIGHT NOW! There are a lot of Oly haters out there.Just use the search feature and you will see that there are always people wanting to know Oly quality and in those threads there are always people, a lot of people that hate/ dislike Oly. I happen to like their stuff and so doa bunch of others and that is what was meant. You will also see a bunch of DPMS haters out there too but I like their stuff as well.

I have owned three different SGW lowers and really liked them. There are a few out there that have been known to have the rear take down pin a little off center and that can make for an extremely tight fit.

Quoted: IIRC all SGW lowers were forged and pre-ban. Were the 93-94 cast ones marked as SGW or had they gone to the Lion marked lowers on all the cast ones? This is from Olympics web site. In closing here is some serial number information on cast receivers. We have made cast receivers on separate occasions, and these receivers have had distinctive serial number prefixes. When we first produced cast receivers in the 1993-1994 era, those cast receivers had a serial number prefix of "CA", which obviously stood for "cast". Our current production cast receivers have a serial number prefix of "SGW" which stands for our old trade name of "Schuetzen Gun Works".

I was refering to the actually Stop Sign logo.  The case receivers in 1993-1994 had the lion head and the current ones have the lion head but the serial number prefix of SGW, not the old SGW logo.

I have an Oly remfg. semi auto lower.. The orig was old and tired, the one I had done year before last is perfect.. If you have to have a preban where you are... You can legally have a new one by having yours remade.