Olympic Arms... I may have been wrong!

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Olympic Arms... I may have been wrong!

Posted: 7/22/2008 11:09:02 AM EDT

I just acquired my first ever Oly.. I am usually a CMMG/RRA guy, and I own a colt and Essential as well... but I have always heard mediocre reviews on Oly's guns. I usually stick with the AR-15 with the 16" barrell... and I am working on a Pistol right now with a DPMS kitty Kat upper.... so there is the background.

Well I got a M16A2 variant with a 20" barrell in trade with a fellow ARFCOM'er and got the gun out to the range yesterday and put 120 rounds down range with it.

WOW... this is one NICE shooting Gun! The Fit and Finish is nice, and it is a straight shooting weapon.

Is this a norm? Have I been wrong all this time?

Lets hear some other's experiences with Oly's!

Posted: 7/22/2008 11:24:48 AM EDT

[#1]

Accuracy has never been a problem with Olys, it's usually been reliabillty.

Posted: 7/22/2008 11:27:14 AM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:
Accuracy has never been a problem with Olys, it's usually been reliabillty.

Yeah that has been my fear too... I know 120 rds. down range isnt a lot, but it worked like a charm... no problems what so ever. I will keep a good log of it, as I am taking it out this weekend and am going to spend some time with it and the new Romy I acquired and see if I can put them both through the gauntlet....

Posted: 7/22/2008 11:30:45 AM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
Accuracy has never been a problem with Olys, it's usually been reliabillty.

yes

and a good Oly is not rare its just their rate of turds seems to be higher than the other companies

Posted: 7/22/2008 11:37:14 AM EDT

[#4]

the magwell doesnt allow the mag to drop free.. but I can live with that.... I have a file and I know how to use it...

Other than that.. it is a good little gun.

Built in '07 so we shall see!

I cant stand Stag's I have owned two and turned them around because they where shotty...

I am usually a RRA/CMMG guy.... I stay away from Bushies, have owned 3, talk about lack of reliability.

Posted: 7/22/2008 11:59:39 AM EDT

[#5]

I don't think your statistical sample size of ONE is very indicative of OLY quality. Just as every company puts out a turd occaisionally, every company gets lucky sometimes too.

MBR

Posted: 7/22/2008 12:04:11 PM EDT

[#6]

My Oly is shooting just fine with no misses or any mechanical failures in over 3k rounds. Very accurate too.

Posted: 7/22/2008 12:17:01 PM EDT

[#7]

uh-ohh.... So i am talking to my buddy just now.. he asks me the million dollar questions... "how do USGI mags feed?"

Hmm... I dont know, I reply because I used PMags.... so I crack out the good ol steel USGI mags.. and lo and behold if the bolt is locked and ready.. mag wont load...... if I pull the bolt back... mag loads fine...

OUCH... Major problem number 1....

ETA: I also noticed a bunch of grind marks on the inside of the mag well.... it is iodized so it was done at the factor....

Posted: 7/22/2008 12:20:29 PM EDT

[#8]

give it time

Posted: 7/22/2008 12:24:59 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
give it time

You think when i shoot it some more it will work out?

I will put a few more hundred rounds down range and see what happens.. not the worst one i have seen yet.. but certainly not the best either....

Posted: 7/22/2008 12:26:31 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
I don't think your statistical sample size of ONE is very indicative of OLY quality. Just as every company puts out a turd occaisionally, every company gets lucky sometimes too.

MBR

I put out a turd at least one... daily...

Posted: 7/22/2008 12:31:08 PM EDT

[#11]

You are supposed to load mags with the bolt back...unless thats what you mean. GI mags work very well in mine and only crappy mags double feed or misfeed in my Oly.

Posted: 7/22/2008 12:33:48 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I don't think your statistical sample size of ONE is very indicative of OLY quality. Just as every company puts out a turd occaisionally, every company gets lucky sometimes too.

MBR

I put out a turd at least one... daily...

you too can becme a 4th tier gun manufacturer!!

this was joke by the way. i have shot a few good oly's

Posted: 7/22/2008 12:39:50 PM EDT

[#13]

I've owned 2. Never had a problem with either. Well' I did have a problem with cheap mag too.
I think you should run around a thousand rounds through it before cleaning. Works to polish the races. Just threw some lube in it and operated fine.

Posted: 7/22/2008 12:46:34 PM EDT

[#14]

Kind of mirrors mine. The guy who built it used a dpms upper. That upper would switch to another rifle but it's upper wouldn't go on the Olympic. So it has those "off" holes.

Posted: 7/22/2008 1:06:20 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
uh-ohh.... So i am talking to my buddy just now.. he asks me the million dollar questions... "how do USGI mags feed?"

Hmm... I dont know, I reply because I used PMags.... so I crack out the good ol steel USGI mags.. and lo and behold if the bolt is locked and ready.. mag wont load...... if I pull the bolt back... mag loads fine...

OUCH... Major problem number 1....

ETA: I also noticed a bunch of grind marks on the inside of the mag well.... it is iodized so it was done at the factor....

I've never seen a steel USGI mag

... at least not for the M16/ M4.

Posted: 7/22/2008 1:15:49 PM EDT

[#16]

Some of the USGI mags dont drop free in mine. (Brownells) But I have never had a FTF or FTE with ANY magazine.

Posted: 7/22/2008 1:23:50 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:

Quoted:
uh-ohh.... So i am talking to my buddy just now.. he asks me the million dollar questions... "how do USGI mags feed?"

Hmm... I dont know, I reply because I used PMags.... so I crack out the good ol steel USGI mags.. and lo and behold if the bolt is locked and ready.. mag wont load...... if I pull the bolt back... mag loads fine...

OUCH... Major problem number 1....

ETA: I also noticed a bunch of grind marks on the inside of the mag well.... it is iodized so it was done at the factor....

I've never seen a steel USGI mag

... at least not for the M16/ M4.

LOL.. okay..you got me there.. they are USGI mags.. didnt know what to call them so I said steel...

Posted: 7/22/2008 2:13:07 PM EDT

[#18]

I had two Olympic lowers converted to M-16's back in early 1985. They both were within spec. and ran perfectly! That being said, Oly has turned out a LOT of crap from time to time.

PursuitSS

Posted: 7/22/2008 2:24:01 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
Lets hear some other's experiences with Oly's!

Just remember, you asked.

Quoted:

Quoted:

I USED TO SELL OLYMPICS.

I also stock Colts, BM, RRA, and AR.
Wanna know what the #1 most repaired AR15 in my shop is? OLYMPIC.
I don't sell them anymore.
Wanna know what the most repaired AR15 in my store is now? Still the OLYMPIC.
Wanna know what I've had to send Olys back for? You name it.
Wanna know how hard it is to get repair parts/replacement parts/financial reimbursement for shipping NEW guns back to OLY for warranty work as a gun dealer? IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!

Several distributors have even stopped carrying Olympic rifles because of the high reject rate once they get to the dealers.

They might, sometimes, take care of the individual owner, but as a dealer, I believe that they have a black list, and if you're on it, you're screwed.

I've actually had OLY on the phone with a customer in my shop, and they have actually told the guy that there was nothing wrong, and if he shipped it back, they would not fix it. The rifle had a broken bolt. Sheared off 2 lugs, broke at the cam pin hole, and damaged the bolt carrier.

I fixed it, with BM parts that were available to me at the time. I sent the bill to OLY, never got a response. Sold the debt off to a collection agency, along with all the other repairs that I had to do on OLY guns. Now, if an OLY comes in for repair, I advise the individual that it will cost them an open ended amount and get them to sign the estimate before I'll even touch it.

SHOT show 2002 I took them a box of the parts that I had replaced from their guns that I could not get reimbursement for.

I'll guarntee I've owned/handled/shot more OLYs since 1999 than you ever will, unless you work at Oly or a gun store.

There is, at best 15% profit in retail guns. Olys eat up my 15% on repair parts/shipping/gunsmith time almost as soon as they get unpacked. No more!

Now, about their issues, still "Pretty sure they have been resolved by now" ?????

Or is my post worthless, too?

Tom

And….

Quoted:
...With my Oly lower, that jerk blamed the magazines even though my cast Oly lower was so out of spec that the back of an inserted magazine hits the bolt and keeps the bolt from closing. This was after trying about 30 different magazines at a gun show. None of them worked. Tom called me lazy since I was unwilling to modify all of the magazines I own rather than asking for an RMA #. I modified a couple of magazines anyway, but while shooting they'd still work their way upward to block the bolt. I've had that piece of junk for over five years, and I have never gotten anywhere towards getting them to honor their warranty. They just don't give a damn.z

and..

Quoted:

WEeused to be a Oly dealer used to be the operative word

We had to send probably 25% of the cast plinkers we sold back for repair and probably 10% of the regular Olys

had about the same luck with DPMS

probably sold about 50 plinkers

The failure rate of the other better ( A ,B ,C ,RRA) brands is probably about 1% in my experence

and this guy

..

Quoted:
My first AR was a CAR15 Oly kit. The bolt carrier was tight in the upper until I honed the upper. I figured it was a kit so I should not be upset about some fitting.

And..

Quoted:
I bought an Oly Arms 15 years ago and after using it on 5 different occasions the bolt catch broke. The part looked like broken pot metal. Any way, Mine was bought 15 years ago at a gun show, perhaps the newer modles are of better quality forged uppers and lowers, where mine is clearly cast. My next one might be a stag, but not sure.

My Oly arms looks great and shoots very well, but I often wonder what is the next part that is going to bust.

And my good man, Hellhound…

Quoted:
I bought a NEW FACTORY 16" Oly CAR back in 1993-1994, with a non-chrome barrel---I bought their marketing BS....

The barrel was shit.

Would jam (feeding and extraction) about 5 rounds into a mag and then jam about every 2.

Went through new springs for the extractor, the little o ring thingie, chamber brushing, new mags (USGI), everything imaginable....

I sold the barrel to someone who was going to use it for a .22 conversion, great idea for them.

I bought a chrome-lined RRA middie barrel, installed it on my Oly and have had 0 problems.

The other components of the gun are just fine, no problems there.

Spend a little more money and get a better barrel, it will save you a lot of aggravation.

Please don't make the same mistake I made.

another satisfied customer...

Quoted:
I loved them so much I made an active effort to get rid of mine.

Like a relationship with a crazy woman, I could tolerate the flaws at first. Mostly because I got the results I was looking for, then the flaws became un-freaking-bearable.

I found out I could do a lot better... Oly got kicked to the curb.

and this...

Quoted:
I used to live in Olympia WA...and after calling Oly Arms, drove out to check out their facility.

When I got there, a few things became rather clear.

1) Their "factory" looked like the set of Sanford & Son. (Absolutely NOT kidding)

2) Despite being told "Sure, come on down!" on the phone, when I got there, I was dealt with like I was Diane Feinstein by EVERYONE. One guy was pleasant and answered my questions...so not a total disaster, but the rest were pricks in general.

3) There was nothing and I mean NOTHING about their "facility" that looked suitable for manufacturing dog toys, let alone firearms.

If you never get a 2nd chance to make 1st impressions, Oly lost me COMPLETELY with that one.

and this sad tale...

Quoted:
I bought a new plinker back in '04 since it was cheap and new. I also bought some Black Hills ammo and shot the first box of 20 fine the second box didn't go as fine. On my 32nd round I heard a loud "clank" inside of the plinker and so I pulled the mag, emptied the chamber, well, I tried to empty the chamber but couldn't. I tried to engage the safety and couldn't. I tried to break the rifle apart and couldn't. I eventually had to take off the stock and buffer tube. When I took the tube off, I found that the buffer and spring were inside the upper receiver. I took them out then was able to open the gun to see what was going on. The lower receiver broke right in front of the buffer retaining pin, throwing the retaining pin into the trigger grouping.

I called Olympic and wanted to see what could be done and they say I would have to pay for shipping both ways and the armorers hourly rate was $55/hr. I told them that I wasn't happy and offered some stickers for my inconvenience. I have since parted the gun and washed my hands of the worst experience I've ever had with a firearm. I've then since owned RRA, Bushmaster, Armalite, DPMS, even Colt and would go back to them again and again. Learn from our COSTLY mistakes and be happier!

we're on a roll here:

Quoted:
I sent a lower in to them for repair. Pin holes so mis aligned it wasnt even funny. Took them 3 MONTHS to tell me there was nothing wrong with it . But they replaced it anyway.

Different serial #.. Same exact problem. My dog...Can build a better gun.

pictures are worth 1000 words...

Quoted:
img329.imageshack.us/img329/3096/olyrcvryi3.jpg

img329.imageshack.us/img329/843/olybarldi7.jpg

Tales of woe...

Quoted:
I had one KABOOM on me with less then 300 rounds through it.
And then Oly lied about what caused the problem.
I will never own another one again.
Phessor

More...

Quoted:
OlY has been around for a long time, I used their receivers in the 80's to build machine guns. I can't tell you the amount of brand new rejected parts that were returned to OLY for replacement.
They are still in business!!!
I think there is a saying, kinda like. There's a fool born every minute of the day.
So if you are one.

More...

Quoted:
I've shopped at Prairie Arms. The owner recommended an Oly saying they " make best AR-15 on the market". Haven't been back, and I would not call them a reliable source of information. Pick up an Oly he had on the shelf and hand cycled it. Felt like the inner workings were lined with sand paper (not typical pre-break in either). Needless to say, I didn't buy it.

Jesus...

Quoted:
I owned one and never again a total pos and even worst service. These guys are scum in my opinion and will never get another dollar from me.
Pat

More...

Quoted:
Yes, they are that bad. How they stay in business is beyond comprehension. I have one. The only part left original OLY is the lower and even the parts kit has been changed out to a RRA match kit. Therefore the only part left original OLY is the stripped lower, which is the part that matters the least.

OLY = Caveat Emptor.

AR15fan shares his wisdom...

Quoted:
Ive broke an oly forward assist, several bolt catches, a mag catch, wore out hammer springs, disconnector springs, extractor spring, dimpled firing pins, handguard that fitr with gaps, receiver end plates had the finish flake off and rust, frozen bolt catch detents, frozen safety detents.

I wont buy anotrher Oly product, ever. For budget parts i go with DPMS, Bushmaster & CMT. If i need better quality then that i buy Colt from Brownells or SAW.

MauserMark checks in...

Quoted:
I saw at a shoot here a bolt seperate. Don't remember which arfcom member's it was, but it seperated in use, and it was an Oly bolt.

More...

Quoted:
Yes, I do have the unfortunate experience of having owned some Oly products and did try to assemble a couple of their lowers for a friend once.

I learned the lesson.

The horror…

Quoted:
My Buddy bought one over my protest. On it's second outing with Winchester White box, the barrel seperated from the receiver.

And…

Quoted:
Blech, the one I saw broke it's bolt the first day it was fired.
You won't find a reputable gunsmith who works on ARs or an experienced carbine instructor who would recommend an Oly.

And…

Quoted:
Had (past tense) an Oly stripped cast lower that I was going to use for my first build. Had to take a file to the magazine well before it would accept USGI magazines. As in they had to be crammed and beaten into a stripped lower, not that they just wouldn't drop free. Offloaded that thing PDQ. Tried again with an A1 upper. Bushmaster and Colt bolt carriers bound up in the receiver. Could see the bright shiny marks in the upper where the carriers were rubbing. Also the takedown/pivot pin holes were mis-aligned (badly). That was the last time I ever even considered Oly as a source for AR15 parts of any kind. I stay far away now.

Amusing story…

Quoted:
I had an Olympic arms lower I bought from their shop, and promptly got rid of it after letting it sit on my desk for a few weeks. The more I look at it the more problems I found! The threads in the back for the buttstock had numerous large ugly burrs, The finish was chipped in a few places and the Oly stamp on the side looked like shit.

Luck was in favor the day I traded it...I was at a gun show and fell in love with the superb Mega Gator lower. I watched a table that had a couple and when the head honcho stepped out for lunch I asked his less experienced co-hort how much he wanted for a swap for the Mega..."O there isn't really a big difference, I will do it for nothing! Just have to call it in is all..."

So we swapped, and I happened to walk back by the table a half hour later to hear him getting CHEWED out for doing the swap, and the owner happened to look up to see me and give me a glare like I had just shoved a toilet brush up his ass!

So put my lower together with a RRA 2 stage trigger and Oly lower parts thinking that the small stuff wouldn't be a big deal, but o was I wrong!! The safety selectory was POORLY made and had a lot of travel. If you had any contact with the selector when firing it wouldnt fire until you took the pressure off. I know you may be thinking "who the touches that while firing!!" But you shot from the prone unsupported or standing CQB position and tell me your finger doesnt graze the selector o so lightly..

Long story short: Oly arms parts are rough cut and caused me a vary real safety threat. I have handled there firearms at the shop and they are rough cut (you can see heavy straitions on thier bolt carriers) and fell like sand paper when you charge the weapon.

Go with someone else...In My Honest Opinion

Avoid Oly…

Quoted:
Yeah, I own an Oly and it is totally non-spec. You can't exchange it with anything but itself and hope that it works by itself with the parts that they put in it.

All of my Bushies, Colts and RRAs feature interchangeable parts (bolts, uppers, lowers, etc.). I tried doing that with my Oly and it was scary, nothing seems to fit on anyone else's platform. Of course Oly will tell you that their guns are the only ones in spec and that everyone else's is out of spec. Of course we all know that that is pure BS and has been well-documented to be just the opposite.

My Oly is a CAR-15 9MM. The finish is crap and the front sight post is off a bit, causing radical corrections on the rear sight post to get a zero. Their stated solution for this problem was to have me bang the crap out of the front sight post with a rubber mallet. As I mentioned, the parts don't exchange well with anyone else's ARs. I have shot 5K rounds thru mine and so far so good, but I dread the day something serious happens to it.

Best advice, avoid the Oly and get a used Bushy, RRA or Colt. At least with these, you can buy milspec aftermarket parts and know that they should fit okay.

The truth is always the easiest story to tell and this is total word up, bro.

Take his advice…

Quoted:
Alright, my first mistake was ordering the Olympic Arms stripped lower. Thought what the hell, I can build a good gun on this platform. Used CMMG lower kit for internals. Stag Arms (commercial) tube and stock. The upper is a JT distributing 14.5 lightweight.

The problems soon began when I assembled the front take down pin. The pin would not fit at all. Used tried some other front take down pin I has lying around (RRA, Colt, Bushmaster) with the same result. Took a jewelers file to lowers hole and was able to get the pin to fit snug. Then when trying to insert the pin it seemed to hit the other hole a bit off center. Filed that a bit and the pin now fits. Assemble the upper and lower, beautiful fit. Insert a Brownells mag and it won’t “fit” and it seems to rub on the inside of the upper. A few of the after market mags will fit but not drop free and have to be pulled out.

Now I’m out of ideas and looking for any and all ideas on how to fit this….

This guy gets it

Quoted:
+1 for us Oly suckers who got screwed. They will tell you that everyone else's parts are out of spec. Must be something funny in the water up in Washington state.

This guy wound up happy, but…

Quoted:
i had the same problems with my Oly lower. it was a few years from when i bought it and built it. in that time i had other Oly parts that wore out premature and decided it wasn't worth my effort call them on their "lifetime warranty". i used it for a fixed carry handle .30 HRT build for deer hunting......it doesn't matter if my mag drops free or not while hunting. the upper and lower fit real tight, which makes it a nice quiet rifle in the woods. overalll I'm happy with how it turned out. build it into something!

advntrjnky

Freefall knows what he is talking about:

Quoted:
I had the same issue with mine.

The takedown pin holes were off as well as the rear detent pin hole.

It was obvious that a blind monkey made it, so I sent it back for a full refund.

I cost me shipping, the FFL fee and a week of being pissed off.

I got a RRA lower instead.

For the headache I endured I will never buy Olympic again.

Good luck I hope things work out.

FREE

And…

Quoted:
I have owned two oly lowers before I knew better. They were both out of spec so bad that Thermolds would not fit. The finish was so bad I had to refinish both. Oly is the lowest of the low IMO. I would take a ASA or Hess or Vulcan over an Oly anyday.

Posted: 7/22/2008 3:04:26 PM EDT

[#20]

yea yea yea........ and i used to sell mercedes.

Posted: 7/22/2008 3:28:49 PM EDT

[#21]

christ doctor! you did some digging.

all i can give is my experience. i bought a k16 (heavy bull barrel, 16") and it was a pretty good gun. wasnt the smoothest, finish wasnt the best, but i never had a ftf or fte in 2000 rounds, and that includes break in. it wasnt as accurate as i thought it should be, but i was shooting mil surp brown box ammo most of the time. i paid $600 for it new, and i got what i expected. it functioned, but was nothing to write home about. i sell them at our store, but mostly we stock/sell bushmaster, rra, colt, dpms, and sometimes doublestar. i like all those names a whole lot more, though i dont see any difference in quality in these names or understand the pricing either.

Posted: 7/22/2008 4:09:03 PM EDT

[#22]

mine has a key hole upper... i thought oly made thier own uppers.... am I mistaken?

Posted: 7/22/2008 4:29:57 PM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
Accuracy has never been a problem with Olys, it's usually been reliabillty.

Reliability and interchangeability. The lower that came with my Oly will only fit on 2 of my 3 Colt uppers. The upper that came on my Oly will not fit on any other lower from any other manufacturer that I have tried.

Hell the upper and lower barely fit together: it takes a mallet and punch to get them apart.

Posted: 7/22/2008 4:31:56 PM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Accuracy has never been a problem with Olys, it's usually been reliabillty.

yes

and a good Oly is not rare its just their rate of turds seems to be higher than the other companies

I agree with this.

If you want something that has a higher chance of working right, just save up a couple hundred more and buy from a more reputable company, or build one yourself. If you just want a cheap blaster and the occasional problem doesn't bother you go ahead and get an Oly.

Posted: 7/22/2008 4:50:42 PM EDT

[#25]

here they sell for the same price as a bushy or dpms

Posted: 7/22/2008 4:50:43 PM EDT

[#26]

here they sell for the same price as a bushy or dpms

Posted: 7/22/2008 6:01:15 PM EDT

[#27]

i've had an Oly for 13 years now,never had an issue with it.enjoy your rifle and if an issue comes up send in in for repair they offer a lifetime warranty.

Posted: 7/22/2008 6:08:33 PM EDT

[#28]

Glad I chose to wait, shop owner offered me an Oly or Bushmaster lower for my mini. I decided to wait for the Bushmaster lower to mount the Colt upper (my dad gave me). It was a long two weeks but you guys helped me through it thanks.

Posted: 7/22/2008 6:22:18 PM EDT

[#29]

i bought an Oly in like 2003 or so, before i 'knew better'

about half of my mags drop free from it

not problems so far but i have probably less than 1000 rounds thru it

really sweet trigger on that thing though and its super accurate!

Posted: 7/22/2008 6:22:18 PM EDT

[#30]

I am a lefty and Oly makes a safety that can be inserted from either side. I hate an Ambi safety because it gets in the way of my trigger finger. So the Oly is great plus does not have the gritty feel of the typical ambi safety. So if nothing else I'm glad they exist for that safety!

Posted: 7/22/2008 11:19:08 PM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:

lots of stuff

I see you are the keeper of the markm oly archive
nice to see I am still included

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Olympic Arms... I may have been wrong!

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