olympic arms

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Please re=read my post. My Thermolds works fine. They just don't fit in the Oly magwell. That tells me the magwell is NOT machined to spec. The issue is NOT the mag in this particular case. I am just relating my experience with my one and only Oly.



Here's a thought, call Oly and tell them of the problem, maybe they will fix it or replace it but I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to that one though. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I'm just relating my experience with several Thermold magazines.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif

While I am on the phone with Oly, I wonder if I should complain about having a hard time mating my Colt upper with the Oly receiver. I guess Colts are crap too? BTW, the poster wanted to know about experiences with Olympic Arms AR's. Wonder how someone "was with" a 700 member police department and Thermold mags not functioning got into the subject /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif?
 
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You can't even buy a chrome-lined barrel from Oly.




True, but who wants a chrome-lined barrel on a hunting rifle? My SUM barrel won't rust and a chrome-lined barrel is less accurate. I see a lot of Oly's that shoot sub-MOA groups and very few horror stories on their quality.



You're absolutely right about that. I was just pointing out the fact as I didn't see where he said what type of rifle he wanted.
 
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Hmmm--my money's on Mike at Dtech--if he thinks they are good enough, they are good enough for me!

Tim



Well, that's a resonable position to take as everything I've heard about Mike is very positive. However, you can't really compare a factory Oly to a D-Tech. He may well use Oly parts but he also does a bunch of hand-work to them before you(a customer) ever sees the rifle. He's certainly not going to ship you a rifle that's "off" or has some other issue.

Apples and oranges is all I'm saying.
And like I said before, Oly puts out some good barrels. As a matter of fact, I mistakenly thought that Shaw or Wilson made barrels for them because they have so many issues with their AR parts, I didn't think they could make a good barrel. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
264WSM,

I would certainly complain to Oly about your lower not matching up to your Colt upper. Maybe they will call Colt and tell them to get it right next time.

The Thermold issue was yours, the 700 man department was mine, I'm retired now but during my 24 years of service I handled a bunch of AR's. Got to play with just about every componet available and saw a lot of junk.
 
I have been fooling with ARs for over 40 years. In all that time, the absolutely worst one I ever encountered, and it was way worse than second place, was a commercial Colt.

Jack
 
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264WSM,

I would certainly complain to Oly about your lower not matching up to your Colt upper. Maybe they will call Colt and tell them to get it right next time.

The Thermold issue was yours, the 700 man department was mine, I'm retired now but during my 24 years of service I handled a bunch of AR's. Got to play with just about every componet available and saw a lot of junk.

Some body needs to tell our boys in Iraq to abandon the Colt M4's and start getting the Gov't to get a contract with Olympic Arms /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif.
 
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I have been fooling with ARs for over 40 years. In all that time, the absolutely worst one I ever encountered, and it was way worse than second place, was a commercial Colt.

Jack





Jack, ain't that the truth.

264WSM, Oly does have govenment contracts and, unless things have changed, Colt doesn't make receivers they buy them, at least they used too. I believe the they got them thru CMT Continentel Machine and Tool (spelling?). That however, may have changed in part due to the war and demand /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif

Lowest bidder remember /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
Here's the rub on Oly rifles . I have had nothing but success and flawless function from my Olympic Arms K-16. It cost less than other brands and Olympic Arms stands behind their product. Therefore, I am more than happy with my Oly. It is accurate, it has parts that interchange with all other AR15's (give or take a magazine or two....apparently /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif), it has NEVER failed to go boom when I squeezed the trigger, it can wear all the bells and whistles that a more expensive AR can(and look good doing it), and last but not least...it cost less.
Get what you want guys, but please, stop bullyragging Olympic because they sell their rifles cheaper than the roll-mark you paid for, it gets silly after a while. This is 2008, things have changed since 1992, I promise. Relax and realise that 90% of all AR15s are the same rifle with a different animal stamped on the side, they have to be or they would go out of business. I like my Oly.
Trashcan
DCC
 
I bought a well used SGW CAR-15 (I believe the predacessor to Olympic Arms) about 20 years ago. I used it in a week long "Rifle School" for my Sheriff's Department. Never a problem and shot several thousand rounds. Missed being "Top Gun" in the class by a few thousandths of a second to a S.W.A.T. Sergeant.

I have carried that rifle on duty in my Patrol Car for the past 17 years. The only change is I bought an Olympic Arms 16" complete upper about 5 years ago because the 20" upper hit my dome light going in and out.

This rifle has been 100% reliable. Both the older 20" and the newer 16" upper. Very accurate. No parts breakage. Never failed to qualify at the range. I qualify 4 times a year and shoot it sometimes besides that. No problems ever!

I liked it so much I bought another complete Olympic Arms rifle about 12 years ago. (prior to the 16" upper) It has the "Supreme UltraMatch" barrell. Wow is this a great rifle. Again no problems ever. Super accurate and totally dependable. Kills coyotes dead!

I have heard people complain about Olympic Arms and I have always been surprised. I would rate them right there with Bushmaster, Colt and Rock River Arms. If I was to buy another AR15 I can not think of any reason I would not choose another Olympic Arms rifle.

(S.G.W. stands for "Schuetz Gun Works". Robert Schuetz is the Owner of Olympic Arms.
 
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I have been fooling with ARs for over 40 years. In all that time, the absolutely worst one I ever encountered, and it was way worse than second place, was a commercial Colt.

Jack





Jack, ain't that the truth.

264WSM, Oly does have govenment contracts and, unless things have changed, Colt doesn't make receivers they buy them, at least they used too. I believe the they got them thru CMT Continentel Machine and Tool (spelling?). That however, may have changed in part due to the war and demand /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif

Lowest bidder remember /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif

FAL, Can you show me 1) Where Oly has a major contract with the government? 2) CMT is making receivers for Colts.
 


FAL, Can you show me 1) Where Oly has a major contract with the government? 2) CMT is making receivers for Colts.



No, I simply lied and made all this up just to pizz you off /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif
 
I know Oly received a small, emergency contract with the US Air Force.

Its not really important who makes what, it is very important, how the parts fit and how they look to the customer. CMT builds receivers to their customers design and tolerances. Not all AR are the same, the pins might fit but that's where the "same" ends. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
I'm not certain as to the exact quantity of the "small, emergency contract with the US Air Force" was, (I think it was 15,000 units) but I do know that it wasn't an "emergency" order, it was just more of the same units that they had gotten in their first, non-emergency order.

Olympic Arms has their problems, just like all the rest do. They are a family-owned company, and with that, comes all the baggage. There are things that Oly does that I don't agree with. They do little things that make perfect sense, but give folks ammunition, and a visible difference to pick at. People talk about "mil-spec." I've said it before, and I'll say it again: There are lots of parts that Olympic Arms uses, as well as other major AR companies, that are not "mil-spec." I use one small example in my own case of non mil-spec. parts: The extractor spring and buffer. I quit using the mil-spec. units about 10 years ago. Did I do that because what I switched to was cheaper? No, the parts were more expensive, but worlds better. I have not had a broken extractor, even on all of the WSSM units that I have built, since I switched to the non mil-spec. parts.

Another thing that people pick at Oly about: "tight mag-wells". It's true, Oly mag-wells do run on the tight side. The mag-wells are broached. When the broach gets dull, it gets sharpened. Well guess what, when you sharpen it, the broach gets smaller, and the mag-well gets tighter. Oly tends to run the broach longer than what some of the other companies do. Is a tight mag-well a problem? It is if you are swinging an AR for a living in a far away land, and you need all of your magazines to drop free. In my case, it's a bonus. I use several brands of lower receivers. Oly is the only one where the mag-well runs tight. When I started building .204 Rugers, I found that I had to machine the throat of the chamber quite differently to ensure proper feed and function with the longer .204 round. The Oly lower has always given me flawless feed/function with the .204 Ruger upper. One of the other receivers that I use, with the more generous mag-well, has lots of problems with the .204 Ruger as far as feed/function. The mag will drop free from the receiver, but it is not held in a specific enough spot while in the receiver to ensure proper feed/function with the .204 Ruger. I called and spoke with the QC folks about this issue and they admitted that they also had the same problems I was having.

So there you have it: You can get a receiver that dimensionally meets the mil-spec. but is it better for what you are going to use it for? That's what everyone purchasing any gun should be thinking about: What am I going to use this gun for? What do I want it to do? I can honestly say that I have never been told by a prospective customer that the magazine well must be large enough that ALL magazines will fit and drop free. Most are more interested in accuracy, looks, reliability and weight.

If it bothers you that the mag-well is snug, or that a non mil-spec screw is used in the but-stock (no drain-hole for water to escape, in the event that you need to submerge your AR in water and shoot it shortly afterwords) then don't buy an Olympic Arms rifle. If you are going to use it, for what my customers use an AR for, then Oly is just one of many choices out there that will probably fit your needs quite well.
 
The amount is inconsequential at this point, they did in fact have a contract with the US Air Force. Basically a wartime contract.

As to the mag well being under sized. There is what is called tool offset in CNC machines that will insure the proper size is maintained even though the cutting tool gets smaller at every sharpening. Seems no one else has that problem.

I also have a history with Olympic Arms, all the way back to SGW in 1984 when I was using their rifle kits to build machine guns, hundreds of them. Their tolerances have come a long way. They build a good rifle and price it accordingly.
 
Dan, that would all be correct, if the mag-wells were machined on a CNC, but they are not. The mag-well is roughed out by a machining center, but the final dimensions are cut with a broach. I'm not sure that ALL the mag-wells on ALL the brands of lower receivers are broached, but I do know that several of the top brands are.

Yes, their quality has come a long way since the mid 80's. In that era, Oly produced all of their own barrels, but bought much of the rest of the parts, and have much of the machining done out-of-house. It wasn't until more recent times that Oly has invested in their own equipment and has produce most of their own parts.
 
Hey Mike,

I actually had an extractor fail on my WSSM upper a week or so ago, Oly's not your's. I replaced it with a new extractor I got from Skip at Oly. Do you carry these newer style in stock or a regular basis or are they a made to order thing? It's running fine now but that was my last extractor in stock.

Thanks

Gary
 
The extractor-springs and buffers I purchase and stock. The WSSM extractors I do in-house, but do them in quantities. If you need one, let me know, I can get one out right away.
 
I have two old (forged) lowers from Olympic which I bought new, and have had no problems with them. Some of my mags fit tighter than others, but certainly not to an objectionable point, so for me personally it's a "non-issue".

One thing that hasn't been discussed, at least in this thread is any interaction between a customer, and Olympic as far as warranty work. I'm interested in the opinions of INDIVIDUALS (the end user of the firearm) that have had direct interaction with Olympic re: warranty work, rather than the opinions from dealers. No offense meant toward dealers at all, but someone selling a sizable amount of a manufacturers product (from any manufacturer) might receive a different level of service than "John Doe" that only owns one of their firearms.

So if you're an individual that has had direct contact with Olympic regarding warranty work (not returned via the dealer), please describe your experience. Inquiring minds want to know. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thanks in advance,
Hangtime.
 
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FAL, Can you show me 1) Where Oly has a major contract with the government? 2) CMT is making receivers for Colts.



No, I simply lied and made all this up just to pizz you off /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif

Yeah, I knew what you were up to but had to re-affirm it with those questions.
 
264, for what it's worth, on one of my trips to Olympic Arms, I saw the pallets of rifles tagged and ready for the Air Force. Judging from FALfires past posts, and his geographic location, he may very well have visited Oly and seen the same thing.

The bottom line is: Oly has and does have military contracts. That doesn't make them "good" or "bad". You have apparently had a bad experience with Olympic Arms. My uncle had a bad experience with Ford. He was smart enough to know he must have gotten a lemon. He knew that tens of thousands of others had a far different experience with Ford than what he had. My uncle not only had problems with his Ford, but he also had trouble getting it taken care of by the local Ford dealership. The whole thing left a pretty bad taste in his mouth for Ford, but he visited an other dealership, his problems were addressed and solved.

If you don't like Oly, don't buy one. There are plenty of folks out there that have them and love them.
 
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