Olympic Arms Receivers

[justagoodolboy]

I'm looking to buy my first AR15 style rifle and have been looking at Olympic Arms. I'm familiar with the good ol saying "You get what you pay for" but I'm trying to be frugal here and it's hard not to notice the much lower pricing compared to others. I've heard everyone's horror stories with their cast receivers, but does anyone have any experience with their forged stuff? Any good?

thanks.

[JVeld]

Olympic Arms makes pretty good lower receivers, I had one but sold it to fund another project. Overall I've heard from friends that own them that they are ok. Im in NoVa as well, and I recently went to LW Rifles, they are in Springfield VA, they make really good piston rifles.....check em out, they're locally !
http://www.lwrifles.com/

[Geezah]

I have no experience with Olympic but have heard the usual stories over on ARFcom, saying that have you considered building to save a bit of cash???
Maybe go with STAG Arms(who I loved) or Superior Arms who I have ben told are up there with STAG?

[LaoSexMachine]

Sorry for being off topic but what about Double Star?

[bryanleu2002]

I'm looking to buy my first AR15 style rifle and have been looking at Olympic Arms. I'm familiar with the good ol saying "You get what you pay for" but I'm trying to be frugal here and it's hard not to notice the much lower pricing compared to others. I've heard everyone's horror stories with their cast receivers, but does anyone have any experience with their forged stuff? Any good?

thanks.

Great gun ,, I own one , and is has been great ,, M4 A2 Ace stock AC4

[Irish_11]

superior and double star have good reviews. MOST stamped lowers are going to be the same it just depends on the logo you want. Olympic Arms from what ive read makes decent lowers, they'd go great on a bench rifle or a budget build. Also since the factory is local in WA we can snag blemished lowers at gun shows.

IT all depends on what your going to be building... If you life depends on it keep in mind the value of your life and spend accordingly haha. If its a plinker or a budget build its not going to make too much of a difference.

[~center~]

I'm a dealer and been building custom AR-15's for a number of years now, mostly for LEO's and Military types. I've used just about every brand of lower receiver you can buy. Seen good one's and bad ones.

The question is: Is Olympic Arms good?
Yes, there one of the best and they carry a lifetime warranty.

Their cast receivers were sh!t but then again so were EVERYONE ELSES.
NEVER buy a cast lower for the AR-15.

As far as reliability goes, OA manufactures their barrels and chambers to tighter specs beyond military specs, resulting in greater accuracy however, this decreases reliability. Especially when you start pumping crappy ammo through them (Wolf is an example and will void your warranty).

And lastly, a little known secret in the industry is that Olympic Arms actually manufactures the lower receivers for many other companies. Which means when you buy a Superior Arms lower, do you really think they made that lower?
It always makes me laugh when someone bad mouths OA and then says, so and so makes a better lower or the best lower. Not even knowing that OA made that one too. At last count I believe OA produced lower receivers for about 8 different companies. OA even put's the companies names on the lowers. They go straight from the OA factory to the contracting company's shelves.

A little industry insider for you peeps. ;-)

[justagoodolboy]

Olympic Arms makes pretty good lower receivers, I had one but sold it to fund another project. Overall I've heard from friends that own them that they are ok. Im in NoVa as well, and I recently went to LW Rifles, they are in Springfield VA, they make really good piston rifles.....check em out, they're locally !
http://www.lwrifles.com/

I was down at shooters paradise in Maryland the other day spending some time at the range and saw that they had a couple of these for sale. Hadn't seen the company before but now I know.

[bryanleu2002]

http://us.f544.mail.yahoo.com/ya/download?fid=Inbox&mid=1_63421_AIkxvs4AAJ%2BuRertMA879wUKFEw&pid=5&tnef=&YY=1173024092890&newid=1&clean=0&inline=1http://us.f544.mail.yahoo.com/ya/download?fid=Inbox&mid=1_63851_AIMxvs4AAMLqReruCQckxlqBR64&pid=2&tnef=&YY=1173024334906&newid=1&clean=0&inline=1

[bryanleu2002]

I have really enjoyed this gun, however the OLY's AC4 pnuematic adjustable buffer is not all that great. Performance wise its great with a comfortable controlable recoil, very smooth, However it is not compatible with colapsible stocks, and has failed on me twice. Oly has replaced it with no hassle (except there slow) . but NMC is NMC.

[~center~]

I have really enjoyed this gun, however the OLY's AC4 pnuematic adjustable buffer is not all that great. Performance wise its great with a comfortable controlable recoil, very smooth, However it is not compatible with colapsible stocks, and has failed on me twice. Oly has replaced it with no hassle (except there slow) . but NMC is NMC.

Yea, that pnuematic buffer got everyone excited in the biz but the technology just isn't there yet for a reliable pnumatic buffer. The military had done some testing with the new OA buffer years ago but it just wasn't reliable. Still, good concept though. Someone will figure it out, then we'll all be able to shoot those high caliber rifles all day long.

[~center~]

Sorry for being off topic but what about Double Star?

BTW, Double Star lowers are good to go.

If you can get your hands on a Mega Machine Shop (Gator) lower, that's the one!!! I got a batch of them a while back and managed to keep one for myself. Talk about a nice lower. Those guys are very detail oriented. Mega Machine was contracted by other AR companies to make lowers also.

I just got a large batch of DPMS lowers in the other day and they all look very perty. DPMS has come a long way since the day's of their cast lowers. They are a company who, like OA, learned from their mistakes.

[Createdeemcee]

I own an oly Arms AR 15, I had the choice of the obtaining a Bushmaster for the same price, yet it didnt have the lifetime warranty like the Oly arms version. and yes DPMS has came a long way. Not sure about their warranty status though.

[Paulinski]

IMHO I would stay away from Olympic Arms, Vulcan/Hesse, DPMS.

I seen way too many out of spec parts to justify for me to stay clear of those companies - Stag (CMT), Colt (koolaid :) ), Sun Devil and many others make better products.

My $0.02 worth

[~center~]

IMHO I would stay away from Olympic Arms, Vulcan/Hesse, DPMS.

I seen way too many out of spec parts to justify for me to stay clear of those companies - Stag (CMT), Colt (koolaid :) ), Sun Devil and many others make better products.

My $0.02 worth

I will say, I've had problems with numerous Vulcan/Hesse (it's the same old company with a new name) parts but I've never had a problem with a Vulcan forged lower. A number of the old Hesse ones were cast and I actually saw one break when a customer dropped it on the floor. Talk about a WOW factor.

Sun Devil lowers are good to go.

And good old Colt. Well what can I say, I've seen great AR parts from them and some of the worst. Right now my agency issued Colt M4 (which I've had for a while now) is rockin and rollin without any problems what so ever. A great rifle if I may say so. The workmanship on the lower however is piss poor. Also, on average, 2 out of 10 of our factory Colt rifles have had numerous problems with malfunctions related to the assembly and manufacturing process. The quality control over at Colt has been in steady decline for the last 10 years.

Something else amusing to me, Colt doesn't make MOST of their AR parts. Which is why I laugh when people are so adement about how superior Colt AR-15 are. You'd be suprised who has been contracted to make some of them. Think Colt makes their magazines for the AR also? Colt never made a production mag in their history! If you compare magazines you can probly figure out who makes them for Colt. :)

[Paulinski]

I will say, I've had problems with numerous Vulcan/Hesse (it's the same old company with a new name) parts but I've never had a problem with a Vulcan forged lower. A number of the old Hesse ones were cast and I actually saw one break when a customer dropped it on the floor. Talk about a WOW factor.

Sun Devil lowers are good to go.

And good old Colt. Well what can I say, I've seen great AR parts from them and some of the worst. Right now my agency issued Colt M4 (which I've had for a while now) is rockin and rollin without any problems what so ever. A great rifle if I may say so. The workmanship on the lower however is piss poor. Also, on average, 2 out of 10 of our factory Colt rifles have had numerous problems with malfunctions related to the assembly and manufacturing process. The quality control over at Colt has been in steady decline for the last 10 years.

Something else amusing to me, Colt doesn't make MOST of their AR parts. Which is why I laugh when people are so adement about how superior Colt AR-15 are. You'd be suprised who has been contracted to make some of them. Think Colt makes their magazines for the AR also? Colt never made a production mag in their history! If you compare magazines you can probly figure out who makes them for Colt. :)


I agree. I have CMT (Stag), LMT AR and out of the two brands I like LMT the most. What not to like, 1/7 twists, MP tested barrels and bolts, porperly staked gas keys. Stag is also decent but I had to restake the gas key and they don't have the M4 cuts. While not a deal breaker they probably help.

As far a colt goes its just bloody expensive and for the less money you can get LMT which is just as good. Right now I'm building two more AR's one is a old school Colt - A1 slabside upper (no case deflector or forward assist) pencil 20 barrel 1/12 twist, going for all retro with that one. The other is the SPR clone 18" SPR profile WOA barrel, Vltor upper etc etc.

Gotta love the AR and the modularity of the system. Especially if you have companies like Larue, DD, Magpul etc etc cranking out quality components.

Bottom line is to spend a little more $$ (even if you have to wait more) and have a quality weapon.

[~center~]

^^^ Absolutely right!
I've had to stake a few carrier keys from various companies. For some reason they forgot to do it during assembly, but that's not to big a deal provided you catch it before it comes loose. Certainly not something you'd want to happen when your betting your life on a rifle. A buddy of mine didn't catch it when he bought a complete upper from Model 1 Sales. The key came loose and chewed up the gas tube, then jammed itself in the closed position on the next round. It was an easy fix for me to do but he was not happy about them not staking down the key. Of course Model 1 doesn't sell rifles, just the parts minus the lower receiver, so I guess you get what you pay for there.

And LMT, helluva great product! I'm an authorized dealer for them. The price is higher than most AR companies but deffinately worth it. I'd go to war with a LMT rifle any day.

[~center~]

The following is from a PM that I sent to another person regarding Rock River Arms and other general AR-15 parts. It had some relevent info so I thought I'd share with everyone.


OK, for the rail system I recommend the Surefire M73. I've used or installed just about every rail system you can get (and melted or destroyed many in testing) and the Surefire models are the most cost effective and are very sturdy. There even better than the military's rail system from Knights Armament and about $130 cheaper. Make sure you stay away from ANY plastic rail handguards. The SAMCO one's will melt when subjected to high heat.

Eotech is a great sight. I use one for my agency rifle as well as my personal rifle at home. I would suggest the 511.65 model but any LE/MIL spec model will suffice. Also, Eotech is the only red dot sight that will still work when the glass is damaged. Make sure the Eotech model you get says on the left side, "FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND MILITARY USE". Aimpoint is a great alternative but more expensive.

For flip-up sights, there's lots out there. I use front and rear sights from A.R.M.S. and they are great. Expensive but well worth the money. Another cheaper alternative is sights from Brownells. They have many great AR parts available at good prices. Just make sure you don't buy any cheap knock-offs because they are crap. I know people who are using Airsoft parts on their real guns. That can be a scary thing, so don't do it (there are exceptions to this but unless you know what your doing, then don't use any Airsoft parts).

Now for the rifle, Rock River is a great company and I've never had any problems with them. If your going to start off with a 16 inch carbine don't waste your money on the M4 profile barrel with the grenade launcher cut in it. Sure it looks kool but the extra cost is just that, extra. Instead get either a heavy 16 inch barrel or a lightweight barrel. I prefer the heavy barrel since it helps reduce recoil and is more accurate, the lightweight barrel is more for LE types who will be using it for patrol. If you plan on doing lot's of shooting then spend the extra money for a chrome lined barrel. It won't be as accurate as a chrome-moly or stainless barrel but will extend your barrel life and reduce stoppages.

DO NOT PAY EXTRA FOR A FLUTED BARREL!!! This is one of the biggest scams in the firearms industry. You are literally paying more for less. Unless you just want it for looks then that's fine, after all it does look kool.

As far as the HK-416 gas system goes, there are a number of companies offering a similar piston based gas system for the AR. These are expensive add-on upper receivers, all of which start at $1000 and go up from there. Some of the quality companies to choose from are P.O.F. USA, DSA Arms, and Bushmaster, who just started making these. Of course, there are a few others but these are the one's I have experience with. Unfortunatly, HK does not offer these systems to the civilian market. There is a retrofit kit available from PK Firearms for about $400 made by Ares Defense. This system looks like it has some real potential however, I have not tested this retrofit yet.

Hope that helps. If you need any further info feel free to PM me.