Olympic Arms AR15 Uppers? Bad?

[Seattle206]

Was at the gun show today and stumbled upon a "deal" for complete olympic ar15 m4 profile uppers for $450 each. I closely examined them and though they do not compare to other brands quality wise, will they still fuction like the rest?

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[toys]

there are some people that dont like OA period.

i have 2 of them in pistol calibers. 9mm and 45acp. my 9 has been 100% since day one. there are people that have built/assembled their 9mm with better parts that have problems. My 45 is a AR45 lower and OA45 upper. I havent had a chance to try it yet. but the lower required some work. i guess i could have did the work on both the upper/lower, but i decided on the lower.

iac, yes i think the quality isnt there like my colt, but from what i could tell its cosmetic. some of the fit wasnt as good as my colt, but again it still works and thats what i go by.

 

[JAFO]

What didn't appear quality? The finish? If that is the case it is likely because some of their barrels are stainless steel (I think all of their current M4 barrels are). They don't bother putting a lot of time into the finish on the part of the barrel that will be hidden by the handguards.

 

[NoAim]

They make great barrels.

 

[aflineman]

My barrel is just flat accurate. I had some problems with mine when I first got it (gas tube issues, rifle wouldn't cycle). Olympic took care of it fast and with no problems. Even got a free handguard upgrade. I would not hesitate to buy another, especially at that price.

 

[2gr8dgs]

I have assembled 2 AR-15s built with Olympic parts. Stripped lowers built with Oly parts kits, & topped with completed Oly uppers. MY experience has been 100% positive. I have previously owned a Colt Match Target Competition HBAR II, & an Armalite AR-10 a4 c. I consider them to be equal in quality to the latter guns, & a better value. this is just MY opinion, based on MY personal experience.

 

[22many]

Im happy with my oly arms AR. The only problem I had was not feeding correctly that was do to the mag being stacked at full capacity. I now pack my mags 27 instead of 30 and havent had a problem since. Although I do wish that I would have spent the extra $$ for the chrome lined barrell.

All in all, I would buy oly arms again. Mainly because of quality AND price.

 

[remdog]

i also love my oly arms ar15 6.8 spc, i ve ran alot of lead down range. great weapon!!!!! the finsh is field grade, not a show piece . but very dependable and dead on every time.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

I just bought my Olympic Arms Upper yesterday.
All I can see is an SS 5.56 (stainless steel) And some sort of insignia like an "A" with a little dot above that.. I can post pictures if need be.. Man, I'm not an AR guy at all.. The upper I got feels "Tin-Like" But it seems to all fit into place with my "Mega" Lower.

BTW: Its a flat top.. Don't know if that'll help, but that's all I know about the upper.

AK47's are childlike toys compared to the finicky AR.. What did I get myself into?!

 

[Grizzly_A]

I saw a similar upper at the gun show for $475 for the A3 M4, or the A3 lightweight barrel. The vendor said that they were all Oly Arms.

Of the ones I checked out, the upper forgings were marked with blemishes, one of the bolts/upper looked like it had been used (finish had been worn off) I did find one that I would consider purchasing. I think they were factory 2nds...(I think what I found was not representative of Oly Arms in general)

I know in talking with CS at Oly that they machine everything to minimum mil spec, so some mags and parts that are on the far end of the mil spec may not work correctly. (tight fit) Their reasoning is that if you start at the minimum and then wear happens, you'll end up still being mil spec. If you shoot for something in the middle or end of the range, you're still "mil spec" but as wear happens now you might end up out of spec.

I don't have a problem with Oly, I had 2 9mm uppers on order, but canceled the order after the wait time was 6 months. I'd purchase them again if I could find one on sale.

 

[Seattle206]

The upper I got feels "Tin-Like"

that was my first impressions also, it just felt cheap and light. Compared to my del-ton uppers, which feel like solid blocks the Oly just felt flimsy.

 

[NoOne]

I have seen ALOT of OLY rifles that malfunctioned like no bodys business. However, I have a friend who owns one of their 45acp carbines, and he loves it. I think the problem is that the barrels have such tight chambers, that if everything isn't perfect, the rifle will malfunction. But IF they work, they are supposed to be pretty accurate.

It is just my opinion, but I value utter reliability far more than pinpoint accuracy. I would take a completely reliable rifle with moderate accuracy over a extremely accurate rifle that malfunctions any day.

 

[The B]

$475 includes charging handle, handguards, and BCG, i assume?

For all their problems, even the ridiculously low price is too much, in my opinion. improperly reamed chambers, no shot-peaning, no HPT or MPI- bolt nor barrel, way over-gassed, SA carrier, no staking anywhere, 6-groove rifling, 4140 steel, "commercial" sized receiver extension... and that's the standard stuff. they're also often plagued with assembly problems- canted FSBs, missing parts, improperly torqued key screws/barrel nuts/castle nuts/etc....

they're also 1/9 and no chrome lining to be found, which matters to me in a carbine. matter of preference, though- some people know better and still want 1/9, and i'll never understand why.

any one of these would be a deal breaker for me.

BCM sells their 14.5 carbine - 16.1 middy uppers for $480, and ALL of these issues are taken care of with the addition of a quality lower and BCM/LMT/colt/DD BCG. its a couple hundred more, in the end, but well worth it for a weapon that's tuff as nails.

 

[Grizzly_A]

Wow, someone doesn't like Oly, or bushmaster, armalite, del-ton, remington, Ruger, RRA, Sabre, or Stag arms to name a few.

So you're ragging on the $475 price for a complete upper, and then offer the BCM for $480 and then add in the BCG for an additional $200? That's $680 and beyond the target range that these uppers are built for.

I'm not flaming you, but many features that you don't like about Oly are found in the above brands also. I'm guessing you have the same gripe with the listed mfgs as well.

It sounds like your needs and preferences are very specific, since a 1:9 and 6 groove barrel is a common standard among many of the above brands listed as well.

While Oly isn't trying to be the premiere AR15 mfg, it's also not a Vulcan.

 

[The B]

Wow, someone doesn't like Oly, or bushmaster, armalite, del-ton, remington, Ruger, RRA, Sabre, or Stag arms to name a few.

So you're ragging on the $475 price for a complete upper, and then offer the BCM for $480 and then add in the BCG for an additional $200? That's $680 and beyond the target range that these uppers are built for.

I'm not flaming you, but many features that you don't like about Oly are found in the above brands also. I'm guessing you have the same gripe with the listed mfgs as well.

It sounds like your needs and preferences are very specific, since a 1:9 and 6 groove barrel is a common standard among many of the above brands listed as well.

While Oly isn't trying to be the premiere AR15 mfg, it's also not a Vulcan.

true, i dont care for any of those you listed except Sabre- sabre isn't quite up to snuff on their commercial stuff, especially as much as they charge, but they still make a solid product.

i'm not ragging on the price- it's an extemely attractive price, that's why oly stays in business. it depends on what you want the weapon for... personally, i'm not into discount stuff. but if the lack of any adherance to modern reliability criteria doesn't bother you, they're probably the best value out there, when you look at it like that. you cant get a complete upper from any of those other manufacturers for that price. course, any of those other manufacturers are gonna put out a better product, as well.

you get what you pay for, in everything and ARs. is Vulcan even still in business? i thought they were long gone.. different DBA, perhaps?

 

[Scott]

Oly makes good stuff in my opinion and have had several and never had a problem and they shot well. This might irritate some but all gun makers have guns that have went bad just like cars have. I have had 3 17's and not one ever worked correctly and I got rid of them quickly and have had my son's Remington 597 HB slamfire on me on the 6th shot and the reciever blew. Everybody has opinions and views on guns but you have to go with what you think and feel about the research of each model. Worst comes to worst you could always sell it again. Good luck

Scott

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Well, It feels alright now that I have it all assembled. No dings, scrapes.. it doesn't seem like a factory second, nothings canted, I took it apart and all seems to be well.
I'm not looking for a "tack driver". I'll invest in a nice blot action for that. But what I am curious about, is.. WILL IT FIRE? Will it eat MOST of what I put in it given the fact that I baby ALL my firearms and clean them to a surgeon like standard?

That's pretty much what I wanna know,
Will it go bang if I pull the trigger?
Or will it blow up in my face?
P.s. I haven't had any range time with her yet.. so we'll see. But any advice in advance to my little shooting extravaganza would be nice.
=]

 

[BryanO]

I have a K23, which is their 7.5 inch 5.56 AR Pistol. I've heard of many RRA and other manufactured guns that didn't run well. I've heard of even more built guns that don't.

Mine runs great, I've never had an issue and I shoot almost exclusively wolf through it.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

So Golden Bear or Brown Bear ammo won't "KILL" my AR so long as I clean it like any other gun I have rrright?

(I know little to NOTHING about AR15's, I juuust started this rifle as a hobby.)
Its pretty darn fun to build it all.
=]

 

[Grizzly_A]

So Golden Bear or Brown Bear ammo won't "KILL" my AR so long as I clean it like any other gun I have rrright?

(I know little to NOTHING about AR15's, I juuust started this rifle as a hobby.)
Its pretty darn fun to build it all.
=]

Try it in your AR and see if it likes it. Some ARs are picky on what they eat.

It won't "kill" it. But you'll want to stick to shooting only Brown Bear or GBear per shooting session or else you'll probably end up with stuck cases. Or clean it more frequently during your session. The problem is usually from a dirty chamber (since russian ammo is dirtier and the fact that it's still a steel case) so clean out the chamber regularly and you "should" be fine.