Lee PrecisionRotoMetals2Reloading EverythingTitan Reloading
Inline FabricationLoad DataMidSouth Shooters SupplyRepackbox
Wideners
Results 1 to 11 of 11

Thread: Olympic Arms 556 LEO turn in.

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Cedar Park Texas
    Posts
    185

    Olympic Arms 556 LEO turn in.

    I am on the fence. GT distributors had an Olympic Arms LEO trade in M4 for 389 and it looked like a great deal. Though when you do some research it looks like Olympic Arms gets some bad press. Does anyone one have any experience with them. It sounds like they are a bit of a pain to work with. Also what type of wear might one of these guns have had. I have bought a number of LEO trade ins and for the most part have been pleased with the value. I have a 38 special S&W which came from a campus police and the butt and holster wear were pretty severe but the internals looked brand new.
    A lot of the negative posts are hearsay "my friend" " I heard" very little 1st person accounts so I tend to believe it is a web feeding frenzy and they are not that bad.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    SW Florida
    Posts
    718
    I've had two or three over the years. Didn't shoot thousands of rounds thru them but had no issues. They are AR15's so easily repaired/replaced.

    You'll get the "it will not hold up to a tour in the desert" but not may civilian AR's will. Haters gonna hate.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master 1006's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    South of Atlanta, GA
    Posts
    540
    Why take a chance? If they had been great guns, they would not have the reputation that they have had.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master Dan Cash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Western North Dakota
    Posts
    3,327
    I had one and sold it to a friend, a former Marine who knows about M16/AR15 guns. He is pleased with it and still has it after several years. I don't build them but the one I had seemed to be just another AR, no better and no worse than any other. I presently have an Armalite and a Bushmaster. Both of them look about the same for quality and shoot about the same. Buy the Olympic. Worst thing could be the throat is eroded. A re barrel is not that costly.
    To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, the trouble with many shooting experts is not that they're ignorant; its just that they know so much that isn't so.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master Moleman-'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    SW Michigan next to a corn field
    Posts
    1,291
    I've had several forged Olympic guns since the late 80's early 90's. One is the SGW stop sign logo and the others are the lion or whatever it is logo. No issues with them although in the ensuing 25-30 years they've been changed around a bit but not due to any issues. Didn't hear good things about their cast receivers they had back in the 90's on their budget line which is where a lot of the hate comes from. At the time guys were complaining about tight magwells on the cast guns and the uppers and lowers on the cast guns developing cracks. Only cast ar15 I've had was a DPMS also back in the early 90's. It sucked (loose fit to upper, sloppy magwell, poor outline match up to upper, rough finish) so I sold it and bought another Olympic. If it were me, if it looks to be in good shape and doesn't have a cast upper or lower I'd consider it.

  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Cedar Park Texas
    Posts
    185
    Thanks for the feedback

  7. #7
    Banned








    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    munising Michigan
    Posts
    17,725
    the old ones were questionable. I had a couple back in the early 90s that were about junk. The ones made in the last 10 years or so are as good as a bushmaster, dpms ect. There probably all put together with the same parts. If I had 400 bucks though id probably buy a lower and put together a new one with palmetto parts.

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Northern Michigan
    Posts
    8,899
    https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperst....cfm/ID/214430

    I would buy a new one that has a warranty for the few dollars more.
    Don Verna


  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master


    Larry Gibson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Lake Havasu City, Arizona
    Posts
    21,303
    I dealt a lot with Olympic Arms ARs back in '91 through 2007 as I lived only a few miles from them in Washington State. Basically the ARs actually built and assembled by them in house were as serviceable as any other ARs. However, they sold a lot of "parts kits" through Shotgun News and at the Puyalup gunshow and there was the root of most all problems with the ARs. It was those home assembled and or bubba'd Olympic Arms I dealt mostly with as back then there was not the plethora of tools or instruction available as there is today. Many were very poorly put together and malfunctioned aplenty. I fixed many of those for numerous of my own SF soldiers and other soldiers at Fort Lewis. Most often it was simply putting them together correctly but occasionally they had buggered some parts which needed replacement. I had no problems getting replacement parts from Olympic Arms for "fixing" the bubba'd ones.

    Again, when factory assembled or put together correctly the Olympic arms ARs were as serviceable as any.

    I had high respect for the people at Olympic arms as they gave many of my soldiers (deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan) sight mounts that fit the handles of the M4 (originals did not have removable handles) or M16A2s at no charge.
    Larry Gibson

    “Deficient observation is merely a form of ignorance and responsible for the many morbid notions and foolish ideas prevailing.”
    ― Nikola Tesla

  10. #10
    Boolit Master

    FLINTNFIRE's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Longview, Washington
    Posts
    1,654
    I have had a few of there receivers , they were as good as any I have assembled , still have one , properly built they were as good as palmetto which I have some of also , I find a few ar uppers that are a little off , but most can be fixed . Lowers I just must be lucky , as an aside I put together a A2 for the nephew as that is what he carried in iraq , I have always liked the A2 uppers but they sure are proud of them price wise , another funny part is he was telling me they were not allowed to do anything parts wise and or taking apart , same thing my father told me about the M1 garand when he was in korea during the police action also known as a war.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
    nicholst55's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Houston, TX Metro Area
    Posts
    3,606
    I gave up on them due to both quality and customer service issues. Oly was one of the first ones offering aftermarket AR lowers and some other parts. They were reverse engineered, rather than being made from actual blueprints/drawings. Some of their stuff was okay, and some of it was borderline junk IMHO. I was shorted on every order I placed with them with zero explanations, and they only reluctantly corrected the problems. There's better places to spend my money.
    Service members, veterans and those concerned about their mental health can call the Veterans Crisis Line to speak to trained professionals. To talk to someone, call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, send a text message to 838255 or chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.

    If you or someone you know might be at risk of suicide, there is help. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, text a crisis counselor at 741741 or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check