I've got over fifteen thousand rounds through this one and have had zero problems. (knock on wood)

Double Ditto on my CAR-97 M4. The one I have was purchased from Castle Arms and was the sample Oly sent them for the LEGP  M4 back a few years ago. I have run it pretty hard and had nary a malfunction.  I  like it better than my old Colt MT6700 HBAR that i sold to buy it.
I'd buy again.

Quoted: As I said on Assaultweb (Vulcan), I refuse to deal with Oly Arms again and I will never recommend their products in good faith to anyone. Tom is a liar and a worthless POS in my book. When you get to see his true colors, you will look elsewhere for AR-15 items.

Since everyone's airing their laundry, what's your story with Tom?

whatever happened to Corey Sattler?

Well, several year ago I purchase 3 lowers that were pretty close together in the SN range. They were pretty nice untile I started putting them together. The holes for the pivot pin detents seemed to be shallow. I found that they had sand inside them. The type used in blasting. Okay, I can deal with that, ust clean them out, problem fixed. Next, the pin holes were VERY tight. No matter what pins you used, they were too tight (on all 3 lowers). The finish seemed to be just a hair to thick. Okay, I can fix the too. When I get down to the mag catch assembly, the button (aluminum would not work but the generally more slender plastic knock offs of the day would fit) would not go into the hole such that you could release a magazine and the spring could return things where they belonged. After looking the holes over, they appeared to be in a figure 8 shape. Well, I can fix this too but why shoult I? So I call up Oly Arms and talk to our boy Tom. He assured me he would fix the problem and have the receivers refinished and returned. Before I shipped the receivers I marked each one with my initials on the pistol grip mount area (something I do). Off they go to Oly. I asked for confirmation of receipt but received nothing. No problem, they are busy people and I am one guy, no big deal. I called and yes they have them and they are already working on the problem. 2 weeks pass and I call again for a status. I am now told that they have not inspected the receivers yet but will and they will call me back in a few days. Another 2 weeks pass and no receivers back or a status as promissed. So I call again and they told me the receivers are finished and just need to be refinished. They are in getting prepped with the next batch and I will have them back in one week. Another 2 weeks pass with no receivers and no status. I am still patient and understanding. Our boy Tom is a bit perturbed when I explain my frustration about the time it is taking. He then begins to tell me that if I know so much about AR15 work that I should have fixed the damn problem myself. I ended the confrontation and asked him if he could just complete his work and get the receivers back to me in a timely manner. About a week passes and my receivers are back with a really cool Oly hat inside. I am in business right? Not quite. The receivers had not been touched, just returned with a hat for my troubles. I call up Tom, Mr Customer Service himself and ask him politely what was done to fix the problem. He told me I was sent two new receivers with the old SNs. They old receivers had been repaired, given a new SN and were currently in the hands of VERY happy customers. Interestingly enough the new receivers I received still had the same problem and had my initials on them. These guys are pretty thorough! So I called bullshit on the deal and asked that he fix the problem and start being up front with me. I told him that I just want the receivers fixed, no hat, no hastles, just good receivers. He then looses his mind on me since I called his bluff. He threatens action against me for slander and defimation of character. I get a letter in the mail chatising my comments and demanding that I stop bad mouthing Oly Arms and telling lies about what happened. I told Tom the asshole that I would never recommened their products and if I could stop the sale of one Oly Arms product then I had accomplished my mission. He then threatened me again with his attorney as my actions would bring discredit upon Oly Arms. I gave up and sold the receivers to a friend of mine. He sent them to Oly and explained the deal. They knew the story and the deal with the receivers. They fixed the problem and sent the receivers back to Jim about 2 weeks later with a T-shirt AND a hat!

So, in conclusion, Tom is a dick and if I ever see him on the side of the road with a flat tire I will stop and push his car off the jack, then leave. He had no reason for doing what he did. Everytime Oly Arms stuff comes up on AW.net, I tell the story offering only my experience and some word of caution. If you get a good one, you will be fine. If you don't then you may have to deal with our boy Tom. I like their barrels as they are cheap, well made and accurate. They make nice stuff but Tom killed all of that for me. I like to think I have caused Oly Arms the loss of a few sales over the years worth far more than those 3 $90 receivers ever cost them. I will continue to persuade other to look elsewhere for AR15s and parts. I am looking at possibly opening a range and pro shop and Oly Arms products will not be sold there even if they offer the best dealer prices around!

Wtf is all this bad blood with Tom? The guy is busy as hell and still will take time to help some one.
He isnt CS anymore now he is bringing newer products to the market.

And yeah they had some problems back in the past. And if you read up they are the first to say so. They also will stop production on some thing if its shit and will take back the product.

And they build everything in house just about except for the Ace stocks as far as I know and have read.

If you had a bad exp with a Olyarms product in the past I would highly recommend you try a newer built rifle. I for one was very pleased with my last rifle.

Hell every company one time or another will have some bad times, just part of life. But since then they have built superior products as far as I feel.

I got 2 16" kits from OA.  Both are very reliable.  Shot thousands of rounds and never failed me.  Don Teague who used to be on CS is a great guy.  Very professional and courteous.  

556man

Quoted:

LOL...it's funny trying to consider your comments as NEUTRAL with your current screen name.

I had an oly .45 setup., I woudl say quality was mediocre. Not bad, not good. Of Colt, bushmaster, DPMS, and OLY, Olympic comes last in my book. Not saying they're bad, i just prefer the others.

ive never had to deal w/ oly cust service, so i can comment on that.....
but then again, ive never had to call customer service b/c the 7 rifles ive built on oly lowers have never had a problem (all post 2003 dated ones).   a large mix of misc mfg'r lower rec parts all dropped in w/o problems or fitting.  i used a variety of uppers from all mfg'rs, and theyve fit w/o any pivot pin binding......the rifles all feed reliably and go bang everytime....i think they're good lowers, and the good prices are hard to beat for what you get.....hth
mc  

Skip OA, give your money to BM or someone equally as good.

Quoted: I woudl say quality was mediocre. Not bad, not good. .

"Mediocre" seems to fit the bill.

Quoted: Quoted: LOL...it's funny trying to consider your comments as NEUTRAL with your current screen name. hr

I'm pretty neutral, I could care less if people say they dont care for Olympic Arms, however if they are going to rant and rave why they are so shitty at least say why and what real exp you have had, not a friend story or something you have heard.

And about Tom, I have been talking to him on a regular basis for 5 months now, hes one of the nicest people I have met in a while.  

Just doesnt seem like Tom. And I find it hard to belive.  Bottom line...

Olympic Arms, NO THANKS,  go with Colt, Bushmaster , or Armalite can't go wrong

"So if your gun is going to be fired on sustained full-auto, be kept by a major body of salt water, or is going to be submerged in muck & grime, you might want to look for a chrome barrel... Otherwise there's no real benefit..."


TOTALLY incorrect statement, there... Chrome lined bores and chambers last longer, clean up easier, and tolerate lack of proper cleaning better than non-chromed bores and chambers do(just for starters)... Also, chrome lining is said to aid in extraction, and increase velocity - all of which sound like benefits to me... Any accuracy difference is SO minimal, the average shooter would never see it... Also, the fact that Bushmaster makes their barrels out of 4150 steel is a plus for them as well...

With RRA and Bushmaster being priced competitively, I don't know why anyone would buy OLY, personally... While all are capable of putting out a lemon, I don't think there's any disputing that Oly has put out more lemons than everyone else - a quick look at the troubleshooting and builders forums would readily back that up...


  - georgestrings

Quoted: In the past I have not been a big OA supporter, however that has changed.  OA and Tom S. specifically have been a big help to me over here.  I have a custom OA upper on my Colt M16A2 I special orderd from Tom.  They gave me a great deal, it is 100% reliable, fit and finish are perfect, and they shipped it to my APO address here in Baghdad.  I take my rifle  into harm's way everyday and I have 100% confidence in it.

WOW!!!  I never thought ou would be a convert!  

Olympic has improved their customer service and parts quality in the past 7+ years by quite a bit...

Keep your chin up and we are behind you!

mark
[email protected]

Quoted: Another thing about Olympic Arms, they have been innovators in the field.  For just one example, I might be wrong, but I think they had the first production flattop upper receiver.  Some guys had chopped handles and pinned on weaver rails, and Oly did this at first, too.  But I think they were the first with this.

Oly was first with pistol caliber AR rifles.  Their new Glock pistol caliber rifles (9mm/.40S&W) is also big winner with LEO!

mark
[email protected]

Quoted: Quoted: Another thing about Olympic Arms, they have been innovators in the field.  For just one example, I might be wrong, but I think they had the first production flattop upper receiver.  Some guys had chopped handles and pinned on weaver rails, and Oly did this at first, too.  But I think they were the first with this. Oly was first with pistol caliber AR rifles.  Their new Glock pistol caliber rifles (9mm/.40S&W) is also big winner with LEO! mark [email protected]

What do you mean?  An AR that tales Glock mags?

Dr Jekl,

I'm really curious about the threatening of legal action thing you keep bringing up. What was that all about? Is this just what was said on the phone? Then you say you got a letter. What exactly did the letter say, and what do you think prompted it? Any chance you can post it here??

I built two post-bans on their lowers, one with an Oly kit.  Everything went together fine and ran great.  I currently have a pre-ban SGW and it also runs like a champ with a Bushmaster upper.  

I would stay away from their cast receivers.  They are little cheaper than the forged, but the difference in cost isn't worth the degradation in finish and durability.  Their forged receivers have always worked great for me.

Quoted: What do you mean?  An AR that tales Glock mags?

Olympic Arms has made a rifle that will only accept Glock 9mm/.40S&W magazines.  LEO can use their duty magazines on their pistol or rifle...

mark
[email protected]

Quoted: Quoted: What do you mean?  An AR that tales Glock mags? Olympic Arms has made a rifle that will only accept Glock 9mm/.40S&W magazines.  LEO can use their duty magazines on their pistol or rifle... mark [email protected]

Oh, so i'm guessing it's not an AR.  Got any pics of this rifle?

Sorry for the delayed reply. I have not checked this thread for some time.

Well, Tom told me that they made me new receivers in order to satisfy me. I knew this was wrong because I had the originals back that had nothing done to them. I called bull on the comment. He then asked me if I wanted to see his book entires. I told them sure but anyone can doctor books as the receivers I had in my posession after they had returned them were my original, un-repaired/replaced receivers. He continued to insist they were new receivers, I continued to to call bullshit and he said he did not appreciate being called a liar. I told him about the shoe fitting and let him know what my I did in the Army and told him that I would make darned sure that everyone knew about this incident in hopes to prevent others the same pain I had gone through. He went through the rough and the legal issue came up with a letter following outlining the penalties for slander and how I could be held liable for damage to them through unsubstantiated accusations. That is when I cut my losses and sold the receivers to a friend that promptly had them fixed by Oly in about 2 weeks. They all knew my name up there however!

I don't think I have the letter anymore. I was pretty fired up at the time and probably tossed it then or later when we were cleaning up when we moved to Germany.

Tom may have cleaned up, he may have sent some folks stuff to Iraq (non-mil spec I am quite sure) and made them happy but he is still an a55hole in my book and will always be in the top 5 on my sh!t list. I will never allow someone to buy Oly without them hearing what I have to say. But again, if it is 100% Oly and works you are probably okay as long as she never has to go back for service. If Tom misses his meds, things can get ugly!

Quoted: Dr Jekl, I'm really curious about the threatening of legal action thing you keep bringing up. What was that all about? Is this just what was said on the phone? Then you say you got a letter. What exactly did the letter say, and what do you think prompted it? Any chance you can post it here??

I spoke to Tom last week. He answered the phone and my questions promptly and professionaly. I'll pick up my stripped lower and OA93 pistol upper tommorrow.We'll see.

As a side note I was a service manager for 18 years and am accutely sensitive to peoples attitude on the phone. I had a long standing policy that if you had a problem you could either get your shit fixed OR you could eat on my ass.....but not both. It solved a lot of problems.

I have one preban Oly MFR and several of their ICR98 lowers.

Their Stainless Brls are excellent.

Their quality control sucks.  My MFR has an out of spec lower, so the upper was "fitted" to the lower. The two work great as a set, but they only work togather. the forward assist plunger broke the first time i shot it.  The bolt release is stiff.

One of My ICR98 lowers was so out of spec the hammer would not even fit.  (What did I expect for $79.00 each)  Initially, Tom S told me the ICR98's were sold "as is."  I explained that although they may have told their dealers that, that info was never passed on to the end users. after some arguement, it was returned and was replaced under warranty.


I would not buy another Oly product at this point.  I like Colt, Bushmaster, and LMT products much more.

Like Dave_A, I have a PCR-4 (2003) which I totally love.  It has worked flawlessly and is scary accurate.  Shoots any brand of ammo I feed it.

I've dealt with their customer support (asking Q's about add-ons and about their other ARs) through e-mail only, and they were fast and very informative.

I highly recommend them.  In fact, based on my AR experience with them, I'm considering one of their Matchmaker or Cohort 1911's.

Quoted: Oh, so i'm guessing it's not an AR.  Got any pics of this rifle?

It is an AR.  I am working on getting pix, but do not have them yet.

mark
[email protected]

To keep from bashing any company I will say this... Olympic is not my personal preference.

As Forest Gump would say... "that is all I have to say about that".

For quality and value... Rock River is hard to beat!

How many have you actually owned and had problems with?  Not that you have heard of, how many have you actually ever had a problem with?

My department bought 3 when someone else ran the range.heyroll pin fell out.  Customer service (this is a few years ago) was terrible.  I was told I had to have deliberately removed the swivel because no one had ever had that happen before and their method was better than riveting.

On a more serious note we were going through cam pins like there was no tomorrow.  I sent in two severely worn pins and a broken 3rd pin and requested an analysis.  They sent new pins but ignored all my repeated requests to learn the cause.

All those problems happened at round counts under 3,000 (some much under 3,000).

More recently, I contacted customer service because the cam pin problem continued.  Sent all three rifles back and had new barrels installed.  The new customer service guy was helpful, communicative, and non-accusatory.  Great guy to deal with, I have a lot of respect for him.  Haven't put enough rounds through the rifles to learn if the problem has been fixed.

I bought a personal rifle with their SS rifle barrel before I became responsible for maintaining the department rifles.  I sold it off after seeing the problems with heavier use.  It was a tackdriver--absolutely accurate--but I didn't put more than 500 rounds through it, so never experienced any wear problems.

There's some experience for you.  3 for 3 were bad, but they were older rifles.  Recent customer service was impressive.  1 sold off before problems developed based on the 100% failure rate.

IMHO, they're OK for casual use, but I wouldn't count on them for serious work without running a couple thousand rounds through them first.

Glenn R.

Quoted: On a more serious note we were going through cam pins like there was no tomorrow.

I forgot about that problem.  My MFR had the same problem.  I sent mine in, requesting a replacement. Never got it, bough a cam pin from QPI and have had no wear problems with that one.  Oly must have bought a soft batch of Cam pins.

I also had a terrible experience with their customer service...........or should I say, "lack of customer service!!!"

I have had three Olys in my life.
First one was great, should have never sold it.
The last two really sucked rocks.
I have also had "dealings" with Ol' Tom.
Nothing good to say about him.
Hope I never meet him in person.
Don't do business with them anymore.
Wished I never did.
I gave them plenty of chances to redeem themselves, over 14 months to be exact.
I got nothing out of them but excuses, lies and time I can never get back.
There are better manufacturers out there.
Why waste your time and money?
I do like my SUM barrel though, if that is any consolation.

My .02


Ive had several ar-15s I actually like my Oly better than my pre-ban Bushmaster (I liked the bushy so much I sold it 2 weeks after I bought it)....I have had 5 of the pcr kits....they fit together with no problems...except 1 mag release was bent I replaced it with a colt part..........and all was well......as a matter of fact I called Oly and they sent me another asap. It seems to me there is more of a personal problem with things at Olympic and not their products. Ive never had a problem with their products....also I have owned 2 of the 1911s.........I sold both to 1 person (he had to have them).....Great quality....

I have an Oly lower (the "Maxhard" forged one) with a Fulton  20" SS target upper (specifically a Phantom FAR-15 but with a heavy SS barrel).  When I assembled the lower I had no problems with the mil-spec parts I got from Fulton.  The upper mated fine with the lower.  The rifle shoots 1/2 MOA easy.  Hasn’t jammed, failed to feed or fire.  

As someone else pointed out though, this is not a rifle that is shot very often, I built it about 2 years ago and have probably only put about 200 rounds though it.  The only mags I have put in it are some USGI 20 rounders they all drop free.  I have no experience with the plastic ones.

I’m contemplating building an M4gery and I’m contemplating getting another Oly Forged lower (yes the “Maxhard” one).  I even toyed with the idea (for about 30 seconds) of getting their Ti lower, but it’s expensive as hell and not available for now.

+1 for MaxHard. I have one too (I guess we own 2 of the 1300 or so T3MX's out there). It's definately a top-quality receiver and it's got the most indestructible finish I've ever seen.

Nothing but praise for my 20" MFR Ultra Match.  Great fit, finish, magwell release, totally flawless in every way.  Would buy from them any time!

I have three and enjoy them all, zero problems.

I have several of the SUM barrels they put out and they are, hands down, the best AR barrels I have ever had.  I had several good barrels from Wilson but they were not as consistantly accurate as the Oly barrels.

I got one of the Max-Hard lowers and had a real good single-stage trigger put in it and I'm real happy with that.  I think that Max-hard is the way to go if you plan on keeping your lower for a while.  Over all, I think Oly puts out some great stuff.

Quoted: "So if your gun is going to be fired on sustained full-auto, be kept by a major body of salt water, or is going to be submerged in muck & grime, you might want to look for a chrome barrel... Otherwise there's no real benefit..." TOTALLY incorrect statement, there... Chrome lined bores and chambers last longer, clean up easier, and tolerate lack of proper cleaning better than non-chromed bores and chambers do(just for starters)... Also, chrome lining is said to aid in extraction, and increase velocity - all of which sound like benefits to me... Any accuracy difference is SO minimal, the average shooter would never see it... Also, the fact that Bushmaster makes their barrels out of 4150 steel is a plus for them as well... With RRA and Bushmaster being priced competitively, I don't know why anyone would buy OLY, personally... While all are capable of putting out a lemon, I don't think there's any disputing that Oly has put out more lemons than everyone else - a quick look at the troubleshooting and builders forums would readily back that up...   - georgestrings

My chrome lined bore didn't tolerate a lack of cleaning.  It would have made no difference if it weren't lined.  Let me see your math.

Quoted: "So if your gun is going to be fired on sustained full-auto, be kept by a major body of salt water, or is going to be submerged in muck & grime, you might want to look for a chrome barrel... Otherwise there's no real benefit..." TOTALLY incorrect statement, there... Chrome lined bores and chambers last longer, clean up easier, and tolerate lack of proper cleaning better than non-chromed bores and chambers do(just for starters)... So, the ability to poorly maintain your gun is a 'Positive'... I guess it's like rating cars on which one will go longer without changing the oil....Also, chrome lining is said to aid in extraction, and increase velocity - all of which sound like benefits to me... Any accuracy difference is SO minimal, the average shooter would never see it... The same for the 'velocity' and 'extraction' difference.... Oh wait... You all with the chromed chambers have SOO much trouble with Wolf 'getting stuck', but my chrome-free gun has NEVER experienced this despite being fed several tins of Wolf Also, the fact that Bushmaster makes their barrels out of 4150 steel is a plus for them as well... Only if you intend to use your rifle as a crowbar With RRA and Bushmaster being priced competitively Several hundred dollars is not 'competative', I don't know why anyone would buy OLY, personally... While all are capable of putting out a lemon, I don't think there's any disputing that Oly has put out more lemons than everyone else - a quick look at the troubleshooting and builders forums would readily back that up Yes, there is. It's not Oly's fault if folks can't put their guns together right. I managed in 2 hours with only a screwdriver, a hammer, a pipe wrench & this site. I have had NO problems with my Oly gun, and unless you need Chrome (see original statement) there's really no reason NOT to buy from them. Who cares about other folks experiences with 'Customer Service' if you never have to call them?...   - georgestrings