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I picked up this Olympic arms rifle as a police trade in from my local Jacksonville Fl sheriffs office. I find it interesting in that is has a JSO serial number and it’s marked as Restricted. However, after talking with several friends at the department some of these rifles were very reliable while others had issues. Does anyone else have any experience with similar Olympic police guns?
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It's freightening to me that a P.D. would purchase these things for duty. It doesn't surprise me that some worked and some didn't as each olympic arms gun is a random assembly of it's own.
I remember the horror stories of them declining warranty claims because people changed parts. They were told that the guns were custom fitted or some crap, and they wouldn't honor any warranty with parts changed.
Ken Elmore saved me from making the Olympic arms mistake for my first AR experience 20 or so years ago....
I'm not trying to be a dick for no good reason, but I wouldn't trust a single component on that gun for any serious use. Oly is by far the worst main stream AR manufacturer there is.... even worse than LWRCi.
I worried about that - I just picked it up for the serial number and the restricted roll mark. I have several other rifles ahead of it in the rotation. Will these take milspec parts or are they proprietary?
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It's freightening to me that a P.D. would purchase these things for duty. It doesn't surprise me that some worked and some didn't as each olympic arms gun is a random assembly of it's own.
I've learned that a lot of Police Departments and LEOs have no idea about firearms. I have 3 in-laws that are LEO and their understanding of ARs are very limited. My BIL is issued a RRA carbine w/a Bushnell TRS-25. I told him to put his AimPoint on it but he won't listen. I tried.
Doc Safari
10-09-18, 11:18
I've learned that a lot of Police Departments and LEOs have no idea about firearms.
You got that right. The agency I worked for many years ago was on the verge of buying Bushmasters until I edumacated them to buy Colt. This was the 1990's before there were very many top tier brands.
I would only accept an Olympic AR if it were free, and it would immediately become my beater.
Will these take milspec parts or are they proprietary?
Maybe?
That's the problem with Olympic. You'll get a "deal" on the gun, but then have to spend hundreds in parts to get it to run properly, when you could have just spent the money on a better rifle in the first place. If it's running well now, there's a good chance it won't if you start swapping parts out, even if the replacements are in spec.
Maybe?
That's the problem with Olympic. You'll get a "deal" on the gun, but then have to spend hundreds in parts to get it to run properly, when you could have just spent the money on a better rifle in the first place. If it's running well now, there's a good chance it won't if you start swapping parts out, even if the replacements are in spec.
That's exactly it. Guys couldn't even change uppers on some of their lowers because nothing is in spec. The pins wouldn't push through. You just don't know what you have with an OLY. They may have made a gun here or there that works, and is somewhere in the area of spec... but you don't know.
And forget the specs you can't see or feel... metals used, finishes, testing (no chance of them doing any of that), etc. There are so many short cuts taken by companies like Bushmaster, DPMS, etc. And Oly makes those guns look like the cream of the crop.
I used to have a collection of OLY arms testimonials that I collected over the year from various post regarding the piss poor quality and customer service. I'd post it when guys would say I was lying or had an agenda.
The Olympic Arms SUM barrels were great shooters, however, across the line OA did not do themselves any favors by having a QC level that was all over the map. You may find your lower fits almost zero uppers aside from its own, or you may find you have a great shooter that work wonderful.
I find it interesting in that is has a JSO serial number and it’s marked as Restricted.
Weren't all non-nurtured AR variants produced during the AWB "roll marked restricted"?
NYH1.
Did that gun come from the range as a loaner/extra? If so, I have shot several of them and they were each quite accurate. (1.5-2" @ 100 yds with Wolf Gold) They could have benefited from a heavier buffer for sure. The info about the dimensions/tolerances among different guns being all over the map is accurate.
OP, shoot it and let us know if you got a good one.
Hammer_Man
10-09-18, 22:55
To the OP: Since you already bought it, there isn't much else to do besides shoot the crap out of it, and then let us know how it does.
I had a bunch of them around me that came in as patrol rifle programs stood up. Combinations of staking, reaming, parts replacement, or reassembly kept them going. I don't see more than a few anymore. During the AWB Oly shipped to price points, schedules, and feature combinations many others didn't. They sold a lot of guns.
OP, there are threads here with guidance on getting guns up to par. One example:
"Oh No! I bought a BM/RRA/Stag before I knew better!"
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?7376-quot-Oh-No!-I-bought-a-BM-RRA-Stag-before-I-knew-better!-quot
Weren't all non-nurtured AR variants produced during the AWB "roll marked restricted"?
NYH1.
Yes, or at least were supposed to be.
Never have understood the fascination with that either. People that were the opponents of folks packing Kar 98 k's and Arisakas back in the 40's typically ground the eagles and mums off after gaining possession of them in a similar fashion.
During the AWB Oly shipped to price points, schedules, and feature combinations many others didn't. They sold a lot of guns.
A lot of people forget that until 10 years ago or so there wasn't the huge aftermarket there is now and even fewer factory options. Colt's shenanigans during that time frame....proprietary parts that didn't add performance and the smart gun crap....wasn't exactly endearing either.
Doc Safari
10-10-18, 09:28
A lot of people forget that until 10 years ago or so there wasn't the huge aftermarket gadgets there is now and even fewer factory options. Colt's shenanigans during that time frame....proprietary parts that didn't add performance and the smart gun crap....wasn't exactly endearing either.
It's true. A lot of people despised Colt to the point of wanting ANY brand but Colt back in the day. This is where all the "brand X is better than Colt" nonsense started. People had not become sophisticated in their knowledge of AR's enough to know that there were actual differences in quality that could be quantified by material specs and testing.
Surprisingly, people would put up with less than stellar reliability from lower tier brands as well. The myth of the AR platform being inherently unreliable was perpetuated by the indifferent manufacturing standards of the non-Colt makers in those days. It wasn't until competition and training made people demand better weapons that you saw the LMT's, BCM's, etc. come along. I also believe veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars upped the ante that led to better quality. They came back home to unreliable store bought weapons and were dissatisfied with their performance relative to what they had been issued on duty. Just MHO, but I think we would still have nearly every brand being crappy if not for the scores of veterans purchasing AR's after their tours ended.
The myth of the AR platform being inherently unreliable was perpetuated by the indifferent manufacturing standards of the non-Colt makers in those days.
Those were insane days in retrospect. It was pretty much Colt, Bushy, and Oly. Bushy being mediocre, and Oly being total garbage. Then you got DPMS junk as an alternative, etc... all those bad choices led to that bad notion that the AR was less than reliable... and the icing on the crap cake..... PISTON ARS!!!! :blink:
I had a bunch of them around me that came in as patrol rifle programs stood up. Combinations of staking, reaming, parts replacement, or reassembly kept them going. I don't see more than a few anymore. During the AWB Oly shipped to price points, schedules, and feature combinations many others didn't. They sold a lot of guns.
OP, there are threads here with guidance on getting guns up to par. One example:
"Oh No! I bought a BM/RRA/Stag before I knew better!"
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?7376-quot-Oh-No!-I-bought-a-BM-RRA-Stag-before-I-knew-better!-quot
Thanks I recall that thread now. I should have clarified in my original post that this was just a novelty purchase for less than $400 just to get something that was related to my home city.
My other rifles and sbrs are Noveskes, colt, bcm, and Daniel defense and they obviously take priority in the rotation. I’ll take the feedback provided and, at some point, replace the lower parts and buy another upper for it. I’ve tried a 6920 upper on it and it goes together just fine.
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Those were insane days in retrospect. It was pretty much Colt, Bushy, and Oly. Bushy being mediocre, and Oly being total garbage. Then you got DPMS junk as an alternative, etc... all those bad choices led to that bad notion that the AR was less than reliable... and the icing on the crap cake..... PISTON ARS!!!! :blink:
Yeah I made a habit back in those days of buying Bushie rifles, selling the uppers and putting Colt uppers on Bushie lowers. I really despised Colt for all their lower shenanigans but really liked their uppers, bout all you had to do sometimes is replace the carrier with an M16. My only Oly experience was a sample of one with heavy target barrel, I tried around 6 M16A1 uppers and not one would fit, sold that POS and was never tempted by them again.
Yeah I made a habit back in those days of buying Bushie rifles, selling the uppers and putting Colt uppers on Bushie lowers. I really despised Colt for all their lower shenanigans but really liked their uppers, bout all you had to do sometimes is replace the carrier with an M16. My only Oly experience was a sample of one with heavy target barrel, I tried around 6 M16A1 uppers and not one would fit, sold that POS and was never tempted by them again.
These young buckaroos have it too easy. Buy a BCM, DD, Sionics, Colt, etc. And just start decorating it. :cool:
Hammer_Man
10-10-18, 15:25
Edit: Nevermind, it was a somewhat redundant post.
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