kwelz
02-05-10, 08:57
This was posted on another forum. It is full of many inconsistencies and flat out lies.
However the point I am most curious on is the claim that Oly created the A3 Flattop. Any grain of truth to this?
It is already clear that I would personally choose an Olympic over a DPMS. I have had experience with both- I own two OLYs...
That is not to say that the DPMS is a bad rifle! It all depends on what the buyer is looking for. The AR debate can be compared to the Ford-Chevy- Dodge question... In reality they are pretty much all the same... all offering small features that their competitors dont- most sharing the same parts suppliers.
I do not know the DPMS rifles as well as I do Olympic but this is what I know-
Olympic Arms began as Schuetzen Gun Works (SGW) in 1956- thy were based in Colorado and specialized in producing barrels for military and commercial contracts. In 1975 they moved to Olympia and began producing AR-15s. their name changed to Olympic Arms in 1982.
The very early rifles used home made barrels but they imported the other rifle parts- Quality control was spotty and not all parts were in proper spec. However, take into account that there were only three AR producers at the time. Colt, Olympic, and I think Bushmaster. Market competition and consumer desires were completely different in the 1970's and as a new competitor to Colt, Oly had to market itself as the budget rifle. Naturally the Colt was better and all the Colt lovers loved to BASH Olympics...
Like most companies with a long established history there are periods where companies are more concerned with quality and reputation. and at other times when the company leadership is more focused on a quick buck. Olympics quality soared in the 1980s but hit a rough patch in the mid 1990s- Quality control took a hit and the ill-fated idea was made of bringing back a cheap plinker rifle with a cast receiver. These cast receivers did not hold up well and in the age of internet forums and faceless 16 year old experts the flames were fanned (like your boss they drank the "boo-aid") Olympic quickly stopped using cast receivers (these were only used on the budget rifle and not the higher end models) and by 1998-2000 Olympic had turned themselves around and focused on making the best rifle possible. For the last ten years their quality has been exceptional- you have seen how my 20" made in 2004 and the 16" made in 1999 have operated, you have felt them, experienced their uber reliability. You also remember that problematic bushmaster?
Olympic is also one of the very few companies that make all of their parts in house, in Olympia and they supply parts to many other AR manufactures! Olympic barrels are top of the line in the industry-
In regards to Olympics reputation keep in mind that bad firearms keep turning up with new owners over and over- People get rid of guns that don't work- One bad gun can pass through ten owners, pissing each off equally before it lands in the hands of an expert who will either fix it or part it out. Olympic is one of the oldest and most widely produced AR manufacturers- AR-15s are the 1911 of rifles. AR-15s and 1911s are the most customizable firearms on the planet- there have been a lot of bubbas who have tried to build both but didn't know what they were doing- those guns are bad and keep turning up over and over too... and they reflect absolutely nothing about the company... Some dummy may have built a crap rifle using a bushmaster receiver and WHO KNOWS what other parts... that rifle ends up in possession of another dummy that just assumes the rifle was made by Bushmaster... so, naturally, all Bushmasters must be junk- Right?
Olympic arms has been credited with many of the AR advancements that we take for granted today (case in point, Olympic developed the A3 flattop/detachable carry handle design that you seek!)
For the last ten years the olympic is as good as it gets- it is a 1000 buck rifle- the very top tier ARs like Noveske and LMT will cost you 2-3000 and those rifles will be only about 15% better. (law of diminishing returns)
If you buy the DPMS chances are that you will be quite happy with it- No offense but at your present state of experience with ARs I doubt you would be able to tell any difference other than price...
Take note that the rifle offered to you by me at 1275 plus a case of ammo is the definitive high end M4 rifle, It has EVERY feature and attention to detail that a consumer could want... The cheaper DPMS out in kittitas could be an M4 but it could still be DPMSs budget "light" model with a crappy skinny barrel.i just don't know- beware of buying a rifle advertised as a flat top- they dont all come with the carry handle and those handles are another 120 bucks. there are dozens of companies each making dozens of AR-15 models from basic cheap to very expensive high quality-
In comparing Oly to DPMS I know of nothing that DPMS does better over present day Olympic aside from having a better price.
I DO know that the Olympic will have a better trigger pull, a better barrel, better fit and finish, and a better bolt carrier group.
Which ever one you choose, I look forward to shooting it with you on Sunday.
P.S. if you wanna share this with your boss be my guest- im kinda curious what he has to say about DPMS and where he got his info!
I deal with Olympic Arms one on one, they built this rifle specifically for my store on our order
However the point I am most curious on is the claim that Oly created the A3 Flattop. Any grain of truth to this?
It is already clear that I would personally choose an Olympic over a DPMS. I have had experience with both- I own two OLYs...
That is not to say that the DPMS is a bad rifle! It all depends on what the buyer is looking for. The AR debate can be compared to the Ford-Chevy- Dodge question... In reality they are pretty much all the same... all offering small features that their competitors dont- most sharing the same parts suppliers.
I do not know the DPMS rifles as well as I do Olympic but this is what I know-
Olympic Arms began as Schuetzen Gun Works (SGW) in 1956- thy were based in Colorado and specialized in producing barrels for military and commercial contracts. In 1975 they moved to Olympia and began producing AR-15s. their name changed to Olympic Arms in 1982.
The very early rifles used home made barrels but they imported the other rifle parts- Quality control was spotty and not all parts were in proper spec. However, take into account that there were only three AR producers at the time. Colt, Olympic, and I think Bushmaster. Market competition and consumer desires were completely different in the 1970's and as a new competitor to Colt, Oly had to market itself as the budget rifle. Naturally the Colt was better and all the Colt lovers loved to BASH Olympics...
Like most companies with a long established history there are periods where companies are more concerned with quality and reputation. and at other times when the company leadership is more focused on a quick buck. Olympics quality soared in the 1980s but hit a rough patch in the mid 1990s- Quality control took a hit and the ill-fated idea was made of bringing back a cheap plinker rifle with a cast receiver. These cast receivers did not hold up well and in the age of internet forums and faceless 16 year old experts the flames were fanned (like your boss they drank the "boo-aid") Olympic quickly stopped using cast receivers (these were only used on the budget rifle and not the higher end models) and by 1998-2000 Olympic had turned themselves around and focused on making the best rifle possible. For the last ten years their quality has been exceptional- you have seen how my 20" made in 2004 and the 16" made in 1999 have operated, you have felt them, experienced their uber reliability. You also remember that problematic bushmaster?
Olympic is also one of the very few companies that make all of their parts in house, in Olympia and they supply parts to many other AR manufactures! Olympic barrels are top of the line in the industry-
In regards to Olympics reputation keep in mind that bad firearms keep turning up with new owners over and over- People get rid of guns that don't work- One bad gun can pass through ten owners, pissing each off equally before it lands in the hands of an expert who will either fix it or part it out. Olympic is one of the oldest and most widely produced AR manufacturers- AR-15s are the 1911 of rifles. AR-15s and 1911s are the most customizable firearms on the planet- there have been a lot of bubbas who have tried to build both but didn't know what they were doing- those guns are bad and keep turning up over and over too... and they reflect absolutely nothing about the company... Some dummy may have built a crap rifle using a bushmaster receiver and WHO KNOWS what other parts... that rifle ends up in possession of another dummy that just assumes the rifle was made by Bushmaster... so, naturally, all Bushmasters must be junk- Right?
Olympic arms has been credited with many of the AR advancements that we take for granted today (case in point, Olympic developed the A3 flattop/detachable carry handle design that you seek!)
For the last ten years the olympic is as good as it gets- it is a 1000 buck rifle- the very top tier ARs like Noveske and LMT will cost you 2-3000 and those rifles will be only about 15% better. (law of diminishing returns)
If you buy the DPMS chances are that you will be quite happy with it- No offense but at your present state of experience with ARs I doubt you would be able to tell any difference other than price...
Take note that the rifle offered to you by me at 1275 plus a case of ammo is the definitive high end M4 rifle, It has EVERY feature and attention to detail that a consumer could want... The cheaper DPMS out in kittitas could be an M4 but it could still be DPMSs budget "light" model with a crappy skinny barrel.i just don't know- beware of buying a rifle advertised as a flat top- they dont all come with the carry handle and those handles are another 120 bucks. there are dozens of companies each making dozens of AR-15 models from basic cheap to very expensive high quality-
In comparing Oly to DPMS I know of nothing that DPMS does better over present day Olympic aside from having a better price.
I DO know that the Olympic will have a better trigger pull, a better barrel, better fit and finish, and a better bolt carrier group.
Which ever one you choose, I look forward to shooting it with you on Sunday.
P.S. if you wanna share this with your boss be my guest- im kinda curious what he has to say about DPMS and where he got his info!
I deal with Olympic Arms one on one, they built this rifle specifically for my store on our order