I'd like to buy an AR-15...

c/Commander

c/Commander

Active member
...but there are about forty million different brands and types. I don't really want anything special, just a basic, M-16A2 or A4-pattern weapon (obviously in semiauto, but otherwise identical to service weapons). A flattop receiver would be nice, but isn't required.

5.56, paging 5.56 :p
 
c/Commander said:
...but there are about forty million different brands and types. I don't really want anything special, just a basic, M-16A2 or A4-pattern weapon (obviously in semiauto, but otherwise identical to service weapons). A flattop receiver would be nice, but isn't required.

5.56, paging 5.56 :p
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Look at Olympic Arms, they are great guns and a bit underpriced when compaired with other brands.

I own one and it has been a great rifle for me very accurate and never failed not once and belive me I put a lot of lead down range with it. ;-)
 
Topmaul said:
Look at Olympic Arms, they are great guns and a bit underpriced when compaired with other brands.

I own one and it has been a great rifle for me very accurate and never failed not once and belive me I put a lot of lead down range with it. ;-)
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I'm not overly happy with the "long-life nonchromed bore" those models ship with; there's a good reason that we use chrome bores in the service rifles. Good prices all around, though, for sure.
 
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suit yourself,

Not sure how much you have to spend on an AR-15 but consider this, you can get a stainless barreled Oly for less than a crome lined Colt and as we all know Stainless is better than Crome lined any day. Much more corrosion resistant, easier to clean, and more accurate.

You can pick up a good Oly Plinker-Plus for like $550 or so, that will do everything you need an AR to do. Then over time you can up grade it like put a flat top or what ever else you can dream up.

Or you can do this, buy a stripped lower, I would say go with Megga or other fancy brand then build your gun from the ground up you will assemble every spring and little part. This will not be cheaper but you will know your weapon from the ground up and you can have the gun exactly the way you want it.

http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/programming/listview.asp
These are good people to do business with I bought several weapons from them over the years you can see the price savings, many gun shops will diss Oly because they don't make as much profit on selling them as they do on other similar ARs. www.oa2.org might be worth a look.

One more thing to watch for make sure your chambered for 5.56 not .223 there is a differance.
 
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Yeah, I don't definitely do not need the weapon blowing up in my hands. I downloaded the OlyArms catalog, and apparently a flat-top upper is a free option on any A2 model, so now I just have to pick between the A2 and A4-type handguards. I feel like the A2 will be fine, I'm not going to be in the desert so I don't see a need to mount anything up front. Stainless steel barrel is a $45 upgrade which is pretty reasonable from what I've seen.
 
c/Commander said:
...but there are about forty million different brands and types. I don't really want anything special, just a basic, M-16A2 or A4-pattern weapon (obviously in semiauto, but otherwise identical to service weapons). A flattop receiver would be nice, but isn't required.

5.56, paging 5.56 :p
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I'm here...



c/Commander said:
Yeah, I don't definitely do not need the weapon blowing up in my hands. I downloaded the OlyArms catalog, and apparently a flat-top upper is a free option on any A2 model, so now I just have to pick between the A2 and A4-type handguards. I feel like the A2 will be fine, I'm not going to be in the desert so I don't see a need to mount anything up front. Stainless steel barrel is a $45 upgrade which is pretty reasonable from what I've seen.
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Olympic Arms is crap...

If you want a well priced AR-15 go DPMS. Chrome Lined Barrels are good but if you want accuracy (1,000 yard Camp Perry) you need to go non-chromed.

DPMS has what you're looking for. The Panther Lite 20 or the Panther Lite 16. you can have them custom build your rifle for cheap. Just call their customer service and tell them what you want and they'll build it. Great Prices and Great Quality.
 
5.56X45mm said:
If you want a well priced AR-15 go DPMS. Chrome Lined Barrels are good but if you want accuracy (1,000 yard Camp Perry) you need to go non-chromed.
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1000 yards with one of them pea shooters? You'd be praying for dead calm winds wouldn't you? They'd be all over the shop like a mad woman's footprints, if there was any breeze.

If you want to shoot those sort of ranges, buy yourself a man's rifle, get a Garand.
 
senojekips said:
1000 yards with one of them pea shooters? You'd be praying for dead calm winds wouldn't you? They'd be all over the shop like a mad woman's footprints, if there was any breeze.

If you want to shoot those sort of ranges, buy yourself a man's rifle, get a Garand.
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1000 yards shooting a 5.56mm rifle with optics is not that hard, just takes some getting used to.

Anyway, does anyone have an (informed) tiebreaker vote?
 
In my personal experience as a firearms instructor, dealer, and armorer. I have personally seen more Olympic Arms made AR-15s fail.

I've seen the gas tube to the front site base worked loose. Their staking on the bolt carrier keys are horrible. As in they don't stake their bolt carrier keys. I've tried many a time to mate a non-Oly upper on an Oly lower to find the mag well doesn't line up properly. Non-Heat Shielded Hand Guards,

Olympic Arms level of quality is not near that of DPMS, Colt, S&W, Bushmaster, Rock River, Saber Defense, FH Herstal, Noveske Rifleworks, Armalite, CMMG and many other name brand AR-15s.

90% of the AR makers have the same level of quality because they subcontract for everything. Lowers Receivers, Uppers, Barrels, trigger components, etc.... Colt, the supposed name of Quality even subcontracts. Olympic Arms does not.

Right now the Big two sellers are Bushmaster and DPMS. There are more Bushmasters sold then any other brand of AR-15. Bushmaster, DPMS, Remington, Marlin, New England Firearms, and Harrington and Richardson (H&R) are all owned by the same parent company.

Remington's .223 AR-15 is a Bushmaster Predator Series with a Remington V-15 Roll Mark and their .308 AR-10 is a DPMS LR-308 series with a Remington V-25 Roll Mark.

DPMS sells high quality rifles around the $700 price range. You can get a well built Bushmaster for the $950 price range.

S&W doesn't even make their own rifles. They subcontract....

Will a Olympic Arms rifle work? Yes. But will it be the same level of quality as the others? No.

Hell, Century Arms is selling A2 Configuration AR-15s around the $550-$650 price range. They use a new lower with surplus Colt/FN Uppers.

The main builder of parts are the following. CMT/Stag, MEGA, Superior, AMEETEC, Rock River, Noveske, Lauer, LAR, and Double Star.

CMT owns Stag. CMT also makes Rock River, S&W, and some Colt receivers.

DPMS doesn't make their own receivers. They are made by LAR. (which most people didn't know made AR recievers, but they are actually one of the highest producing AR manufacturers there is).

Hence why I recommend the following companies.

DPMS, Colt, S&W, Bushmaster, Rock River, Saber Defense, Noveske Rifleworks, Armalite, Stag, and CMMG

DSC_0089.jpg

Properly Staked Gas Key (Colt Firearms MFG)

2217206881_f4db5fa58f.jpg

Non Properly Staked Gas Key (Olympic Arms)

That is one of the major issues of a rifle that does not properly work.

Olympic Arms is known about it.
 
5.56,
I can only say that my Oly shoots great, I know a lot folks that have had good luck with Oly products. That lifetime warranty thing is very nice although I have had no need to use it. The Oly is accurate, reliable and I shoot the crap out of it.

I have no wish to go back and forth on this with you, I have been around guns long enough to know if any ever says any thing positive about Olympic Arms it's like being the guy with the ball in a game of Smear the Queer. Everyone piles on.

And the gas key pins, I have seen (high dollar) ARs come loose, infact a buddy of mine, a one time IPSC/USPSA pro who is currently trying to make a come back had his come loose back in May or June not sure exactly which month it was. This guy hates to lose very competitive natured gentleman, he was more than a little pissed considering how much he spent on his gun I let him share my Oly to finish the match. Not sure if he is going to go out and buy an Oly because of sponsorship issues. In spite of his malfunctioning AR he still finished very close to the top. My point being that the inferior Oly did not hold him back.
 
Hi, I'm new to the sight. Why not buy a lower and build what you really want. I've used Model 1 for my uppers and parts. I'm sure there are many other places just as good , best of all you get what you want for a better price.

Thanks for listening.

Dawghowse
 
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