Colt vs. Olympic Arms AR-15

[LPMan59]

I think that folks just have a tendency to "over-rate" expensive AR's - as well as a tendency to "under-rate" less expensive ones.

There's some truth to that. And people need to understand the differences and decide what suits their needs. 4150 barrel steel is better but not an issue for a semi auto civilian gun. With so many quality manufacturers out there, why even risk messing with olys legendary customer service?

 

[the1kidd03]

I wonder if my 1978 Colt was made with all Colt parts?

As for the test, it doesn't sound like they did a penetration test...the longer barrel would of beat it no matter what brand. My friend has a pistol AR OLY an it works perfect....I don't know the barrel length but that thing has no penetration, it barely dents 3/8" steel...I was really surprized, I never would of thought that.

penetration testing is part of ballistics testing...not firearms testing...but yeah even the slightest difference in barrel length will drastically alter muzzle velocities.... 20" AR upper to 16" upper results in approximately a 500-600 fps loss...just for example

 

[bullet]

I think that folks just have a tendency to "over-rate" expensive AR's - as well as a tendency to "under-rate" less expensive ones.

Plus 1. I also think people like to give their opinions, specially when it's bad, on guns they have no exprience with.

 

[gunman41mag]

The only way I'll buy an oly, is if I get a steal of a deal

 

[Destro]

Plus 1. I also think people like to give their opinions, specially when it's bad, on guns they have no exprience with.

it's not hard to give a bad opinion to a product when the gun maker tells you all the problems with their rifles...

1/9 twist, chrome moly, 4140...I don't need to have experence with those kind of rifles to know I wouldn't go to war with them

Would you really want our troops going to the stan with an off the shelf Delton?

 

[gunman41mag]

it's not hard to give a bad opinion to a product when the gun maker tells you all the problems with their rifles...

1/9 twist, chrome moly, 4140...I don't need to have experence with those kind of rifles to know I wouldn't go to war with them

Would you really want our troops going to the stan with an off the shelf Delton?

We aren't going to war we just need a cheap AR-15 to defend against the looters & stormtroopers

 

[LPPOsecurity]

This thread is very interesting, I dont kno much about about AR's and for somebody looking to get a new AR all you have is reviews and word of mouth, and if a lot of ppl have problems with a gun that I'm lookin at buying, I'm gonna stay away, despite any quality on it, gotta think, it takes at least 5 good reviews to make up for one bad one, I'd like to add that I own a Colt LE6920, and it's a solid, accurate and well made gun, couldn't ask for anything better really, but at the same time, I got it in trade and with that I only have maybe 800 into it, so if I would have had to buy an AR outright it wouldn't have been that same gun, but at the same time it prolly wouldn't have been an Oly either, just my 2 cents here

 

[RichardR]

This thread is very interesting, I dont kno much about about AR's and for somebody looking to get a new AR all you have is reviews and word of mouth, and if a lot of ppl have problems with a gun that I'm lookin at buying, I'm gonna stay away, despite any quality on it, gotta think, it takes at least 5 good reviews to make up for one bad one

Well AR's are "by design" generally accurate & reliable rifles, at least for the most part, there are exceptions to that rule, every AR manufacturer (even the higher-end ones) will put out the occasional lemon every once in awhile & then there are AR's made by Hesse, Vulcan & Blackthorne which are truly awful & should be avoided entirely, but as a general rule it's not really necessary to have to spend a lot of money to get an accurate & reliable AR.

 

[melensdad]

it's not hard to give a bad opinion to a product when the gun maker tells you all the problems with their rifles...

1/9 twist, chrome moly, 4140...I don't need to have experence with those kind of rifles to know I wouldn't go to war with them...

WOW what an arrogant and UNINFORMED statement you make about how its not hard to give a bad opinion, despite the fact that you don't have experience with the guns.

You say the manufacturer lists "problems" with their brand!?!

1/9 twist stabilizes bullets most often used by civilians, but you call that a problem? I think that is actually a benefit to MOST civilian shooters. How could it be a problem for civilians?

Chrome Moly is a problem for you? Well of the dozen or so AR's in my safes, all are either stainless or Chrome Moly ... absolutely NONE are chrome lined because I don't want to lose accuracy that chrome lining causes, further, WHEN (not if) chrome fails then the barrel is trash.

FWIW, I don't take my rifles to war. I take them out back and shoot them in the beanfield, the woods and various ranges. I've got many different brands including Olympic Arms, Sabre Defense, Charles Daly Defense, Alexander Arms, Cavalry Arms, RRA and several others. I've owned several other brands that I currently no longer own including several Bushmasters, etc.

...people like to give their opinions, specially when it's bad, on guns they have no exprience with.

Exactly. No different than back seat drivers and armchair quarterbacks.

 

[dwh79]

For my plinking my oly is great. I don't shoot it that much but it always goes bang and tosses the brass.

 

[INMIline]

Does anyone have any experience with the Olympic Arms Ar in 9mm? That's probably my next AR purchase.

 

[melensdad]

penetration testing is part of ballistics testing...not firearms testing...but yeah even the slightest difference in barrel length will drastically alter muzzle velocities.... 20" AR upper to 16" upper results in approximately a 500-600 fps loss...just for example

Whoa there fella, you got any proof to back up that wild claim

4" of barrel length reduction from 20" to 16" results in a claimed 500 to 600 fps loss in velocity on a 5.56 round? Seriously? I wanna see your proof. And by proof I mean some real chrono results or at least a few reliable sources confirming your claim.

The common "rule of thumb" for rifle barrels is roughly 35 to 50 fps loss in velocity per every 1" of reduced barrel length. But "rule of thumb" is always pretty rough and depends on many factors, in fact it even varies by caliber and its different with handguns.

My load data seems to be pretty close to the "rule of thumb" as my data shows LESS THAN A 200 fps LOSS in velocity from 20" down to 16". Still I would not expect you to believe my personal load data so here are some websites that have actually TESTED and CHRONOGRAPHED their loads.

Accurate Reloading website => The Effects Of Reducing The Barrel Length On Velocity And Accuracy In The 223 Remington

CounterStrike website test data => Effect of Barrel Length on Muzzle Velocity of 5.56x45 NATO ammunition

 

[the1kidd03]

WOW what an arrogant and UNINFORMED statement you make about how its not hard to give a bad opinion, despite the fact that you don't have experience with the guns.

You say the manufacturer lists "problems" with their brand!?!

1/9 twist stabilizes bullets most often used by civilians, but you call that a problem? I think that is actually a benefit to MOST civilian shooters. How could it be a problem for civilians?

Chrome Moly is a problem for you? Well of the dozen or so AR's in my safes, all are either stainless or Chrome Moly ... absolutely NONE are chrome lined because I don't want to lose accuracy that chrome lining causes, further, WHEN (not if) chrome fails then the barrel is trash.

FWIW, I don't take my rifles to war. I take them out back and shoot them in the beanfield, the woods and various ranges. I've got many different brands including Olympic Arms, Sabre Defense, Charles Daly Defense, Alexander Arms, Cavalry Arms, RRA and several others. I've owned several other brands that I currently no longer own including several Bushmasters, etc.




Exactly. No different than back seat drivers and armchair quarterbacks.

AGREED.....and on a further note with the chrome lined....military specifications only require the rifle barrel's life to last 6000 rounds...on top of that, government contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder.....so from this information alone I wouldn't put so much faith in them compared to civilian grade

 

[melensdad]

Does anyone have any experience with the Olympic Arms Ar in 9mm? That's probably my next AR purchase.

Yes, I have one. Has never failed. Its probably my favorite plinking AR. I use unmodified STEN submachine gun magazines, and I have a mag-wel block so I can use the STEN mags. Its a pretty simple set up, but the STEN mags are really hard to load.

I've been thinking about ordering some of the new Oly polymer magazines designed for the 9mm AR, it would eliminate the need for a mag block and also eliminate the thumb busting STEN mag springs.

 

[the1kidd03]

Whoa there fella, you got any proof to back up that wild claim

4" of barrel length reduction from 20" to 16" results in a claimed 500 to 600 fps loss in velocity on a 5.56 round? Seriously? I wanna see your proof. And by proof I mean some real chrono results or at least a few reliable sources confirming your claim.

The common "rule of thumb" for rifle barrels is roughly 35 to 50 fps loss in velocity per every 1" of reduced barrel length. But "rule of thumb" is always pretty rough and depends on many factors, in fact it even varies by caliber and its different with handguns.

My load data seems to be pretty close to the "rule of thumb" as my data shows LESS THAN A 200 fps LOSS in velocity from 20" down to 16". Still I would not expect you to believe my personal load data so here are some websites that have actually TESTED and CHRONOGRAPHED their loads.

Accurate Reloading website => The Effects Of Reducing The Barrel Length On Velocity And Accuracy In The 223 Remington

CounterStrike website test data => Effect of Barrel Length on Muzzle Velocity of 5.56x45 NATO ammunition

those numbers represent military issue 5.56 rounds....keep in mind that there are numerous variables in ballistics which can effect velocity, right down to the amount of moisture in the air....so your loaded ammo is going to vary quite a bit from different bullets, powders, etc, etc...but just for your sake I'll even go double check and find you some sources

 

[melensdad]

those numbers represent military issue 5.56 rounds....keep in mind that there are numerous variables in ballistics which can effect velocity, right down to the amount of moisture in the air....so your loaded ammo is going to vary quite a bit from different bullets, powders, etc, etc...but just for your sake I'll even go double check and find you some sources

Sorry but I have to raise the BS flag on your defense of the 500 to 600 fps loss. Its not correct.

I study ballistics as a hobby, in fact I was kicked off a jury because I knew more than the expert witness the defense had on the case.

Go find me proof. I know you won't be able to come up with ANY reliable sources. I don't care if you use 223 or 5.56.

 

[gunman41mag]

i always thought the rule of thumb was 50 fps per inch

 

[the1kidd03]

Sorry but I have to raise the BS flag on your defense of the 500 to 600 fps loss. Its not correct.

I study ballistics as a hobby, in fact I was kicked off a jury because I knew more than the expert witness the defense had on the case.

Go find me proof. I know you won't be able to come up with ANY reliable sources. I don't care if you use 223 or 5.56.

First off, let me apologize by saying I confused/crossed a couple of numbers when I was in a hurry making the reply which you're responding to. It is actually in the neighborhood of around 200 fps depending on your ammo specifics. In any case, for military purposes that's a significant loss which could result in not penetrating armor but for civilian use it doesn't make a huge difference at all until you reach extended ranges.

Beyond that, I too study ballistics. What county were you kicked off the jury in? The expert witness for Marion County happens to be my uncle.

 

[LPMan59]

AGREED.....and on a further note with the chrome lined....military specifications only require the rifle barrel's life to last 6000 rounds...on top of that, government contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder.....so from this information alone I wouldn't put so much faith in them compared to civilian grade

The lowest bidder that meets the standard. And that's it, lower end manf don't meet the standard and cut corners. Mpi for example is a qc checkpoint. It lowers the likely number of lemons that go out.

Its not line any jackass with a random frankengun can bid on govt contracts.

 

[03A3]

Now that I know the real truth I can sell off all of the Colt, LMT and BCM stuff to one of those delusional "chart readers" and buy me some real guns.
Oly here I come!!!!!!!