Pics of Olympic Arms/SAW AR15.

[DaveN]

Steel core? Is that what the green tip heavy penetrators by federal are?

[jmm7552]

WOW, you have number S0095 and I have number S0097. I bought mine sometime in 1985 or 86 just before the law change in the US on machine guns. I converted mine to full auto. As far as I know I am the first owner of this gun. Thanks for your pixs.

[kosmolinekid]

Funny I just dug mine out of the Safe today. I was wondering about the Quality . I have a Pre-Ban I bought back in the early 90s . I had it built by a local AR man L & G Weaponry here in HB.
I rarely shot it as I was too paranoid to shoot it because it has all the Pre-Ban features . I too heard negative things about them . I also own an E.A. Essential Arms that I have heard negative things about . I bought them both about the same time. This was before everybody started making ARs . The only neat thing is they are both Pre-Bans and are not restricted to the cosmetic changes .

[browningautorifle]

I never heard negatives about the Olympic until I came on line. I had one and it didn't miss a beat. Half the time I believe it's user fault. You should take both yours out and wring them out. Bet you'll find there's nothing wrong with them.

[Rumpelhardt]

We did have a thread here a couple years back about people slandering Olympic products...don't know what that was all about...

I think with a few it's all about if it doesn't say Colt or a few other "upper tier" brand names on it it can't possibly be any good.

[imarangemaster]

Bad reps about early Essential Arms (cast) lowers and SGW lowers and parts is nothing but "know it all," fake AR Guru snobbery! There are so many, so called "experts," it makes me sick. most have a vested interest in selling you the $1000 optics, high dollar billet lowers, and overpriced barrels and uppers of the companies that sponsor them.

I had built many platforms with both lowers, and SGW parts during the 80s and 90s, and they were great. In fact, I really like the Essential Arms cast lowers, as they were anodized in the early XM Grey that matched early Colt uppers. Sweet rifles.

They only real improvement that has been made in the AR platform since 1962 is the 1/7 twist barrel and 77 grain OTM MK262 Mod 1 ammo. The thought of an A1 build with a 1/7 twist pencil barrel gives me a woody! That's why I put a 1/7 barrel on my slab-side carbine clone.

[jmoore]

My Essential Arms lowers are fine, one's a very snug fit to almost all uppers, but I've seen SGW lowers with the mag wells positioned too far forward. Enough that the front edge of metal magazines will hang up against the bottom surface of "in spec." uppers. Usually can be sorted by filing a bevel on the upper, but it's not an ideal situation. Otherwise, the SGW lowers from the '80s seemed OK.