Which AR? Olympic or Alex Pro?

[PowderBurn14]

I plan to buy an AR rifle soon. I decided to go with an assembled rifle instead of building. I have narrowed down my search to Olympic or Alex Pro in .300 Blackout. Can anyone vouch for the quality and accuracy of these brands?

[UnaStamus]

What was the criteria used to narrow your choice down to those two rifles? In other words, why those two and not others?

[Scratch]

You might want to rethink your definition of "soon" with the elections coming up. You may not have a choice "soon".

I would also open your mind to other brands as well.

[2in2out]

I like APF, simply because it's the "home team", being made in Minnesota. I believe they're above average quality for the price. I use a Vortex Strikefire on my APF, and that does well (within the limitations of the optic).

The last I looked (before their anniversary sale), Arnzen had APF rifles in stock (at least, they did online). I would speak to them in person, since things could've changed significantly after last weekend.

Southwest Arms has a running list of what's in stock on their web site, but they don't carry APF. They do have other brands, and I think it would be worth talking with John before making a decision.

As Scratch said, I wouldn't sit on this decision very long - an hour, maybe two at the most.....

[Vlad]

I cannot speak to the Alex Pro. I have two Olympic rifles and am very happy with both.

[UnaStamus]

If I were buying to support the "home team", I'd be buying JP or Nordic. Nordic is for sale at Southwest Arms, I might add.

Olympic has issues with tolerance stacking, among the other issues common with the lower tier of ARs. Similar issues that you see with DPMS, Bushmaster, Core15, et al.

I can't speak to Alex Pro, but the fact that I have heard absolutely nothing about them troubles me. I'm gonna throw out some more inquiries to my contacts and see if I come up with anything substantive.


You have one week to buy a rifle. Do your research quickly and get the money ready to buy now. Remember the days post-Sandy Hook where idiots were paying $2k at WalMart for a $700 Bushmaster? Yeah, that is potentially coming in two weeks.
Don't waste your time buying a .300BLK specific rifle. You can get a .300BLK upper any time. The key is to get the receiver right now. If you buy the whole gun, do it fast. Don't expect to wait a couple weeks and find something if Killary steals the election. Unless the rifle is readily available to you now, or you are fine waiting 6 months + for a rifle, go buy whatever is in stock. Preferable from a quality manufacturer.

[Snakeman721]

Kinda off topic....what is "tolerance stacking"? Sorry, I never heard the term.

[UnaStamus]

Kinda off topic....what is "tolerance stacking"? Sorry, I never heard the term.

For any part, there is a minimum and maximum tolerance. Let's say the ideal diameter of a pin is .154", which is the size of a mil-spec trigger pin on an AR15. For a top tier rifle manufacturer, the trigger pin hole must be .154". For other companies, their tolerances may allow them to have .154"-.156" pin holes.
Conversely, say a company has a hypothetical tolerance that allows a +/-.050" variance in size. If you have a 0.00 on both, it will be a perfect fit. Conversely, if you have a +.050" on one and -.050" with the other half, you likely will have a solid fit. However, if any of the tolerances are off from that even split, you have fit problems relating to tolerance stacking. A loose tolerance on both upper and lower receiver is what causes a rifle to rattle.

There are products on the market that exist because of tolerance stacking. The "Accu-Wedge" was created for loose tolerances between upper and lower receivers. Anti-walk pins were created for rifles with loose tolerances on the trigger and hammer pin holes. Oversized pins were also created for loose tolerance trigger and hammer pin holes.

When you have loose tolerances, it can affect accuracy, or it can cause the rifle to wear abnormally and you will see premature component damage/failure.
On the flip side, too tight of tolerances can cause difficulty in disassembly and maintenance. It can also increase friction and also cause excess premature wear.

Tolerance stacking is very common in lower and middle tier manufacturers. I have had to hammer the take-down pins out of several rifles when new. I've also held some that were so loose they sounded like maracas when you shook them.

[cs tunes]

I can't speak to the Olympic but my APF 16" has been trouble free and shoots well IMO. It's a .75MOA rifle with coyote rounds (55gr ballistic tip) and not a lot better with match ammo. Good enough for what it is and it's price. I shot it stock one time before it got a Geissele but the trigger was standard Mil Spec. Upper/lower fit is not as snug as some of the higher end AR's but that's what the accu wedge was made for. Mine has been a well shooting, trouble free rifle thus far. I'd certainly not be afraid to buy another one.

[Hmac]

Accuracy isn't the best way to judge the quality of an AR-type rifle. Yes, even a consumer-grade budget rifle like APF has to have a certain level of accuracy, but the true determiner of quality is wear and reliability.

In order to meet that budget price point, corners have to be cut. So when you're buying that level of rifle, you have to wonder where they made those choices. Usually it's in the selection of the parts and in the quality control. The tolerance stacking UnaStamus talks about can result in lower reliability, increased wear. May not show up for a thousand rounds. In many cases, that's ok because the people buying those budget rifles often only put a couple of hundred rounds through them a year. I like having top quality tools. I buy Milwaukee drills rather than house brand from Harbor Freight. I make the same kind of choices in firearms.

UnaStamus also makes a good point about the ,300BLK. If Hillary wins, uppers aren't likely to be restricted because they're not a firearm. Lowers are. Those will be hard to get if she can get enough of the American public to ignore that fact that she's a slimey criminal. It may be pointless because she would likely succeed ultimately in making possession of an "assault rifle" illegal. But whatever, firearms are certain to be expensive and hard to find starting about a week from now.

[gaberelli]

As far as I'm concerned, APF is good to go. I use their parts for my builds. I like how they make 6.8 SPC bolts and I've never received an out of spec part.


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[shooter115]

I'd go APF.

[Tronster]

Buy quality and cry once. Olympic is regarded as budget grade, never heard of Alex Pro. Any reason you've fixated on .330 blkout? It's more of a niche cartridge ideally suited for suppressed SBR's, but 5.56 opens up many more options and is much cheaper to shoot.

I know you said you want fully assembled, but if you purchase the upper and lower separate you only have to pay the 11% federal excise tax on the lower. With just a few tools you could even assemble your own lower and then slap on a quality upper. But if you want an AR, you better act in the next couple days. Stuff is already starting to get snatched up.

[Squib Joe]

I've sold hundreds of APF rifles and as far as I know not a single one has had a warranty or accuracy issue.

On the other hand, I've sent back more than a couple Oly Arms rifles in the past. I no longer stock them.

[Ghost]

Nobody asked what the intended use is?

Buy the one you like and can get, do it before Tuesday.