olympic arms, out of business

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stuckinthe60s

New member
I got this notice. fyi............

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATTENTION:
After more than 40 years of business, it is with great sorrow that we announce that February 28th, 2017 will be the last day of operation for Olympic Arms, Inc.

The Schuetz family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to all their friends, associates, and partners that have been a part of the Olympic Arms experience. Most of all we would like to thank our loyal customers and patrons who have been with us all this time.

In the course of closing, we are announcing the following changes in policy effective immediately:
1. All sales are final.
2. No refunds or returns will be accepted after 1-25-2017.
3. All Warranty service ceases 1-25-2017. Warranty work and repairs currently in-house will be serviced and returned.
4. New orders will only be taken for inventory currently in stock, or that can be built from remaining inventory.
5. All inventory will be liquidated.
6. ALL SALES will cease at close of business 28 February, 2017

Thank you for your patronage.
 
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Skans

Active member
Wow - what happened there? I haven't heard much about Olympic Arms lately, but it was sort of ahead of its time, providing a cheap alternative to Colt AR's.
 
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Fla_dogman

New member
It's sad to hear, I really like mine and was planning on buying another one this summer.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
 
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surveyor

New member
I'm sad to hear it.
They had offerings that others did not.
A umar, wssm chamberings, 308 bolt faces in a ar 15, and reciever extensions
A 22-250 in a ar 15,
 
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Seven62

New member
What? Unbelievable! I've been making fools out of experts with my K16 for 10 years now. This is terrible. We don't need to lose great American companies.
 
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Fishbed77

New member
We don't need to lose great American companies.
Click to expand...

There is nothing great about Olympic's past behavior:

http://www.thegunzone.com/762x39.html

The basic fact is that many American AR manufacturers today offer a better product for lower prices. Olympic both brought the ire of gun owners and failed to adapt to the market, and thus they withered away. The free market at work.
 
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9x19

New member
I wouldn't give a nickels worth of credence to anything that website says, but I'm not surprised to hear an AR15 maker is closing shop... the surprise will be if they are the only one this year!

Too many makers for a shrinking market (panic is over for the next few years).
 
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Bartholomew Roberts

Moderator
After 40 years, they may just not be interested in doing it any more. My first AR15 was an Olympic 11.5" stainless steel heavy barrel with a 5" flashhider and an A2 upper. Not super practical; but fun.
 
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stuckinthe60s

New member
I remember when all it was was colt and Olympic arms.
seems too many pokers are in the fire competing for your cash these days.
I would conclude the ones with military contracts are the cock of the walk these days. all else are wanna-bes. and smart businessmen bail when its the right thing to do.
 
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rickyrick

New member
Well with the low prices now, I suspect others will fall by the wayside as well.

I haven't bought a lick of gun stuff since the election. A lot of companies are almost giving pmags away to get you to purchase stuff. I got and offer for "50 pack" of AR stripped lowers.
 
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FrankenMauser

New member
...I'm not surprised to hear an AR15 maker is closing shop... the surprise will be if they are the only one this year!

Too many makers for a shrinking market (panic is over for the next few years).
Click to expand...
Yep.
I have a family member that recently changed career fields and went to work for a local AR builder and 'tactical' training company.
Though I'm glad the person is happy, and it brought some cool perks to the family (such as thousands of pounds of free brass, and free range time at a private training facility); as soon as they took the job, I had to wonder about the future with that company.

The market is over-saturated, and not everyone will, or even can survive.
 
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Fishbed77

New member
I wouldn't give a nickels worth of credence to anything that website says, but I'm not surprised to hear an AR15 maker is closing shop... the surprise will be if they are the only one this year!
Click to expand...

Whether you give credence or not doesn't change the fact that it is well-known that Olympic is directly responsible for the ban of quite a bit of inexpensive surplus 7.62x39mm ammo.
 
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9x19

New member
Whether you give credence or not doesn't change the fact that it is well-known that Olympic is directly responsible for the ban of quite a bit of inexpensive surplus 7.62x39mm ammo.
Click to expand...

Baloney, Olympic Arms doesn't have that kind of regulatory power. The ATF is the agency responsible for the ban of the cheap steel core ammo... and ultimately it was Congress who crafted the law and the voters who put them in place.
 
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stuckinthe60s

New member
my only purpose in posting this was to ensure anyone contemplating buying an Olympic arms was made aware of the fact it was going oob and that it wouldn't be supported.
that goes for new or used, because im sure we're going to see a surge of them in the for sale ads, as people dump them.
I hope it helped.
 
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Glenn E. Meyer

New member
The ammo debate about Olympic was that they made an AR pistol in that caliber despite the fact that they were warned such an action would lead to a ban of the ammo. Other folks told them, the ATF told them.

They went ahead with it.

If this is an accurate representation or not someone can correct it.
 
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9x19

New member
Sure they were the first to build a 7.62x39 pistol, but somebody bought it... and someone else would have built it.

Maybe blame can go to the KTW guys for making "armor piercing" handgun ammo, but it especially belongs to the legiscritters who passed the law banning it... and again to the ATF for applying that "handgun ammo" law to the 7.62x39...

They threatened the same with 5.56 recently but were held in check by smarter folks this time.
 
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Fishbed77

New member
Baloney, Olympic Arms doesn't have that kind of regulatory power. The ATF is the agency responsible for the ban of the cheap steel core ammo... and ultimately it was Congress who crafted the law and the voters who put them in place.
Click to expand...

Olympic was well aware of the regulations that were in place at the time of their decision, and were thus responsible for the outcome.

The ammo debate about Olympic was that they made an AR pistol in that caliber despite the fact that they were warned such an action would lead to a ban of the ammo. Other folks told them, the ATF told them.

They went ahead with it.
Click to expand...

This is, by all accounts, correct. Of course, historical facts aren't always known to sway those who cling to "alternative facts". An overzealous ATF agent looking for a career boost at the expense of our collective rights exacerbated the situation, but Olympic was, by all accounts, aware of this situation.

Sure they were the first to build a 7.62x39 pistol, but somebody bought it... and someone else would have built it.
Click to expand...

Plenty of manufacturers may have considered building a 7.62x39 pistol, but didn't. In being the first, Olympic justifiably received the scorn they deserved. Not unlike the bozos recently who tried to market a 5.45x39 pistol, leading to the banning of cheap and plentiful 7N6.

There is no doubt that these laws are idiotic and draconian, and we should all be working to overturn them. But as long as they exist we have to follow them and be intelligent about how they are applied. Olympic wasn't.


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