Pre-ban Oly Arms AR15 : Go? - No Go?

H

Hopeless Diamond

Inactive
Greetings TFL. First-time poster, long-time lurker.

I have the opportunity to pick-up a NIB pre-ban Olympic Arms CAR-15 for about $1300. I've heard that with pre-bans, it's always a good idea to verify the heritage by getting documentation from the manufacturer that the weapon was indeed a fully assembled weapon as of 09/13/1994.

On June 2000, there was a fire at the Olympic Arms headquarters/factory that destroyed much of facilities as well as their written manufacturing and inventory records.

As a result, on their corporate website, Olympic Arms states: http://www.olyarms.com/usa.html

"We CANNOT provide you with the date the serial number was shipped, we CANNOT provide you with information determining whether a particular serial number was a factory assembled weapon, and most importantly, we CANNOT determine whether or not your particular serial number is a legal grandfathered pre-ban assault weapon. "

They do however provide a listing of serial number ranges referenced to a range of possible manufacturing dates. The rifle I'm looking at is within the preban range.

But, taking into account Olympic Arms' stance on the matter, should I pass go on the purchase to avoid any issues of legality? Or is this such a non-issue that I should just stop worrying and fork over the cash?

Thanks for any advice or insights.
 
At a minimum, I'd get a written statement from the seller that this was indeed a fully assembled rifle before the date of the Crime Bill. If he is unable or unwilling to supply such a statement, I think I'd pass.
 
I don't want to toss gas on a fire but I have a question.

If the serial number is in the range that makes the lower receiver a pre-ban, what difference does it make if it was sold as a stripped lower or complete rifle. I mean, how could any of us -prove- that unless you have some kind of certified letter? Let's say you bought an AR-15 in '87 second hand from a private seller, how would you be expected to prove it was a complete rifle at that time? Seems like a lot of worrying over nothing. Remember, if you're going to be charged with something it is up to the government to prove it's case, not you.

Joe
 
PreBan OlyArms AR

I'd pass on it based on my experience with the Oly Arms rifles. Some(some) do shoot very well but their quality control is very, inconsistent. A well known problem with Olympic arms is that frequently buyers will purchase a preban lower and assemble a new "preban" ar and sell it as a NIB Pre Ban($1200-1400 but really only worth ~$600)! Problem with this of course is that many did not work without the OLY Arms Gunsmith reworking on them. I had this problem and had my rifle for 2 years before I finally sold it last month. It sure looked new when I bought it, was very tight for an AR, definitely preban Lower but upper was unknown. It was not reliable for the first 500 rds in rapid fire and the best it shot was 6 MOA on 'one' occasion at 100 yds. It sure looked nice but I couln't make it shoot. I hate to share this since the Gunsmith Steve Houseman at OlyArms is a real swell guy and did most of the work on my gun "free" but it was a very frustrating experience nevertheless. I'd recommend an Armalite AR or Bushmaster now. Good luck what ever your choice.
 
racine knows what he is talking about...

Also, $1300 is also a very high price for a preban Oly, even if it is "verified." You are getting into Bushmaster and Colt country for that kind of money.
 
If you are concerned about legalities at all, then you must consider not only the overall "is it legal?" question, but the "can I afford to defend myself against the Feds" question.

Often we go on and on here about whether some firearm detail could get us into trouble w/ ATF. But we forget to think about the costs of even _beginning_ that journey.

If it is not absolutely unambiguous in terms of legality, I wouldn't bother with it. I can't afford the lawyer fees required to get ATF off my back.

Of course if ATF played fair we wouldn't have to worry about such things. But they don't play fair, do they?

Bayonet lugs are useless, so is it really worth having a flash hider and collapsible stock in exchange for such legal exposure? I don't think so.

Again, if you're the type who says "I don't care; they'll never check up on me", then you wouldn't have asked the question in the first place. So I would examine whether those 2 "evil" features are worth the hassle.

Besides, you can get a fully tricked out NIB postban Bushmaster for a _lot_ less.
 
as an aside, i saw 3 washington state patrol prebans at a gun show last fall,
they were Colts, in range, and $1100.

For 1300 bucks i would want a factory gun
 
For $1300 you can buy 2 post ban guns. I have both pre-ban and post ban guns from Olympic, and don't think the bad guy, will care which one I use.
 
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