Olympic Arms Service Match Review

[Jaeger]

I decided to join the ranks of the poodle shooters at the highpower matches and give my M1A a rest. I was all set to purchase a Bushmaster CMP gun when one of my local dealers got in a brand new Olympic Arms Service Match rifle. It looked and felt great and the price was right so I bought it.

It has a 4 groove, broach cut 1/8" twist stainless barrel, 1/4" match sights, CMP legal free floating handguards, and a 4.5lb trigger.

The fit between the upper and lower receivers is as tight as I've ever seen on an AR. It is tighter than my Bushmaster M4. The Rock River that I carry at work is close. The Colts don't even come close!
The finish is a dark black oxide over the entire rifle. It is evenly applied and everything matches in color.
The trigger is a tuned standard trigger. It has a tiny bit of creep and a very crisp 4.5lb let off.
The rifle looks and feels like a quality piece.

I started it's break in yesterday with a mixed lot of UMC 55gr ball, Remington 55gr Powerlocked HP, Federal Premium 55gr HP and 1 handload consisting of RP cases, CCI Benchrest primers, 25.3 gr. of Varget and an old (pre J4) Nosler 68 gr. BTHP match bullet.

The UMC and Remington hovered around 1.5" at 100 yds. off of the bench. The Federal was closer to 1.25". My handload put 10 rounds into just over 1" with 6 of them going into .80". Again, this is with iron sights off of a bench rest. This is also during the rifle's break in regimen.

The sight adjustments seemed to track very close to 1/4" at 100.

The rifle holds and handles extremely well with the buttstock weight installed. I wouldn't want to carry it far with the weights in it but for match shooting it is perfect.

So far I am highly impressed with this rifle. Olympic seems to be putting out a very high quality product.

The dealer also got in some Plinkers as well as a PCR1 Ultramatch as well as a few other PCR varients. The Ultramatch looks phenominal. The plinker, even with it's supposedly imferior cast receiver looks to be solid and well made. These are just observations from handling them in the shop so take it for what it's worth.

 

[Steve Smith]

Thanks for the review. I know you have nothing to compare it to, but I'd like to know how solid the float tube is. The Oly float tube has long been an issue with the gun because of its weak design, allowing seasoned HP shooters to bend it easily in prone position. I have heard that they recently strengthened them considerably.

 

[Jaeger]

You are correct. I don't have another match AR to compare it to.

I have shot about 30 rounds slung up in prone. There were no signs of flex or movement. I was slung in pretty tight.

I'll keep an eye on it and post any further observations. It seems like a pretty solid setup. If it does bend Olympic has a lifetime warrentee but I hope not to need it.

The barrel is very smooth and I can detect no tight spots when running a tight patch through the barrel. I would like to build a 25 yd. range in my yard and use my Ciener .22lr conversion kit for practice. Would anyone see any detrimental effects of running copper plated 22lr ammo through the rifle? THis would allow me to get a whole lot of cheap practice in my own back yard. I certainly need the practice!!

 

[Steve Smith]

I will warn you that many times folks are very dissatisfied with a Ceiner conversion when it comes to HP practice. There is a .002" difference in bore diameter between the RF and CF cartridges and it actually shows up on paper when you try to shoot RF. You may get lucky, but you may wind up getting a complete .22RF upper like I did. They are very pricey (more than your complete gun) but worth it. Wiht proper ammo mine will x-out (5 shots) a M-51 smallbore target at 50 meters (maybe yards, haven't asked). That is basically a 1/3" group. Wish I could always hold that well!

Please keep us posted on the tube, as that was the #1 reason that Olys were never recommended to newbies. Several guys had them break in the middle of matches!

 

[Jaeger]

I know not to expect match quality accuracy from the Ciener. It is adaquate, nothing more. I figure that it should be accurate enough at 25 yds. to practice the basics. I don't get to the range as much as I would like to (or need to) so I figured that it would be better than nothing.

I am only shooting in the 450's (at least with my M1A) so I need all the practice I can get! One day I'd like to go to Perry and not embarrass myself!

I'll keep a close eye on the tube. Do you know where the weak spot is supposed to be?

 

[Steve Smith]

450 out of 500 in an across-the-couse match is nothing to be ashamed of. That is an Expert score. Hell, I am still an Expert because I find a way to have a bad match every time I start looking for a Master card in the mail!

I can only assume that the stress point is at the nut.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Thanks for the product review. I've bought from Oly before and have been happy with their products. No lowers though.

BTW Steve, if you want your Master card, a lot of banks are offering them. I get offers for Mastercard all the time that I shred.

 

[Jaeger]

My local clubs only shoot the 100 and 200 yard reduced courses so it's a bit easier than the full course. Even so I often find ways of screwing up my score! The last match I shot I turned 450 into a 422 by putting the first 2 shots of rapid sitting into my sighter target! (no target pits)

 

[Jaeger]

I have done a bunch of dry fire practice at home. So far there are no signs of flexing or weakness in the float tube. I guess time will tell.

I have run into a few chambering problems with my handloads. I am sure they are entirely my fault and should have the problem figured out shortly.

The trigger had developed more creep. If this continues I may be making a call to Olympic.

Preliminary results with some old 68gr Nosler BTHP bullets and 25.3 gr. of Varget are impressive. Using a POS carry handle scope that kept shifting it's point of impact, I put 3 rounds into .22", 5 into .5" and a sixth opening it up to .9".

The barrel barely holds any jacket fouling and is very easy to clean.

Who makes a GOOD carry handle scope mount? I would like to use a scope for load developement and am tired of Chinese junk!

 

[Jaeger]

I am up to 210 rounds now. (not including the 30 rnds of rimfire with the Ciener)

The rifle is breaking in nicely. The barrel is a breeze to clean and almost seems immune to jacket fouling! I fired 60 rounds today without cleaning and there was almost no jacket fouling to be found at the end of the session.

The occasional FTF due to sticky chambering has gone away. I don't know if it is because the rifle is settling in or my handloads have gotten better. (perhaps a bit of both)

Accuracy hovers around .75" to 1" with iron sights. The load is essentially the same except I am using 69gr. J4s now. I suspect that the rifle is capable of even better accuracy with a bit of load tuning.

Still no signs of weakness in the float tube. The trigger needs to be tweaked but is still pretty good.

The rifle continues to impress.

 

[Jaeger]

The rifle is approaching 600 rounds.

I've been able to shoot is in 2 matches so far. The first was a Marine Corps League match and I shot it in a Highpower match today. (472 4x today! ) I let my neighbor use it for his first highpwer shoot today also. He shot a 340. Not bad for the first time in competition and his first time shooting an AR!

Copper fouling continues to be almost nonexistant. Point of impact does not change as the barrel heats up. The sight adjustments remain consistant and repeatable. Accuracy is outstanding!

My only complaint is the tiny bit of creep in the trigger. It's only really noticable in slow fire prone.

Olympic makes a top notch rifle!

 

[Steve Smith]

Good shooting, and good news on the rifle!