Home AR-15 Olympic OA96 Pistol: A Loophole in the Assault Weapons Ban

Olympic OA96 Pistol: A Loophole in the Assault Weapons Ban

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In 1993, Olympic Arms introduced an AR-15 with a side folding stock, as well as a stockless – and buffer-tube-less – pistol version. They did this by relocating the recoil spring of the AR to a tube running above the barrel and receiver. It was a clever modification (although the execution left something to be desired), but it came at a very unfortunate time. The very next year, in 1994, the US Assault Weapons Ban was enacted and Olympic’s pistols were prohibited from production.

However, Olympic recognized that the definition of “assault pistol” was based first on a semiautomatic handgun with a detachable magazine. If the magazine were not detachable, the gun was not an “assault pistol”, regardless of any other features it might have. So they introduced the OA-96 in 1996, with a 30-round fixed magazine, as well as a barrel shroud, pistol grip, and flash suppressor. In order to reload it, they incorporated a button to easy hinge the upper receiver open, allowing access to the magazine.

This was a slick workaround, but of course what they and their customers really wanted was a detachable magazine. Olympic went immediately to work on that, and introduced the OA-98 two years later…

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22 COMMENTS

  1. This is proabaly the coolest guy with a genuine interest in what hes doing but also in mind of his viewers, great job, biggest selection ive seen covered. ex armoured cav, so do more on armoured crew weapons like our L22A2

  2. Wouldn't it just be easier to incorporate the spring into the BCG instead of adding that brick of a spring housing to the top?? Also you'd think they'd at least weld the mag at the bottom as well instead of cramming JB weld in the gap. Maybe this is why Olympic isn't very popular… The story behind it intrigued me more than the gun this time. Lol.

  3. Kinda related/unrelated comment, in Brazil we had a ban on bars and liquours shops, forcing 'em to close at one point during the night. So people would close, wait 5-10 minutes, and open again. Law loopholes are awesome.

  4. Don't like you using the word "allowed". We don't need the gov't permission to carry a rifle, a pistol "or something in-between".
    unConstitutional 1934 nat'l firearms act notwithstanding.

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