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Olympic Arms OA-93
The OA-93, OA-96 and OA-98 Pistols
- 1993: Olympic Arms made an AR-15 pistol called the OA-93 which had a barrel shroud and the first model Phantom flash hider. Then the Omnibus Crime Bill of 1994 (also known as the Clinton Federal Assault weapon Ban) outlawed the OA-93 a short while after it's introduction. However, the OA-93 was still made available available to Title II dealers and Law Enforcement in both semi and select fire modes.
- 1996: As a result of the banning of specific cosmetic details, Olympic Arms released the OA-96 Pistol, which had a permanently pinned 10 round magazine (which "looked like a 30 round magazine"), thus not being 'detachable' the OA-96 could keep the barrel shroud and flash hider. Sales were dismal however, and few were made. No one wanted a pistol that you had to disassemble in order to reload. There are no documented cases of an OA-96 appearing in any film or television show.
- 1998: In an attempt to built another pistol that 'could' have a detachable magazine, Olympic Arms released the OA-98 Pistol, which had the look of a 'skeleton' in that most of the metal and plastic had been cut away, to keep the pistol under the arbitrary "50 oz. weight limit" imposed by the Clinton Ban. Once under this weight limit, they could add the detachable magazine and still not be an assault weapon. But the flash hider and barrel heat shield had to go. Arguably one the ugliest pistols on the planet (and called that by many firearms authors), it too did not sell well. There are no documented cases of an OA-98 appearing in any film or television show so far.
Most AR15 pistols seen in television and movies may either be a Freedom Arms 7" AR15 Pistol or the same gun as a kit built on another manufacturer's registered Full auto lower receiver, or the Olympic Arms OA-93. The OA-93 was unique in that it sported a 6.5" barrel and the distinctive recoil assembly above the upper receiver, which eliminated the need for a buffer tube with spring.
What is interesting is that in most (if not all) appearances of the Olympic Arms OA-93, there is a small buffer tube attached to the upper receiver, a feature that is NOT part of the OA-93 system. Movie armorers had difficulty making the OA-93 cycle blanks, so they added the small buffer tube to the back of the gun, however the original gun doesn't have a buffer tube.
Specifications
(1993-present)
Type: Pistol
Caliber: 5.56x45mm NATO
Capacity: 20,30,40 round box magazine (STANAG Magazines)
Fire Modes: Safe/Semi
The Olympic Arms 6.5" AR-15 pistol aka "OA-93" can be seen in the following movies, television series, and video games used by the following actors:
Film
- Willem Dafoe as John Clark in Clear and Present Danger
- Will Smith as Detective Mike Lowrey in Bad Boys
- Michael Jai White as Spawn in Spawn
- "Human Tank" in Lethal Weapon 4
- Two-Face's thugs in Batman Forever
- Cucuy's thugs in Once upon a time in Mexico
- Colton's thugs in Bulletproof
- Antonio Banderas as El Mariachi in Once Upon a Time in Mexico
- William Fichtner as Officer Engelman in Strange Days
- During the final firefight, one of Yero's (John Ortiz) henchmen in Miami Vice
Television
- Bank robbers in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (episode: "Inside the Box", fitted with telescoping stock)
Video Game
- Frank Castle(Thomas Jane) in The Punisher