Thanks Blankwolf - you are right. We all can obsess with the slightest non-functional issues. I am happy for my son though, as I did not 'know' as much at the time, and got his SMith based on the deal - but he can feel good about his f/f and the Smith warranty ought to last him for a long time.
I got mine for $935 shipped, so I think I did fine.
I'll have to see how things are at the range. Lubed the trigger with Miltec and Tetra.
Interesting how things price out. For the most part there are likely three 'tiers' of ARs out there. You pay a bit of a premium for the milspec bolt and CHF barrel.
I will probably order some L5 mags from BCM todat, and maybe the Magpul grip and stock. I may wait on the forearm, and think more about FF.
In any case, stock setup is fine as is for now. Amazing - back in the day, I the standard M4 setup was WAYYY COOOOL. Now, one 'needs' all the bells and whistles.
Again, you are right about f/f , etc. But... can I tighten the stock lever somehow? If not, I guess I can go magpul, or use my sons SMith, which at least carries the milspec tube.

