Yes, it appears that it is getting less love and respect than the Sport dod when it first came out! I think the Sport is the better buy on paper, interested in seeing some reports on the Colt.

I'm not sure that the 1:8 barrel on the Colt is any better than the 1:9 twist on the Sport. Both have traditional rifling, so I doubt there is a whole lot of difference. The Colt barrel is not lined, where the Sport is melonite treated, so for barrel quality, I would give the Sport the nod. I know that unlined barrels can be very accurate, but since Melonite is a metal treatment and not a coating, accuracy is not affected and the barrel is protected more against heat and corrosion.

The barrel on the Colt is free floated though. Colt is an optics ready model, where the Sport has sights that can be used right out of the box. Neither model has the forward assist or dust cover, and both have the integrated trigger guard.

I guess the real question is who makes the Colt, and are they going to stand behind the rifle? With the Smith, we know who makes it and we know that the internals are the same as their other models, and the MSRP for the Sport is less.

I bet either rifle would serve the needs of most shooters though. Keep us posted on how the two compare.