AFAIK, the S&Ws were never made by BushHampster. One should run screaming from a third tier maker. Early S&Ws had a few warts, but the later production have come out well - check out Pat's SWAT article on the testing done by using them in his classes. I think he owns a couple, which is a message.

I don't have the specific knowledge of the S/N cutoff point at which S&W really ramped up their QC, but if I were inclined to get one, I'd snoop around and get the info and not be too concerned about having the Smith. However, the 6920 is the default. As for Rob's chart, none of the info he uses or compares is secret squirrel stuff.

It depends on your usage needs. If you are buying an EBR to piss off the hoplophobes, do what you want. If you plan to use it seriously, run it in a few classes with Pat, Jeff Gonzales, and other serious folks as part of using it as a fighting tool, invest the time in learning what matters, and consider the $4-500 well spent.

At a minimum, 1/7 twist, true 5.56 chamber, M4 feedramps, FA bolt group, proper staking, etc, are your friends. Look at the chart, and get as close as possible to the 6920.

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NHI, 10-8.