Reddot,
Wayne covered things pretty darn well in his post, but I'll add my observations.
First, we all agree that the powder coating is a little cheesy, but when you weigh that against the cost of the alternative, and the fact that the alternative has a pretty poor choice of calibers, it becomes a no brainer for me. If you liken it to performance automotives, most folks start with the engine, and paint is way down on the list. If you get grief at the range from your cosmetic friends, just pop in different barrel and ask them if theirs will do that.
With regards to the "engine", it does indeed perform. I have had 4 different barrels in mine, all from different makers, and all work wonderfully. The levers should close fairly snuggly up to the edge of the detent, and then take a bit of force to get over the detent. All of my barrels are snug, all shoot as well as they did in their prior upper and I couldn't be happier.
What I have found with the POA/POI repeatability is that I am well less than 1 moa switching barrels and my Nightforce rings (mount). What I have found is that each barrel will have it's own POI that may differ from the others. I have three barrels that are close to the same settings on my scope, and one that "shoots" a couple 3 inches left at 100 yards (my only true Colt barrel
).
Who would have thought that the 5.56 (pistol and rifle) and 458 Socom are that close at 100 yards with the same scope and rings? I have my scope and Aimpoint set up for the 3 barrels, and have my clicks recorded for all of them. When I put in the Colt barrel, I just click over. The others are only a click or two from being perfect, which is as much variation as you can get with any rifle, combining the variables of load, wind and environment, shooting positions etc. The Nightforce scope makes clicking a snap. Well marked, positive and repeatable.
As I primarily hunt and plink with my system, it is simply a matter of changing the barrel, making the small click adjustments and I am good to go for most hunting distances. When I am planning a major hunt, I take the gun out and double check zeros, as i would with any other hunting firearm. It has always been minute of critter at distances I would normally shoot. My only caveat to this is long range prairie dogging. Could I pop in my 5.56 cold and hit a dog at 300 yards on the first shot? Probably, but I can only guarantee that it will be pretty darn close on the first shot. Now the second shot, they better run for cover. But then a PD is pretty tiny at 300 yards. There was a time when I had to have that first shot at 300 yards, but taken in light of the entire QCB system and its flexibility, I'm learning, livin' and luving it.
Craig
Edit: Forgot to mention, Tom got called a used car salesman, and is now in hiding. Trust me, that was actually quite a complement to the Car salesmen out there. If there were more folks out there like Tom and Mack who sold, preached and stood behind their products, we would all be much better off.