Ha! I'll keep an eye out for this 'Tom' you speak of... ;) I've been reading up on 308 AR's and quickly realized that with no mil spec there are variations between makes. So I joined here to learn as much about my new obsession as possible...I'm going to love this forum! Well this may as good a thread as any to ask this question... I'm looking for a rifle that out of the box is: • highly reliable • reasonably accurate (not match) • uses the most common, readily available type of mags • forward assist. I considered DPMS but have read that they can have some feeding issues due to roughly finished chambers. I don't mind spending a bit more to get there without going into KAC territory. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!