With regard to your way of thinking, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. No need to correct an opinion that directly reflects your own experience and way of thinking brother, we're all individuals with our own personality, it is what it is. I think your fix was pretty creative actually, if it takes your weapon from a less than desirable standpoint to one where you can personally rely on it, nobody needs more than that. I can't stand brand snobbery either, but I've learned from my own experience why reputation is the vitality of a brand, and why the associated costs are usually worth it. The reputation that CMMG has had in our forums comes from the standpoint of the purchaser having to make it functional, vs. the out of the box functionality that the majority of other manufacturers have had. Collectively, most of our rifles have seen some kind of evolution from purchase to final product. That transformation typically comes with it's own learning curve that can teach you more about the platform than you might have ever known just buying something out of the box and shooting it. Keep us posted on your progress brother, sounds like you've got a pretty good plan together.