And I like that they put an extended pistol grip on at the factory. I don't have big hands, but I really don't like the standard/original/GI type grips. And, are those free-float tube mounted front sights as good as the barrel mounted ones? Those always looked about half hinky to me.
The free float ones can be good or they can be useless. You don't pick up much accuracy with one on a goverment profile 16" barrel, so I'm a little amused that they spent the money to go with one. As for the pistol grip, I tend to prefer the Magpul MOE, myself.
I am also wondering what corners got cut; the higher end rifles with a free float handguard like that are running no less than about $1200 or so... I wonder if they went UTG for the handguard and sights (functional, but heavier than necessary and not always to the right spec). Generally, there's nothing on it that looks all that special.
It should be fine for somebody who wants a plinker.
If manufacturers continue to flood the market with AR's I may just end up buying one. At some point the market has to become so saturated that the price drops across the board, or am I wrong in this thinking?
Hard to say. There's already a bunch of competition, and the price differences are generally because that's what it costs to make things to a certain spec. The cheaper stuff is cheaper due to different materials, different levels of quality controls, etc. I don't know we'll see prices drop all that much because they're mostly already to the level where "that's just what it costs." I'd expect the glut on the market is going to drive out of business some smaller makers who do not differentiate themselves.
My guess is that Mossberg decided they wanted a piece of the AR pie and just started buying parts from somebody to which they apply their own rollmarks.
