As hinted at above, my motto when purchasing toys, from bikes to guitars to guns, has long been, " All else being equal, go with best re-sale value".
If this new company is "as good: as some other known names, and about the same price, why even mess with them ? There's no up-side.
BTW, I just put together a mid-legnth Spikes Tactical for about $800, and they seem to be acknowledged as bieng a level above Bushmaster and S&W.
Spikes complete upper from AIM is $479,delivered, and Spikes complete lower from Brownells is $249. Both arrived in 2-3 days.
That shop that's an hour from Macon wouldn't be Barrows,would it?