From what I read, most of the derogatory comments about the S&W focus on the price - as if it was somehow immoral to provide a quality firearm for less.
In regards to the barrel, a rather long thread on M4Carbine pretty much revealed links and data showing the average nitrocarburized barrel to have superior corrosion and longevity. If anything, nitriding a carbon steel barrel gives you the accuracy and corrosion resistance of stainless, without the price. Nitriding it means the barrel is rifled to finish spec and then treated, with a final finish included in the operation. No overboring and then hopefully plating back to an inconsistent wavy bore, and the cost is much less. Hazmat has just about killed the chroming industry in America, all that bling on cars is vapor deposited aluminum on plastic.
Don't forget, Stoner didn't put the FA on the original upper, it was a generation of Army Command raised on Garands that forced Colt to include it. Most other battle rifles to this day don't use a ejection port cover, it's really part of the myth of the tightly fitted design getting jammed up that justifies it in some minds. In that regard, what about the Garand? That bolt is very much exposed, and so is the op rod, which can hang up in door jambs or against vehicles, etc, when supported.
For a civilian range gun, or for hunting, neither Spikes or S&W really need either feature. They aren't duty guns or issued. While a case could be made for Spike's meeting milspec in more areas, that's not necessarily better - as in the case of Chrome vs. nitride. It's just .Gov spec, and a slow moving bureaucracy will change it as they see fit. The M203 barrel cuts are NOT spec anymore, yet the market still sells them as if they are.
It's been noted Colt quoted less than $600 on contract M4's the last bid, don't automatically assume price is an indicator of quality. Within reason, yes, but in the AR market, Spike's has been knocking that old chestnut in the head for years. No reason that S&W can't do it too, they are a large and well organized company who's made firearms a long time and understand getting volume discounts and marketing the product.
Typical retail mark up is double - if I pay $1000 for the parts to build an AR, what was the ORIGINAL cost of manufacture, especially when a company can make the barrels for less than retail? AR barrels can be had for less than $100 - did they cost the company less than $50? It's entirely possible, and it's NOT rocket science to assemble an AR. I have a blem upper LAR retailed to me for $48, and they claim they sell them near cost to dispose of them when they do. Palmetto can retail a lower for $50 - cost?
S&W can sell the Sport for $599 with a nitrided barrel and no FA/port cover? Bargain of the year, cheaper than building one, and a lot better than many give it credit.
