I don't know what he did to get in trouble with the BATF, but it is sad that this design was lost in the process. I really doubt the name choice of SOCOM had anything to do with it. The cost of the lower was the only thing keeping it from really getting out there. That and the fact that I had to do alot of research before I even came across SOCOM MFG with the diamond seriers. I did my homework well when I built my AR, and as I stated before I don't think there is a better AR lower out there. How much a lower affects overall accuracy is trivial unless you really go low on the quality or have a loose fit to your upper. That being said I don't regreat the extra money I spent on this lower. I can put any upper on it, and know it can take the punishment.