I just read a post by someone who bashes the people on this forum for "cobbling" their guns together.
I browse this forum daily and thoroughly enjoy it, largely because of the advice on cobbling/tinkering. There's something to be said for someone who, with a little time, money, elbow grease, and ingenuity, can make a $200 rifle shoot sub-minute-of-an-angle groups.
Furthermore, the world of firearms is indebted to tinkerers, from the Chinese who used bamboo tubes to launch projectiles, to blackpowder shooters who used material from hornets' nests as wadding, to the inventor of the percussion cap, to Hiram Maxim (who, incidently, also was from Maine), and on and on . . . .
All I can say, guys, is keep up the good work and the interesting posts!