I'll tell you what. I had one in .223. And yes it was as ugly as sin. And the trigger was a bit rough. But damn that thing could shoot. On one occasion I had put 10 rounds into a 3/4" ragged hole at 100 yds off the bench. I had purchased this rifle as a cheap groundhog gun and it served he purpose well. What I didn't like about it was the balance. It was much to butt heavy for me. Maybe it would have been different in the synthetic variation.