So, I went to the CMP South store (Talladega, AL) a few weeks ago to buy my expert grade. At that time, there were probably 15 expert grade rifles on the rack, so a good selection to choose from. And they were NOT all equivalent. The rifle I picked was nice and clean, but they had some expert grade rifles on the rack with rust on metal fittings and deeply pitted receivers. It was worth it to me to go there and choose my own rifle versus Bubba doing it for me. There were probably an additional 50 or 60 rifles on other racks of other grade types available to look at to, which helps with relative comparison (helps you see where the extra money in that $1,100 price tag for an expert grade goes, and if that's worth it to you).