I have decided (thanks to much reading and advice from this board) to buy a Bushmaster M4 A3 w/ collap stock (my wife actually wants for me to get one!) hopefully for Christmas. I got to finger one Saturday in a shop but saw something that raised a question.
I want the option of putting a flip-up front sight on but the fixed front sight on the Bushmaster appeared to be perm attached to the barrel. Is this true? So if I want to be able to remove the front sight and replace it with a flip-up (so I wont see the front sight through optics) will I have to special order a Bushy AR or buy a new barrel, front grip, whatever it takes? I don't want to have to spend $800 (AIM surplus) to $1000 (local shops) for an AR that I'll have to replace a barrel or something else in the future only to install a flip-up front sight. Should I look at a different manufacturer? Two different shops in the area have quoted me prices of appx $900 and $1000...too much money to not get what I want.
Also, can you have a phantom flash supp installed at the factory on a new gun before they ship in place of the bird cage?
Thanks for the help for a newbie to AR's...