Jon,
I agree with you although I've never owned a later sideplate gun to compare. I'm just in wonder of all the adjustment screws that we have to play with.
The thing I find most interesting is that guns just a few serial #s apart have major differences. Some have the sears mounted on the trigger plate and others have over-hanging sears. The other thing that I've noticed is the latter guns of the same grade have much more engraving. If you look at an early Optimus vs a later one this really stands out.
Doug
