A couple people had expressed interest in this topic, and I have a bit of extra time for a couple days, so here goes:
Bona fides: I am a former infantry NCO and sniper, hunter, competitive shooter, reloader, hobby gunsmith, sometimes firearms trainer and currently work in a gun shop, mostly on the paperwork/compliance side. Back in the day, was a qualified expert with every standard small arm in the US inventory circa 2003 (M2, 4, 9, 16, 19, 249, 240B, 21, 24, 82 etc.), and today hang around the 75th percentile of USPSA classifications. I've shot Cap-and-Ball, Trap and Sporting Clays badly; Bullseye and PRS somewhat better and IDPA/USPSA/UML/Two-gun with some local success. Been active in the 2A community since the mid-90s, got my first instructor cert in high school, and have held a CPL for almost twenty years now.
I certainly don't claim to be an expert in every aspect of firearms, there's huge areas that escape my knowledge base, but if you've got questions I'll do my best to answer.
Technical questions
Gun control proposals for feasibility
Industry
Training
Wacky opinions
General geekery
Some competition links (not my own) just for the interested.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=U5IhsWamaLY&t=173
https://youtube.com/watch?v=93nEEINflXE
https://youtube.com/watch?v=utcky0zq10E
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Notes -
I'd actually put "aftermarket trigger" after red dot and before light in terms of things to buy.
The advice I've gotten and believe is that most ARs are the same. Even a cheap $600 PSA example has a lot more commonalities than differences with a $2k rifle. You purchase the latter for cachet or running like a dog. I've done that and am not ashamed of it, but you absolutely don't need to.
However, the change an $80-150 trigger can make in your shooting experience is fucking enormous. Hopefully most of those more expensive rifles come with a LaRue/Geissele equivalent trigger (the latter of which I've purchased at that $150 mark and love but believe the LaRue will do the same thing for $80).
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