First AR-15

A Glock

Golden rule. Spend EXACTLY the same on your first AR as you spend on your first Ammo purchase. No compromises.

Do NOT spend ANY money on upgrades until that first batch of ammo has been spent learning to shoot whatever irons/optic/trigger setup you started with.

Whenever you buy ANY upgrade, buy Ammo to the equivalent $ value and do not permit yourself to do it again until you've actually finished that volume of shooting.

If you can follow this simple rule, you'll never look like a bitch.

Yes we know. Civilians are retards.

PSA build. Get to know how to put one together and end up with a functional rifle at the end of it. Then buy $500 of cheap ammo and practice until you familiarize yourself with it.

Or......
If you want a quality AR , keep saving and buy a mid tier , make sure it's what you want first and don't have to spend 500$ in customization on a $500 rifle when you could have had what you want without the hassle later on.

PSA is ok, I've seen a few fail in classes... But then again I've seen Gucci rifles fail because of them being too tight.

Spikes, BCM, Colt, LMT, Larue, and several other companies make decent rifles that can be had for sub-$1200

AR are overrated

I didn't know they made them free floated. That's pretty nice, not gonna lie.