Those ARs today are exceptional weapons. I bought a AR Carbine for $189.00 when the May of 1980 race riots were happening. We had a printing shop in NW Miami at the time and there were some related "issues" spilling into to the industrial areas where we had our shop.
I bought 500 rounds of hot .556 ball ammo and 2 mags.
Needless to say I was hooked when I fired off 20 rounds.
Today's ARs and the aiming/sighting systems along with different calibers are a marvel.
I always, always, always use top grade ammo. I do reload too, but not in a massive sense.
My father was a in a rifle squad in WW2. He taught me how to shoot. Then my skills were refined when I enlisted.
Yep, spent a lot of time as a student of the art.