Quote History Quoted:
I think I am finally beginning to understand. If you can't afford a Mercedes why even buy a car. I will forget the folks I know who have owned and shot Bushmasters for years and are sold on them. They just enjoy the sport and are not "Internet Gun Gurus" so what do they know?
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Like that is even close to the same thing being discussed here.
You can get a quality AR from PSA for $600 or less any day of the week. Nobody is claiming OP needs to spend $1,000+. Stop being dramatic.
ETA: You seem to have this weird complex with trying to rationalize paying 80% of the cost of a quality rifle for a substandard one. It just doesn't make any damn sense. If you can save up $500-$600 for an AR, you can save for another month or two and get something with a lot better build quality, QC, attention to detail, etc.