With the parts available today, you can build an AR that is an excellent firearm. The quality of parts and the workmanship has gone up 100-fold since the first civilian sporters were offered by Colt. Now that so many companies are offering AR rifles and parts, the competition side is driving up the quality. Add to that the limitless amount of add-ons for the AR series rifles and it will be hard to beat, no matter what you use it for: CQB, Varmint hunting, DCM competition, plinking etc.