I would suggest Midway USA or Brownells both have an excellent reputation for answering questions and info on parts and help with a build. 
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Well the AR Stoner brand Midway USA sells is Bear Creek Arsenal. Bear Creek will honor the warranty after the one year from midway expires. They have a 1MOA accuracy guarantee but itās not a factor for home defense.
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And there are a bunch of companies selling their branded components but the truth is thereās only a few actual manufacturers of the main components.
The PSA ept trigger I recommend for example has an S inside a square logo. If you pay attention, MidwayUSA sells the same one, and shows the sides without the logo showing in the website image
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Iām not sure a DSG trigger qualifies as ābetterā, but I guess it depends on what you compare it to.
I tend to lean towards either Geissele or LaRue there
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I donāt think anyone needs a $240 Geissele trigger for a home defense firearm. And Iāll stick to the two-stage nickel Teflon trigger is better than the single stage nickel Teflon trigger. The two stage trigger just happened to be the first one that pulled up with the logo I was pointing out.
The thread is isnāt about building the best AR nther it was intended for home defense with a focus on economy. The money wasted on the trigger in this build could be used for optics.
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Iād never pay $240 for one, either. Way too many sales, never pay over $190 or so or youāre a sucker.
And really, if money is a concern get a Geissele G2S for like $160 or get the LaRue for $115
With the context of the thread I wouldnāt even get a 2 stage at all, at most Iād get an ALG ACT. $80
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Here is the same nickel Teflon two stage trigger with the S inside the square logo with the AR stoner brand for $15 more than DSG arms.
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Just my opinion, but I wouldnāt even consider that trigger when an ALG ACT is the same price.
Weāre into the weeds now but it was probably unavoidable lol
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Itās probably the same thing made at the same plant.
Got a picture of it?
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So, before going down that road, one of the things I learned when I was a mechanical engineering studentā¦being made by the same company doesnāt make two parts equal. Being made in the same location doesnāt make two parts equal. Not even being made on the same line necessarily makes two parts, if they are different products/lines, equal.
In the firearms world we can see that even with, for example, Wolf Match Target .22lr and Wolf Match Extra .22lr.
The quality control that is applied, the standards when measuring parts, individual testing vs batch testing vs no testing, how worn tooling is allowed to get during the run, where the control bounds are set, who is overseeing the operation, what the purchasing company dictates for this that the other process/standards, etcā¦
Now, on the other hand, as my marketing friend says, marketing creates demand, and cultivating an image is worth an increased sale price on a given product.
Iām sure the truth generally lies somewhere in between, depending on the situation/product.
That said, this certainly does not appear to be from the same source
it also seems much better reviewed at midway
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Interesting similarityā¦betcha they arenāt the sameā¦but Iām interested in more research/side by side on this, now
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Maybe the final machining is done by the branded seller but I doubt it. Maybe there are differences in quality or different grades? Who knows?
But in the end the $30 single stage nickel Teflon trigger is twice as good as the $20 mil spec units. Add a $13 set of JP enhanced reliability springs and itās noticeably better than production triggers.
My advice is to get the nickel Teflon trigger on sale wherever for your home defense down the hallway distance build.
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Larue used to have an annual sale for their triggers selling them around $80. Thatās what I got mine for maybe 2 years ago, wish I had bought another one. Iām no expert but I do appreciate a good trigger. There isnāt anything I would want to change on my MBT-2S trigger.
I do still have the PSA enhanced polished trigger on my original PSA build set up for home defense. I have no problems hitting mid sized steel targets with a red dot at 100 yards with it.
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Several posters above already said it, but your best bet for your budget and get a reliable AR is a PSA, IMO. Iām a big fan of their stuff for being inexpensive but not cheap.
- a complete PSA rifle or pistol OR
- a complete PSA upper and a complete PSA lower (this saves you like $50) OR
- a complete PSA upper and a PSA stripped lower and a PSA lower build kit (save maybe $50-150)
Sign up for their mailing list and wait until one is on sale at a price you like. You should be able to find a rifle or pistol with enough left over for a modest red-dot in that budget range.
RE the trigger conversationā¦ Get the one with the PSA Enhanced Polished Trigger (EPT), its a pretty decent polished mil-spec(ish) trigger. Meaning itās a single stage trigger with maybe 7-8lbs pull weight, but itās coated and polished. Itās totally fine for defensive use until you know enough to know you want something better.
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Subtract 10% from this and find an aero lower on sale. I also have an Anderson lower that is pretty ok.
Aero bcg, gas block, gas tube, lpk, assembled upper
Break Warhammer ch
Ballistic advantage barrel and flash hider
Je machine buffer tube assembly
Unbranded 12" guard - $80 not included in screenshot
Anderson lower - $73.81
Total excluding red dot: $751.19
Please let me know if I forgot anything.
Editā¦ forgot mag. Approximately $18 and pews ~$13 per 20
Edit 2ā¦$25 transfer fee for lower 
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