Stag Arms makes AR-15s for lefties with left-side ejection. I don't have a very high opinion of Stag, but they're the go-to for lefty ARs as far as I can tell. CMT makes a left-side stripped upper receiver, but then you'd have to build out the rest of the upper with a left-side configured bolt carrier group. I know Toolcraft makes one.
I've had a Stag Arms AR-15 since like 2008. Never had any jams or issues with mine. I dunno if they've declined in quality since then or improved, so I can't speak for a brand spanking new one, but I do like the one I've got.
Full size is too much. You want something small enough to you can carry comfortably every single day, but big enough to get a 3 finger grip OR shoot 1000 rounds at a time comfortably.
Most of that is just kevlar that is meant to stop shrapnel and pistol rounds, 5.56 will sail straight through that cock flap.
I carry a full size with optic, light and spare mag every day.
If I'm remembering correctly, Stag is an Aero Precision sister company. Aero QC has been hit and miss in recent years, but I still like some of the components they make. I have a couple builds using their M4E1 receiver sets, and they've been great. Stag is probably where someone wanting a left-hand configured AR should start looking.
Don't get me wrong Josh, I'm not trying to slight you or tell you what you need to buy. Buy what you think you need to achieve your goals.
Beretta ARX-100 can swap charging handle and ejection port pretty much on the fly.
I carry a glock 49 with 509t and 3 spare 20 round mags. But I'm not the average person. And the average person isn't a gun nut. The average person will simply not carry a gun if it's too big and heavy to integrate into their everyday life. If you want the average person to carry a gun every day, it has to be unnoticed, unintrusive, and comfortable.
I put a Stag Arms barrel in my Palmetto Arms (cheapest of the cheap for ARs) build and it's fine. I can get sub 1 MOA with ammo I reload.
More correctly, a minute of angle is 1/60th of a degree, which works out to a ≈1" circle per 100 yards. Also, three shot groups are statistically worthless.
The shoulder and pelvic armor is intended to stop fragmentation from explosives, or if you're super lucky, they might stop a richocet from extreme long distance. Any rifle round will blast straight through soft armor, 5.56 or 7.62.
How is a three shot group worthless? It's how you test consistency of your reloads, and how you dial in an optic, and test the quality of a rifle. Can you shoot more? Sure. Do you need to? No. If you get a 3 round group sub 1 MOA you're dialed.
Too few data points, too easy to cherry pick, and does not take into account stringing from the barrel heating up. Three rounds is essentially shooting from a cold bore. Josh isn't talking about a PRS or bullseye gun, but a defensive one. I spent years out in the sticks, and know from experience that those three rounds are all those dudes fire all year.
Just get the Barret 50 cal. The worst that can happen is you have a fun gun.
In my experience, 3 shots is perfectly acceptable for the army, if for no other reason than everybody just wants to get the shit over with as fast as possible so why bother with five shots.
