I'd love to say so far so good, but I do learn more when things don't work out lol.
I believe that I have the gas block misaligned. It won't cycle the bolt unless I manualy cycle it with the charging handle - so no simi auto yet .
I also had a light primer hit on the 5th of the 5 shots I took with it.
After I look into the gas issue I'll take it apart and lube it really well; question, do AR's like to run wet or dry? Not sure if she will want more lube then a bolt gun or less like a .22lr.
Might play with it today and take it back out to the range tomorrow.
I'm making some leather strops today so maybe if I get those done I'll dig into this.
Bummer it wasn't 100% out of the chute, but you're right, it's a great way to learn more about them.
I'm no AR expert, but mine can run with average lube, same as I put on my other guns. But it's a piston AR, not a DI - and as I understand DI types will get dirtier, require more frequent cleaning, and may need a bit more lube. That's just what I've read and heard, I'm sure some others with much more experience like @IronMonster and others can give a better answer.
Glad you got it out though. Cool project