An AR that shoots like the P4

The short version

Geissele Super Duty, 14.5" With an 8x scope, a Modlite, a sling and four mags. $3,999 with Austin sales tax, all in stock at Primary Arms, so it's one Credova cart. Pick it up at your Range USA with your LTC. Buy$3,694 built The Range at Austin Rents a Geissele 14.5", a Daniel Defense V7 and a BCM RECCE-14, with 100-yard lanes. Bring the P4 and you can walk in. Try first~30 min

The build

Everything is in stock at Primary Arms today, which takes Credova, so it's one cart and one contract. Prices are theirs, before tax.

Rifle Geissele Super Duty MOD1, 14.5" pinned & weldedTwo-stage SSA-E X trigger, chrome-lined cold-hammer-forged barrel, one magazine. Geissele charges $2,375 for the tan one and for the MOD1-A, which adds right-side bolt controls. This black MOD1 is $250 less. In stock at Primary Arms, black $2,125.00
Scope Primary Arms PLxC 1-8x24, Nova reticleDaylight-bright fiber-wire reticle, so it works like a dot at 1x in the house and gets you to 8x on range days. Japanese ED glass, 30 mm tube. In stock $999.99
Mount Primary Arms GLx 30 mm cantileverSolid and plain. The Geissele Super Precision is the nicer one at $335. In stock $119.99
Light Modlite OKWv2 18650, complete1,300 lumens, 95,000 candela. Comes with a click tailcap, battery and charger. For home defense, the light matters more than the rifle brand. In stock $309.00
Light mount Arisaka Inline Scout, M-LOKModlite bodies use the SureFire Scout footprint, so this bolts straight on. In stock $45.00
Sling Ferro Concepts Naked SlingsterThe padded Slingster is $57.50 and sold out in black. In stock $41.50
Mags Three Magpul PMAG Gen M3, 30 roundFour total with the one in the box. In stock $54.00
Built out Before tax$3,999.27 with Austin's 8.25% sales tax. Ship the rifle to your Range USA in Round Rock and the transfer is free with Elite, once your membership is past 90 days. $3,694.48

Why 14.5" pinned & welded

The flash hider is welded on, which brings the barrel to 16" and makes it a plain rifle under federal law. No paperwork, no Form 20 to take it out of state, and nothing to worry about if ATF starts enforcing NFA rules again. You give up a couple of inches in a hallway and gain velocity at the range.

Later: the suppressor

It doesn't fit the budget. With it, the build is $4,748 before tax, about $5,140 with tax, which is over both your number and Credova's $5,000 cap. The rifle's welded-on flash hider is the HUXWRX mount, so the HUXWRX FLOW 556K (can only, $1,054, in stock at Primary Arms) locks straight on whenever you're ready. Pay off the first contract, then do it as a second one. Range USA doesn't take suppressor transfers, so have it sent to The Range at Austin or Saddle Rock, and bring your LTC to pick it up. Until then, short 5.56 indoors is very loud, so wear ear protection at the range and know what you're trading in the house.

If you want to move the number

Save $400Vortex Viper PST Gen II 1-6 ($599.99) instead of the PLxC. Total $3,294 before tax, $3,566 with tax. The glass isn't as good and the dot isn't daylight-bright, but it leaves room in the budget.
Spend $215Geissele Super Precision 30 mm mount ($335) instead of the GLx. Puts you at $3,909 before tax, $4,232 with tax.

The other rifles I looked at

Daniel Defense DDM4 V7, 14.5"$2,014

Safe defaultChrome-lined cold-hammer-forged barrel, ambidextrous charging handle, in stock at Primary Arms. It costs about the same as the Super Duty, and you'd give up the Geissele trigger and the HUXWRX mount.
BCM RECCE-14 MCMR~$1,775

Smart moneyBuilt just as tough, with a plainer finish, for about $350 less. Sold out at Primary Arms, though, so it would mean a second store and a second Credova contract.
Geissele Border Patrol, 14.5"$1,734

The one you can rentSame maker, same 14.5" pinned length, and it's in stock. But it has an ALG trigger instead of the SSA-E X, a barrel that isn't chrome-lined, and a plain A2 flash hider welded on, so the Flow can't mount. Shoot it to get a feel for the rifle. Don't buy it for this build.
Knight's Armament KS2$3,699.99

SkipZero Whiskey has one. It's a 14.5" with nothing pinned on, so it's a short-barreled rifle, with proprietary parts and a price that doesn't buy you anything for home defense.

Shoot one first

Range USA for free rentals and practice, The Range at Austin for 100 yards and the three rifles that matter. The orange bar shows drive time from your place with no traffic, on a one-hour scale.

Range USA Round Rock

Warner Ranch Dr, off 45 · indoor · your Elite membership

~20 min13 mi

Posted hours: 10 AM to 9 PM daily

What Elite gets you here

Rentalsfree
Lane timeunlimited
Transfer from Primary Arms1 free/mo
Guns, ammo, accessories5% off

Longest lane: 25 yd20 lanes
Transfer: $0$100 without Elite
Rental: $0long guns are $20 otherwise

Free rentals make this the cheap place to feel a few ARs first. They don't post a rental list for Round Rock, so call and ask which ones they have.
25 yards is fine for the trigger, the light and drills. It's too short to zero an 8x scope or see what it does, so do that at The Range at Austin's 100-yard lanes.
No green-tip 5.56 and nothing steel-core, so buy brass-case M193-type ammo. Rifles need sights on them, which the scope covers.
The free transfer kicks in after your first 90 days and covers one gun a month. Bring your LTC to pickup in case they'll take it in place of the background check. They don't take suppressor transfers.

Hours

Every day 10 AM – 9 PM

The Range at Austin

South Austin, on the I-35 frontage · indoor

~30 min20 mi

Posted hours: 10 AM to 9 PM daily

On their rental list

Geissele Border Patrol 14.5"5.56
Daniel Defense DDM4 V75.56
BCM RECCE-14 MCMR5.56

Longest lane: 100 yd5 lanes
Lane: $31/hr Mon–Thu
$35/hr Fri–Sun
Rental: $25per semi-auto

Bring the P4. They only rent to a solo shooter who has his own gun with him or has pre-booked a package.
The list doesn't say which rifles have optics. Call, ask, and ask for a 100-yard lane.
Rented guns shoot their ammo only.
Their shop carries Geissele, HUXWRX and KAC, so you can handle a suppressor while you're there.

Hours

Every day 10 AM – 9 PM

Where to buy

The easy way is one Primary Arms cart, shipped to your Range USA. The local shops are for handling things first, or for buying in person.

Primary Arms

Online · takes Credova

1 cart1 contract

Every piece of the build is in stock, so it's one cart and one Credova contract.
The rifle ships to a local dealer within five business days of Primary Arms getting the dealer's details. Everything else ships within a business day.
Send it to Range USA Round Rock. With Elite the transfer is free once your membership is past 90 days. Otherwise it's $100 there, or $55 at The Range at Austin.
Bring your LTC. ATF counts a current Texas License to Carry in place of the background check, so there's no waiting on a delayed check. Range USA's transfer page says they don't release a gun without a background-check approval, though, so they may run it anyway. Ask when you call.

Range USA, in store

Round Rock · 5% off with Elite · lists Credova

$2,042rifle, after 5%

They sell the same black 14.5" Super Duty for $2,149.99, or $2,042.49 with your 5%, which is $82.51 under Primary Arms. The discount doesn't apply if it's marked as a sale price.
It's out of stock in Round Rock tonight but in stock at other Range USA stores. Ask whether they'll move one to Round Rock.
The catch: the scope and light would still come from Primary Arms, which means two Credova applications instead of one. To save $82, I'd keep one cart.

Zero Whiskey Tactical Arms

Wind River Rd, Northwest Austin · small high-end shop

~8 min4 mi

Posted hours: Tue–Sat 10–5:30

Carries KAC and other high-end brands, and reviewers say the owner can order almost anything. Ask him to order the Super Duty.
Moved to Wind River Rd in February. Older listings still show North Lamar.

Hours

Tue–Sat 10 AM – 5:30 PM
Sun–Mon closed

Saddle Rock Armory

Georgetown · high-end shop, suppressors and NFA items

~40 min30 mi

Posted hours: Tue–Fri 11–6, Sat 11–3

Specializes in high-end brands and does consultations, so it's a good place to talk through the whole build in one visit.
Moved from its 620 shop to Georgetown. Older listings still show the old address and phone.

Hours

Tue–Fri 11 AM – 6 PM
Sat 11 AM – 3 PM
Sun–Mon closed

Paying with Credova

Checking costs nothing: it's a soft pull, so your credit score doesn't move. Primary Arms and MidwayUSA take it, and Range USA lists it too.

One contract: Primary Arms approves up to $5,000. The whole build is $3,999 with tax, so it fits in one cart with about $1,000 to spare.
The 0% window: It's interest-free only if your approval says "3 months interest free", and only if you pay it off within 90 days. That's about $1,333 a month for three months. One late payment ends the promo.
After that: You pay the contract rate. People report rates from about 18% to a lot higher, so it's only a good deal inside the window.
Leases: Turn down any lease offer. On a lease, the lessor owns the gun and you pay monthly fees until you buy it out. Take the installment contract or loan.
The suppressor: Do it as a second contract once the first is paid off: about $1,141 with tax, or $380 a month for three months at 0%.

Where the law stands

No rush from the election

A federal ban would have to get past a Trump veto before January 2029, and Texas isn't moving toward one. Elections move prices more than laws. If people panic-buy this week, let them.

Suppressors got easy

The tax stamp went to $0 in January. Since October 9, ATF isn't enforcing NFA registration on suppressors or short-barreled rifles, and Texas has no state NFA law. A suppressor is now a 4473 and you take it home, and your LTC can stand in for the background check.

Register the suppressor when you get it

It's free and voluntary. ATF still accepts Form 4s, and the median wait was about 9 days in July. Enforcement can come back with no grandfathering, and Pennsylvania still requires a registered suppressor, so an unregistered one is a state crime there. Ask the dealer to file it.

The rifle needs none of this

Pinned & welded to 16", it's an ordinary rifle under federal law and in Texas and Pennsylvania. The Form 20 only matters if you ever cut it down to a short-barreled rifle.

Your LTC

ATF lists a current Texas License to Carry as a replacement for the background check, so you still fill out the 4473, but there's no check that can come back delayed. That works for the rifle now and the suppressor later. It doesn't make you carry-licensed for the rifle, and you don't need to be: in Texas the LTC covers handguns, and long guns don't need a license. Some dealers run the check anyway as house policy, and Range USA's transfer page suggests they might.