Comrades, thank you for all the input.
Brewer, I haven't bought anything yet. I was going to build an ar10. However I know so little about quality parts I've decided to by a rifle outright. Probably an AR15.
I like the idea of both ar and ak (who wouldn't) but I'd rather have just one and become really proficient with it.
AR-10s/AR-308s/SR-25s have so many parts commonality issues and nuances that they should not be approached as a novice AR builder. 5.56 is easier to shoot, cheaper, has more capacity, and doesn’t have a downside to the AR-10 in New England. The distances you may need to shoot in NE aren’t really far like out west.
If you want an AR-10 later, go for it. But start with an AR-15 type rifle.