Get back on that horse

Have decided to resume NRA NM Across the Course Competition after a 20 year hiatus. I was a traveling pipefitter/welder for 40 years
and missed many opportunities to leg out because of work conflicts and family obligations.
Kids are grown and gone, I'm retired and looking for a challenge, 68 years old in good health, good eyesight and reasonably athletic,
walk 4 miles every morning, work a stack machine and free weights every other day, still flexible.
Been looking at the Rock River NM A2 AR-15 rifle as a reintroduction rifle, SS 1/8" twist Wylde chamber, free floated, RR NM 1/2 minute
sights, trigger, seems to be a bargain, anyone have one ?
I am 8 points from legging out, only real drawback here is that registered shoots are a pretty good drive away and not as frequent as I
would like, but what the hell.
I have been reading quite a bit about the new optics rule and how the national championship have been dominated by them since inception
of the scope rule, apparently the NRA/CMP has lacked the wisdom to define a separate optics class and it is creating some division.