I've read through this thread a few times but had nothing of value to add. Over the weekend, I spoke to a friend of mine living in CA for the next 3-5 years and asked what he was doing in terms of guns down there. When he moved, he left everything not CA legal at his Dad's place. He told me that for a long gun, he's running a Fightlite SCR lower with a regular 16" AR upper, Aimpoint and a scout light. I've seen pictures of them but have never gave them much thought. His sample of one has worked out very well for him. He has a few thousand rounds through it, including one carbine class. He grew up around traditional hunting rifles so the cross bolt safety was easy to get accustomed to. Even though I don't need it, I kinda want one just to messa round with.
https://fightlite.com/rifles/scr