In my experience the two most impactful upgrades for any AR are free floating the barrel and replacing the trigger. Doing both will majorly enhance your accuracy, as well as make your rifle more enjoyable to shoot.
THE BEST value you will ever find in an aftermarket AR trigger is this one:
Larue tactical’s MBT 2S is a near-exact copy of the Geissele SDC, only it cost $99 dollars instead of $199. Comes in 1 or 2 stage (for hunting I’d definitely go 2 stage). You will not find a better trigger at that price
As far as free float hand guards, any mid-shelf brand will do just fine—Aero Precision, Strike Industries, even PSA are all good enough. Just be sure you get it in M-lok and not Keymod or the dreaded cheese grater (quad rail). This upgrade will also allow for mounting a weapon light, which I feel is absolutely required for a “varmint” gun or HD gun.
To mount a free float hand guard you’ll also need to replace the gas block with one that’s low profile. Any generic fixed gas block will work, and these are usually quite cheap. Just look on Primary Arms’ site.
Beyond that, I think a nicer grip and nicer stock make for a more comfortable shooting experience but aren’t strictly necessary. I like BCM’s gunfighter grip and SOPMOD stock, personally.
Have fun! The upgrades I did to my first AR were very empowering. It’s not hard at all and well worth the effort to learn.
