>>9562921You're kinda in that awkward price range where you can get something good but for more you can do a lot better. For $1500 (bare rifle) you can get a pinned/welded BCM MCMR 14.5" barrel which is an extremely solid platform. The <$1k market is full of good stuff though. Smith and wesson's M&P 15 is the "above PSA tier" tier option that I see the most of. I am going to try to recommend features rather than a specific rifle.
>14.5 or 16" barrelIf you get a pinned/welded 14.5" barrel you have a great all around gun that doesn't need an ATF tax stamp, but you can't easily change the muzzle device if you decide to use a suppressor. 16" barrels require no tax stamp and you don't have to "permanently" attach the muzzle device. (also sig braces and other "pistols" blow IMO)
>MLOK handguard that covers most of the barrelMLOK is the new standard for attaching shit to your gun and is better than keymod, the more of your barrel that is covered by your handguard, the better your accuracy if you ever have to shoot off of a barrier (barrels bend when resting on stuff)
>No carry handleself explanatory, you want to mount an optic
Beyond those qualities, you are looking at personal preference. For a medium-high end build, I would recommend the following price points:
>Rifle $1500 (bcm mcmr is my choice here)>Optic $ 900 (aimpoint comp m4s unless you want to go with a LVPO in which case vortex is fine with the viper, both optics are around $900 msrp, with the vortex, assume your optic mount is going to add 200$ to the cost, don't cheap out on your mount)>Flashlight $300 (I like modlite but this has to do with personal preference)So with all that out there, you are looking at about 2700-2900 dollars. Keep in mind you will also want about 10 pmags to have around which is another $200ish dollars.
I recommend saving and doing it right the first time. 5 shot group at 100 yds.
