[rabidralph]

Under $1,200, without a scope, but I’d like to get a few needed accessories within that price.

[Joe 6-pack]

You can find a whole lot of AR type platforms well within that price range; I'm personally fond of Armalite products, but the number of manufacturers you'll find are almost too numerous to mention. The advantage of the platform is that you can accessorize from here to eternity if you so desire.

I'd recommend going to gunsamerica.com and browsing.

Depending on the type of shooting you want to do, one of the best optics for the money I've found is the Burris AR-332. It's got a ballistic reticle that's designed for the 5.56 trajectory out to 500 yards, has a dual illuminating reticle in either red or green, and still shows up black when you're battery dies.

[El Laton Caliente]

Atlantic has some nice AR’s at decent prices:

http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/storeproduct556.aspx

http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/storeproduct572.aspx

http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/storeproduct347.aspx

Good source for ammo:

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/

Take a look at CDNN’s catalog:

http://site.cdnninvestments.com/CDNN2010-6/index.html

You can drop over to www.gunsnet.net also. I’ve been a member & mod for ten years...