im still looking at getting my first ar and there are soo many choices.  ive posted bf asking about les baer but have pretty much decided agst it for my first dip into the waters.  im really looking hard at a bushy. either the A3 shorty or the v-match.  im thinking the v match at the moment so i can have the benifit of free floating the tube until i decide if i want to get a SIR or RAS.  id like to get a trigger job and a leupold cqt.  i stumbled onto the knights sr15 and though it costs more its not much more when you think about the price or trigger job and handguards.  is there some extra performance somewhere in the price or is it probably just perceived.  like i stated im new to this so they might not even be readily availible but i was just asking so i can know whether or not to keep searching down that patch.  also any helpful hints about possible bushy setup would be appreciated.  thank you very much and take care.

If you are going to go with a carbine set up you want it to NOT be a heavy barrel.  I sold my Bushy 16" HB for just this reason.  It was just too front heavy.  If you must use a 16" barrel and dont want to do a 14.5" M4 with Kurt's Kustom flash hider look a like brake installed then you will want to have the barrel turned down by Kurt and refinished so you can remove the unwanted weight under the handguards.  The extra material does not help accuracy and makes the front end feel like a boat anchor.

Rethink the Leupold CQT.  Do a search on here and you will find the majority of AR15.com members HATE it.  Its too large and has a low battery life.  The optics of choice around here seem to be Aimpoint, Eotech, BAC ACOGS and Compact ACOGS for carbines.  Also youd be better off with a new trigger than trying to get a trigger job on an AR15 as they dont lend themselves to be very good after work plus the surface hardened metal in the trigger engagement surfaces is easily ground through.  The inexpensive single stage AR15.com members seem to suggest is the JP Enterprises.  The expensive one (with no set screws) in the Accuracy Speaks model.  For 2 stage triggers with set screws for adjustment people use MANY different ones but if you want one with no set screws the only choices are Armalite and Knights Armament.  

thanks devl for the response. it was tired when i wrote this post so i may have left out some stuff.  the whole reason i want an AR is mainly as a fun gun.  i dont plan to hunt with this gun or envision a shtf situation so weight isnt a big issue for me.  if i do find it too heavy then thank you for the heads up with kurts.

also i should have mentioned my thoughts on the cq-t. im very aware of the fact that most people here really dont like it at all but the people who do like it seem to really like it.  ive had a few minutes to play with one in person (not on a gun though) but i do think itll serve my purposes quite well and i love the fact that you dont even need batteries for it to be functional.  the aimpoint for me is a strong second though, but id like the small magnification the cqt offers.  

by trigger job i ment buy you a drop in trigger, not get the trigger worked on.  my bad.  i checked out the JP trigger you mentioned and it seems right up my alley.  thanks.  the combo package thingy they had was intersting too.  

im really narrowing down on what i want but the question in my mind still remains.  if i could get ahold of the knights would it be better to get it all in one vs putting it together witha  bushy as the core.  thanks again

My last firearm purchase was a Knight's SR-15 M4.  I really like it!  The quality of the Knights products are unquestionable (I also own an SR-25).  It has the RAS factory installed, and has a really nice trigger.  The main reason I bought it, however, was because I heard the factory was going to halt production of the SR-15 rifles so they can concentrate on the military SR-25 contracts.  I thought it might become a collector's item.  Don't get me wrong, I still shoot it, and it shoots great!  The only drawback is that they are post ban, which limits what you can put on it.  However, it is a great rifle.  Here's a pic of my settup:

If Knights already has a match trigger installed then it would be a good choice.  
As far as the CQT red dot is concerned, most people have one gripe:  the objective lens and field of view are to small for CQB.  Most people say it is too bulky for the lens to be so small.  Trijicon offers a tri-power (quad power, really) that doesn't rely only on batteries.  It is also cpapble of magnification i believe.  That may be another choice for you.  
If you really want a CQT, then don't just handle one in the store.  Try and find someone at the range who has one mounted on their rifle so you can test it out.  Or if your range/store has one you can try on either your rifle or a rental one, do that.  If your shop is kind enough to have a return policy on accessories, then buy it and try it.  Don't just assume that it will work for you because you picked it up and it seemed fine.  When it is mounted on the rifle, it may be a completely differnet situation.  Hope this helps and good luck.

I like the KOBRA red dot sight, it is an excellent quality Russian made sight at a great price of ~$125. I tried them on a few AK variants and they functioned brilliantly, they are definetly worth consideration for a CQB red dot sight. Take a look HEREif you are interested in these sights and other quality Russian made optics.