Greetings. I am in the process of evaluating the AR-15 for my first rifle purchase and I have a ton of learning to do. I shoot quite a bit every weekend and finally decided that it was time to purchase a good quality rifle such as the AR-15 or, dare I say it, the M1A. My wife convinced me to get the AR-15 first so she could shoot it. She has her "cute" (her words) SW .357 while my firearms are the CZ SP01, 10/22 and my trusty remington 870 12g.

But we both need an AR-15 to round out our family. So please be patient with me as I stumble through the learning curve of a new firearm. Our biggest question of the day (she is impatient to find a good AR) is what to begin with? We're leaning towards a 20" for accuracy even though the weight is slightly higher. Perhaps a better question would be what manufacturer to stay away from?