Gary, here is what I would recommend
Some of the feedback you have received here has been good, but I have to disagree with some of the things Dana told you about AR-15's being too heavy and poorly balanced.
While that does apply to AR's with heavy 24 inch bull barrels, that is certainly not the case across the board. Even his comment about an AR with 24 inch bull barrel weighing 12 lbs is way off in my experience. I own Colt's Accuraized Rifle Model 6724, and it weighs just under 10 lbs, and that is with scope included. And it has a stainless 24 inch bull barrel.
And here is a photo of it at the range. This is a great gun if you want something for the fields infested with ground squirrels or prairie dogs. But too heavy for carry rifle varminter.
Now Jake's advice to you is very sound. I strongly agree with his recommendation of Rock River Arms. They make a real quality product at a competitive price. I just bought one of their 16 inch carbines with a mid-length forend stock ( much more handy that the short CAR type forend ) for my son. And boy, is that gun a handy shooter. The base rifle, without scope or mag, is only 7.1 lbs, so it is by no means real heavy. And it handles just great, and certainly is not muzzle heavy.
And Rock River actually GUARANTEES 1 MOA accuracy, even from their guns with standard weight barrels. Jake's accuracy report is actually quite typical of these guns. You can expect to get 2/3 MOA accuracy.
Here is a photo of my son's Rock River Arms rifle:
Note the nice plastic case they come with.
The other great feature the Rock River guns have is their National Match 2 stage trigger, which comes standard. It is heads and shoulders above the standard triggers on AR-15's from other vendors like DPMS or Bushmaster. Dana's comment about needing to put in a new trigger would be appropriate for most brands. But the factory Rock River trigger is quite good.
Here is a link to the Rock River website with info on my son's rifle:
http://www.rockriverarms.com/item-detail.cfm?ID=AR1294X&storeid=1&image=06mida24.gif&CFID=28366451&CFTOKEN=56536580
The extras we ordered were the CAR collapsible stock, the chrome lined barrel, and Hogue handgrip: all well worth the extra money.
So for what you are saying your are looking for, I also recommend getting a Rock River Arms AR-15 You will be very pleased, believe me!
Lance in Orygun