Does your “about a grand” include optics or just the rifle? (I’m guessing it’s for the rifle alone)
I’d be willing to bet that you could find a decent S&W M&P15 or even a Colt for under $1000 these days (from someone who spent $1200 to $1400 for it new last year during the Obama panic)...
I just went on GunBroker.com and saw a new Bushmaster ta Buy Now price for $829. This is about what they sold during the Clinton Y2K scare. Sadly the “scare” is real.