I'm from North Idaho and there are some crazy ass people there. Do it right. Forget aero precision, Anderson, and all that junk. Get a Geissele or an LMT or some of these other better brands recommended above (Daniel defense if you can stomach their politics, an older colt, bcm is good). My 12" lmt feels like it can do almost everything my 16" can do.....put a law tactical folder on it if you want it shorter, a surefire light or equivalent, and good glass. You won't regret it. People always recommend cheap gear for a "truck gun" because it will be thrown around or you'll only be out a few hundred if it gets stolen. That never made sense to me. If you are carrying this everywhere in your truck chances are that's the gun you'll have if the s*** hits the fan and you need something that absolutely works in that scenario. A high end AR can take the abuse of Marines and /or being tossed around the backseat of your truck. I don't want something cheap and I would take every precaution that it doesn't get stolen anyway.