Well, have you shot one yet? Do you even know if you like the weapon having fielded it?
The AR platform is great. It's accurate. It's reliable, if well built and maintained. It's common and the ammo can generally be found anywhere in the US by way of a sporting good store. Should you ever get beset by the roaming bands of Zombies or Katrina hits your hometown, you were foolish enough to stay behind, and have to ward off home invaders, still a great choice of weapon. It has range, it has accuracy and it has reliability to do the job.
But, if you haven't shot one yet, it might not be for you.
There is nothing wrong with the Bushmaster - I was just wondering why that particular model is all.
As for weight - it can definitely be a problem if you get one that is loaded up with all the high tech stuff. But, there are weapon systems that come in under 10 pounds, nicely equipped, that would serve you well. Again, if you haven't tried one out yet, the first thing I would recommend is that you do that first.
Bushmaster makes
this model that is listed as their super light model and weighs in at like 6.5lbs. You are also going to pay through the nose for it at $1250MSRP, which I consider absolutely ridiculous for what you are getting.
Bushmaster also makes their
Carbon 15 Model. Which is basically a space age polymer type of receiver to shave off weight. I personally don't care for it, but it does come in at like 5.5 pounds. Also expensive - but they are getting paid for it, so someone is buying it. The barrel length is short ( 14.5" versus the legal 16" ), so you would either need to get the longer flash hider ( if available in your state ) or get a Class III to be able to purchase/own it I believe. Check the laws in your area.
I am big fan of building your own platform, because you can do it cheaper and get a personal say as to what components go into the finished product. That may or may not interest you. There are other folks here that have the Bushmaster, so hopefully they will chime in and give you some information on their time with it.
Hope that Helps -
JD