Does the original poster want accuracy or does he want to just lob lead in a semi auto fashion.
What kind of accuracy would pleas him.
Shooting squirrel heads at 200 yards or shooting milk jugs at 100 yards.
That would be a good question. AKs and SKSs weren't meant for "shooting squirrel heads at 200 yards", so if that is the goal, they aren't the rifle for the OP. They were meant for shooting human-sized targets at close to medium range, and they've excelled at that for decades. So with those options, the milk jugs at 100 yards should be doable. Different rifles for different things, and for different tastes. For me, "accurate enough" is good enough, as I don't get into the "how tight of groups can I shoot" thing, and shooting at paper from a bench loses it's appeal within about 1 magazine. But shooting at random targets out to about 100 yards - whether in a field, or shooting into a creek, etc., is a great time with an SKS or AK, but would be pretty "meh" (to me) with a nice bolt action.
Killing some water jugs at 100 yards would be more of what I'd be doing with it. There's an SKS at a local pawn shop here wit ha 20 rd fixed mag going for $299 and I'm real tempted. It looks a little beat up with some rust on the outside of the barrel though and doesn't have a bayonet. Think it's a good buy or should I look around some more? I'd like an AK but $600? Pft!