Or , maybe you ' re completely off the mark . Like miles . <| sep |> My vote is for SKS . It is a different calibre 7 . 62 x 39 mm but it ' s still an intermediate cartridge that isn ' t gonna kick much more , gives you bigger bullet , and is possibly cheaper since SKS and AK will eat steel cased rubbish all day . The gun is gonna do the job just as well but it ' s obviously not even close to an AR as far as it looks or the modularity of the platform , but it ' s a like an older cousin of the AK and has no assault weapon features . I would avoid pistol calibre carbines . Not only is HiPoint a company with a kinda shitty reputation KelTec isn ' t much better , but rifle rounds are gonna have superior range , ballistics , etc . Putting a pistol round in a rifle package is stupid imo .