RE: AK question
Is there any particular reason why you want an AK? Reason I'm asking, there are some much finer assault rifles that can be had in your price range- many different quality AR's, Steyr Aug, etc. The AK was designed as a "spray & pray" fully automatic rifle for untrained Soviet troops. Sure, it's extremely reliable and easy to maintain, but accuracy is generally very bad- I know you said it doesn't need to be hunting rifle accuracy, but a lot of out-of-the box AK's accuracy is going to be so bad that you might regret it later. If you're content with shooting at milk jugs at 50 yards, then it'll do that, but maybe not much better unless you get lucky with the one you buy.
Having said that, if you want the AK, personally I'd buy one that has been worked over, customized and accurized. For the price you're talking about, that shouldn't be a problem. The higher quality customized AK's can shoot with OK accuracy, depending on the rifle.
I just know that for me, an innacurate rifle is extremely frustrating and generally ends up staying in the gun safe most of the time.