RE: AK question
You should go with the milled reciever AK, Prefereably Russian made. Stay away from the stamped junk. I had the option to buy an AK a few years back and opted to go with the AR instead. I want to say I paid about a grand for the Colt HBAR back around 2003. I have experience shooting both and I prefer the AR for it's accuracy at distance and the fact that I can change configurations (A2 HBAR to M4) in seconds.