So, you want a battle rifle, but want cheap?
Is your life worth so little that you would invest in something that may fail when you absolutely need it?
Cheap ammo is the same thing.....great for play, stupid for protection.
Do you want the cheapest surgeon or the one that will get it right?
The same applies to firearms.
Not necessarily. At the end of the day your $175 Chinese SKS or $350 Chinese AK-47 is going to fire every single round you put through it. The same can't always be said for your $1500 AR-15.
The other side of that coin is that even a cheap, and not so accurate or reliable (both only to a point) is much better than no gun at all, which very well might be the only other option.