I’ve been calling the lever action rifle “the original assault rifle” for years. Not a bad plan, especially in the East in built up or wooded areas where you really don’t need much range. If you might need to make shots at 100 yards or more, you really want a true rifle caliber, and a not a pistol caliber carbine.
Then I recommend K-var who imports Saiga rifles that have barrel lengths of 21 inches and chamber .308 (or NATO 7.62). I think there is after market 20 rd mags for it. Russian system based on the rugged AK rifle with the trigger group moved back several inches to accommodate a sport stock so it could be imported as a sporting rifle. Uses AK style side scope mount brackets that can use Weaver interface. Check it out. One of the lowest cost .308 out there. They also import bolt action rifles that use military and sporting calibers. These are copies of Mauser bolt action system and made from solid machine block in Serbia. Also very competitive price for a .308 bolt action. Check them out.