I haven't checked prices lately, but a few years ago, the semi-auto AK version, as well as the SKS were the cheapest reliable semi-auto rifles you could get. A friend bought his SKS for just $150 a few years back. The ammo for it is also very cheap. Cheap enough that the average guy could buy a rifle and a thousand rounds of ammo as an impulse purchase and not have the wife scream at him, and keep it stashed away for "just in case". I think this is what alarmed the "elites"