The SKS

Fred, the father of the Appleseed Shoot (http://www.appleseedinfo.org/) has a website that got me going on rifle training at http://www.fredsm14stocks.com/.
If you like feeling a sense of history and commitment, then Fred is your man. And those are the websites that will tell you all about it.
My wife and I attended our first Appleseed shoot last April and thoroughly enjoyed the training and the camaraderie. I had my SKS and my wife had her Ruger 10/22. We didn't qualify as marksman, but we learned what it is going to take. The next Appleseed shoot near me is in October. I'm anxious to get my Ruger 10/22 into Liberty Training Rifle configuration.
Fred says the SKS is an excellent choice for the training, but considering the price of ammo and the fact that training on any rifle will let you do well on any other rifle, I'll take the Ruger with me.
Gabe Suarez also praises the SKS for its simplicity and reliability. He likens it to the AK for those reasons. He faults it for not having a larger clip, but I have 20-round clips for mine, so that problem is resolved.
I bought mine on the internet from Classic Arms (http://www.classicarms.us/) and I've been impressed with the company. My first purchase from Classic Arms was an M44 laminated and it was in very nice condition. After I cleaned it up with excellent instructions found at http://www.surplusrifle.com/russianmosin189130/index.asp, I shot it, had fun with it, then sold it at a gun show for a bit more than I paid for it.
By the way, I don't have any connection with any of the places/people I'm telling you about.
Enough for now.