SKS questions(help me choose my first rifle)

[DerpSchnitzel]

I'm currently doing research to figure out what the heck rifle I wanna buy here within the next year. At the moment I'm leaning pretty heavily toward the SKS. I've never heard anything bad about them, and they're still relatively cheap-ish(I'm seeing some in the $300-$400 range online, which sure beats the $850+ I'm seeing for a Ruger Mini-14 or Mini-30). My main hangup is the lack of a removable magazine. Now I know there are some that came outta China after the ban with thumbhole stocks that take AK magazines, and I know about the duckbill magazines. I don't like the thumbhole, and I feel like the duckbill will make the magazines difficult/awkward to store and maneuver in and out of a magazine pouch. I'm also not exactly a gunsmith, so I don't know how much modification I wanna attempt(and this will be my first and most likely only rifle(at least for a while, I'm not trying to build an arsenal), so I don't wanna break it trying to modify it).

So all that said, my question is what is the cheapest/easiest/most hassle-free way to have an SKS take a removable magazine without the thumbhole stock or the duck bills? Does an aftermarket stock exist that allows me to just slap the internals into it and use AK magazines, or am I gonna have to do some kind of modification myself?

I'm gonna put my total budget at around $500, which is the current price of a PSA PA-15, which I don't REALLY want(EVERYONE has ARs, and I prefer steel and wood), but I'll get it if I can't find a viable alternative in a similar price range. Is $500 doable for what I want? How difficult is the conversion? Should I just give up my obsessive search, increase my budget, or just buy the damn AR? What I really want is something with an M1 action: M1 carbine, M1A, M1 Garand, Mini-14/Mini-30, etc, but I'm a bit concerned about magazine availability/cost and accuracy/heat issues with the Minis. The Garand has no removable magazine, the M1 carbine would probably bore me after a while, and they're all too expensive for me. An AK would be nice too, but they're running about as high as the Minis these days.

Just like any other firearm I would ever purchase unless something in my life changes drastically, this will primarily be a "toy" I'll take to the range to shoot some paper targets and maybe the occasional watermelon or water jug. However, I do still want it to be viable in a self defense scenario should I ever need it to be. At the same time though, I also have a 20 gauge and a 9mm pistol I'll probably go for first because I'd prefer not shooting my intruder/attacker AND the neighbors. I also have no delusions of being Arnold Schwarzenegger or Tom Berenger. I just want a budget friendly practical rifle that can hit a target consistently at maybe 50-100 yards.

I'm also open to the idea of a PCC, but I know nothing about them or what kinda range or accuracy they're capable of.

I'm really kicking myself for not buying a Saiga about 5 years ago when you could still import them...