geterdun....The first gun that I ever bought for myself was a .22...
Back in 1971...I bought a Remington 552 autoloader, still have it, in fact I shot it last week...I have killed a ton of squirrels with that gun...I also own a Remington 541-T...its a bolt gun with a Leupold 3x9x33 compact scope...That is the last gun that I bought, it has a blonde, curly maple stock, and will group 10 shots in a dime at 50 yards....The 552 cost me $69 bucks if I remember right, the 541 cost $419 for the gun and $269 for the scope...I love both, the 541 was a gift to myself but I will probably never kill as many squirrels with it as I did the one I bought as a kid....I am assuming that you don't want to spend $500 for a new .22....

Ruger makes a good one...WalMarts have one with a full size stock and a 22 inch barrel...they sell for $214 here in NC...It would make a good squirrel rifle...You can also buy a basic Ruger for about $169...As you may know you can easily replace the barrel, trigger and stock on a Ruger....Many guys trick them out, and have several hundred dollars in....

Marlin makes a good tube fed repeater...Model 60...I have a buddy that owns one and it shoots almost as good as my 541-T...I believe you can buy a Marlin for less than $150...

Savage also makes .22...but I have never shot one...

T/C makes a fine .22 auto...The Classic...I have heard of them, have shot one, but nobody around here stocks them...The Classic and the new 552 Remingtons will run about $300...

I would look at all these guns on their websites, decide if you want a bolt, lever or a semi-auto, figure out how much $$$ you want to pay and go from there....I would also go to Rimfire.com and do a little more research...Good Luck