Wow... I'm shocked that nobody has brought up the venerable Marlin model 60. I can't even begin to explain how many squirrel I've taken with this rifle. Eats anything you throw at it, is cheaper than a 10/22, is acurate as all getout, and doesn't have the attrocious trigger the 10/22 has. It's what I have and will continue to use.

I still believe that given a few more years, the HM2/HMR will die out. Due to the competition of these rounds, companies are revamping the .22 LR. Aguila has a .22 LR round that is close to the HM2 in speed and beats it for energy for half the cost of the HM2 ammo. I'll stick with my .22 thank you very much. And, if I'm looking to take a squirrel at 200+ yds, I'll take my .223.