I don't understand the original questioning. You say economical and I assume you mean ammo wise. There is adifference in ammo for a .40 vs. .22LR - BIG difference.
So I will go the .22 route and the Rugers semi-auto offerings are nice but I am also a big fan of their wheel guns. The Browning semis are good too.
Now this is just me but I really like the Walther P22.
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=13152&storeId=10002& amp;categoryId=43804&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=43326&top_category=43 326&training=