If you want a good semi-auto look at a Ruger 10/22. You should be able to find one for less than $200. I've got three of them, and one of them I used to shoot every single day all through high school. Always at least ten shots through it when I got home from school. No jamming problems, but I always kept mine pretty clean. So maybe ppl don't clean theirs well. It's been good for hunting too. I've taken squirrel, rabbit, groundhogs, racoon, coyote and muskrat with it.
-Jake