Love my Remington 597-got a little Simmons 4x scope on see through rings-very accurate little .22-I've shot a lot of squirrels and rabbits with that rifle. Think I'm in it maybe just over 200 bucks.

marlin .22 bolt action, I actually put 3-9x tasco deer scopes on them, as I like the reticles a lot better and I have taken squirrels over a hundred yards with this combo, which I couldn't do with a 4x scope. Marlin .22s are relatively cheap, and with each long distance shot I'm amazed at the accuracy. I have taken a few rabbits while squirrel hunting with a .22, but I never purposely seek out rabbits.

If you're looking for high quality (high priced) ammo, CCI Velocitors, Mini-Mags, or Stingers are great, and offer a LOT of power out of a little 22lr.

It has been my experience that it really doesnt matter what kind of .22 ammo you use when it comes to squirrel hunting. They are all gonna kill a squirrel if you shoot them in the head, sure some may be more accurate, but it's not like you're shooting something 500 yards away. Now, some ammo is much more dirty and you get a lot of misfires with them. I think the biggest factor is the quality of the rifle, and the quality of the optics if you choose to use them.

Love my Rem nylon 66 & some CCI stingers, or the Rem Yellow jacket 22LR ammo, for everything from Chucks, Rabbits. or tree rats. does a nice one shot kill on them & with a good placed head shot, it does not destroy any of the table fair at all.

I use a Savage Mark I G with a 6X Weaver. You're just gonna shoot one nutrat at a time, right?

I have one too and love it. Great gun with a smooth action.

Ive been looking high and low for a reasonably priced Savage Model 24 (Newer model is a 42, but its horrible ugly) just for squirrels and rabbits. Its an Over/Under with a .22lr on top and a .410 on the bottom. Or even better a 20ga on the bottom, best combo I can think of for small hame.

My favorite gun for small critters is my 10/22 take down model with a set of Tech Sights on it. Shoots nice and accurate, eats any ammo (loves CCI) and splits in half for easy packing. The nice thing about the 10/22 over other .22 pack rifles is it takes maybe 10 secs to put together or take apart and doesn't wear out over time. For bigger varmints I grab Dad's .22WMR Henry which is great but the Ruger is my favorite of the two.
*Edit* Forgot to include I got a very nice fox with it a little while back. Only pics are on my crappy cell phone so I can't share

+1

Do you intend to eat the meat? If so a .22 is the way to go.