I think that a quality/accurate rifle chambered in .22 that has the action style and approximate weight/balance as your primary center-fire hunting rifle is a useful tool to practice with. I like the Marlin 981, Winchester 52 Sporter, and Winchester 320 for bolt action understudies, Marlin 39s for lever action understudies, Remington 572s for pump action understudies, and Winchester 490s for semi-auto understudies.
While I like Ruger 10/22s, I currently have 18 of them, and think that they can be turned into accurate rifles, I don't think that they are the best choice for an understudy rifle.
