I'm fan of .22 pistols and have had tons of different .22 pistols.
As others have said, you can't go wrong with a Ruger Mark series. I've owned several of each variation and the best is the Mark III in my opinion. I like the Mark III over the Mark II, which is also good, because of the positioning of the magazine release. I've heard some complain about the loaded-chamber indicator of the Mark III, but not sure why in that I've owned 5 or 6 of them and never found it to cause any problem. The Mark IV is my least favorite because the controls are awkwardly placed on that model, which makes it difficult for any sort of a "high-grip" hold.
My favorite is an early production stainless Ruger Mark III 5.5" bull barrel. I bought it new in the early 2000s for something like $250 at Sportsman's Warehouse. I'm sure it's had at least 30,000-40,000 rounds through it. The gun is accurate and reliable with my only complaint being they are a pain to take a part and clean. So, I only clean it every 5,000 or so rounds.
