Well, I haven't had much experience with .22 autos, I've always been a revolvers man, and I usually shoot larger calibers. However, my most recent purchase was a Smith and Wesson 22A. It's in your price range, the trigger is good, it's very reliable (cycles stingers, federal hp's, remington golden bullets, winchester hp's, cci hp's, remington subsonics, and even winchester X-perts, which I've had trouble with in other guns.) and extremely accurate. I bought mine as a squirrel hunting piece, and it comes with a full length scope rail on almost all of the barrel lengths. You can also quickly swap the barrels out. Finally, it takes about 30 seconds to take it apart and another 30 to put it back together. I've heard some bad things about the Ruger and Browning in that department. Personally, I've always shot more Ruger and Browning guns than I have Smiths, but I have to say that I am impressed with my 22A.