i have or had 22lr: ruger single six, bearcat, shopkeeper, lcr, sr22; s&w 317; heritage roughriders; taurus 94 & pt22; h&r/nef double action.
my sugesstions in rank order for a plinker:
1. ruger single six, new or used, modern two screw, 5.5 or 4". your grandkids will enjoy it with their kids.
2. ruger sr22. very handy, will eat anything. easy to fieldstrip and clean.
3. heritage roughrider, 4", plow not birdshead grip. at $150 new a great value, but im leery of a used one.
single actions are superb for deliberative learning. both s.s. and r.r. fire 22wmr in additional cylinder, credible for protection if using defense specific loads.
other thoughts. bearcat and shopkeeper are elegant showpieces, very small. lcr is a nice snubbie defense piece, needs longer barrel to be a plinker. s&w 317's alloy cylinder freezes after 100 rounds, unexcusable for such a pricey piece. taurus 94 truly bad trigger pull, pt22 for pockets if you can trust defense specific rimfire semiauto. h&r/nef are okay, go bang, not bad but underwhelming, for the same price get a heritage r.r.