I see that everyone is recommending either Ruger 10/22 or Marlin 60. I own one of each--the Ruger is about 3 years old and the Marlin 60 about 14 years old, so take this with a grain of salt. Its only one guy's experience.
The Marlin has a nicer trigger out of the box. I paid for a trigger job on the Ruger, even after I tested 6 in the store and got the best of those 6. Of course, these days all triggers are set by lawyers, so there may be no advantage. The Marlin is more accurate. In fact, it is very accurate. The Ruger is acceptable. The Marlin will shoot dime-sized groups at 25 yds. The Ruger is more like a quarter.
The Marlin jams more. The Ruger has never jammed. If I clean the Marlin every 100 rounds, it is pretty reliable. But somewhere between 100 and 150 rounds, it starts jamming pretty frequently. And that's with clean ammo--I've tried plenty. The Ruger is much easier to disassemble and clean. The Marlin fits me better--I've got longer arms.
So for hunting, I choose the Marlin. For kids/plinking, I use either.