I have a 10/22 and a Savage MKIIFV (synthetic stock, heavy barrel, no sights).
The 10/22 was my first rimfire AND my first firearm purchase. I had heard a lot of good things about it, but also the bad (mediocre accuracy, terrible trigger-pull) but I bought it anyway. I upgraded the trigger with the VQ2000 trigger group ($200.00) almost instantly, and this already made it into a better gun. It IS possible to get the trigger a lot better for a lot cheaper, but I wanted guaranteed results, and as it was my first firearm, I didn't have much gunsmithing experience to rely on. Next, I replaced the recoil buffer pin with a rubber one (like a Tuffer-Buffer), and replaced the extractor with a VQ extractor (harder metal, and sharper). I also bought a Hogue stock because I was worred about banging up the nice Walnut stock it came with (I splurged on the DSP model, a somewhat stupid move in hindsight). So with those upgrades, I had a .22 that ate anything without so much as a hiccup, and very serviceable, however I started to notice it was still a little lacking in the accuracy department. I now have a brand new DLASK 16" heavy barrel for it, I'm just waiting for my stock to show up, another Hogue, but with the .920 barrel channel instead of the standard barrel channel to accomodate the additional diameter of the target barrel. The jury's still out on accuracy, because I'm still waiting for the stock, but all in all, it'll finally be a very nice gun, albeit perhaps a little on the heavy side.
Prior to obtaining a new barrel for my 10/22, I also picked up the Savage MKII for a song (just a shade over $200.00 at wholesale sports during a sale). Straight out of the box, it has a beautiful trigger (accu-trigger) and the accuracy is astounding for such a bargain-rifle, much much better than the 10/22 was out of the box. The Savage will shoot cloverleafs at 50 yards, my 10/22 was closer to an inch at 50. I chose the heavy barrel as I knew I would scope it, but the standard barrel comes with iron sights, although fairly rudimentary. My only beef with the Savage is the synthetic stock and most likely the walnut stock has a comb that is too low for use with a scope. I believe the MKIIF and MKIIFV (sporter barrel and target barrel versions respectively) share the same synthetic stock, and the comb is best used with the iron sights on the moden MKIIF. The laminate stock is apparently better for scoping.
Piecing together my 10/22 and tinkering with it has been a lot of fun, but depending on your needs, it gets boring pretty quick in the standard configuration, with the terrible trigger pull (I swear mines was 8 lbs) and mediocre accuracy straight out of the box. If you're looking for a .22 to #### around with, a 10/22 isn't a bad choice.
If you're looking for one to really improve your skills, you don't want to be in the position of determining if it was you or the equipment; remove all doubt, and buy a good bolt, like the Savage, or better yet if you have the coin, a CZ in any of the offered configurations.
