If you insist on the moderate power and range, the Ruger 10/22 is probably the closest match.
If you simply want the best gun, I would say a Remington 1187 or some of the other nice 12 gauge automatics.
In a urban setting when you might want to “eat Chinese” and have meow tacos, you can fire the squirrel rounds that are subsonic and it is as if the rifle had a silencer.
Strictly survival though, very un-kosher to hunt larger game with a 22, unless your life depended on it. I have killed quite a few coons with subsonics that were trapped in havaharts to not "disturb" my liberal neighbor.
I’ve been very pleased with my Marlin 795 & its 10 round single stack mags, using with baby Uplula speed loader is *wonderful*.
I was loaned a 10/22 with the rotary magazine for an Appleseed and I just didn’t like the magazine.
The Marlin is my practice/training long gun because of ammo costs. I like to use 200-250 rounds at each outing and that’s a little out of budget with the AR15.
But for a feeling of security, nothing beats a 12 gauge pump. It’s just a scary piece of hardware. Ran some rifled slugs through it the other day. Zowie, felt like I was ready to hunt elephants.