[quote=Nishnabotna
[/quote]

All your points are valid and make sense, which is another reason I usually stay out of firearms discussions, unless someone is doing something dangerous.
10/22's are probably the best over-all value for a semi-auto .22, and being a "lefty" also I can say they are "southpaw friendly" (I've owned 2 in the past).
It's something with the ejection design that keeps it from "spitting" on your cheek after each round, which the Marlin 60 is notorious for (at least in my past experience).

Also, Rugar is a solid company, with probably the best customer service in the market, along with Henry Firearms.