Kimmy, I don't think Derek was firm enough with his answer to the Bear and .22LR comment. If I ran in to a bear somewhere I'd certainly try to discourage it with loud sounds or the usual egress advice. Shooting a bear with a .22 will do just about nothing, in fact it is most likely only going to scare it with the sound, shooting it with a .22 though might just piss it off some more....
And I'll second Derek on another point. I bought my son the aforementioned Ruger SR-22 earlier this year, it's a hoot to shoot and my girlfriend loves to shoot it too, minimal recoil (not much more than a pellet gun) and the fun + cool factor are wicked. Ammunition for it is super cheap, approx $30 for 550 rounds.