Just a couple of factors to throw out there.
22 in my mind is not good at any task, it does however do a large variety of tasks good enough. Which is why it's so used
A buddy of mine recently took 8 hits from one point blank, including several to the head and he lived for a while before bleeding out.
My uncle had one put to his head and was shot execution style, he lived for years after that, (he was severely fucked up for life though)
My cousin shot herself in the head with the same gun, dead instantly
My point being while all 3 died, even headshots really shouldn't be trusted with the 22lr
My second point
Where I live, you can buy s&w, dpms, olympic, and bushmaster ar15's for under $600 New
Ak's cost the same 500-600 New
Mags are under 10 bucks each new for both
20rds of ammo can be had for either at $5 and some change.
The only rifles cheaper than that would be your typical deer bolt gun. $300-400minumum and then you need a scope, and at the end of the day you don't even have irons most likely.
My point being at the end of the day it's cheaper and far more intelligent to just buy the right tool.