The N.E.F. and H&R are good. Any one shoot a Uberti low wall? They look nice. 30" octagonal Barrel with the vernier sihgt might be a nice way to go.

I second BAW - a BSA 12/15. 1/4 MOA adjustable sights, hadley eyecup, aperture front, decent trigger.
Mine wears a scope though, and will do some serious shooting...

I have had excellent luck with my old Savage Model 219b....

I just settled on a 40gr BT load for my No.3 Ruger getting about .7 MOA (.58 was the best) but with 3x9x compact scope. Hard to believe anything with a barrel band will shoot that well.

I'm not sure about the need for open sights, but I guess they're OK if you can see them! My NEF .22 Hornet will shoot less than an inch at 100 yards using a 4-12X with 40 gr V-Max, 13.5 gr Lil'Gun and CCI 400 in Rem brass at 2750 fps. The OAL is a little over 1.9", but the single shots usually are pretty forgiving on OAL. My barrel is only 20", so a longer barrel (standard is 22") will produce higher velocity.

The NEF .22 Hornet comes with open sights (but it's also drilled and tapped) and costs $187 at Wallie World. If they don't have it in stock, they can order it for you. Extra barrels can be factory fitted for around $100.