I love both pistols but I only own one of them, a MKIII 4. I use CCI Mini Mags and Federal High Velocity ammo and have no problems with either. Disassembly without a problem is no further away than the nearest of many YouTube videos documenting the process. Buy either one and you'll be happy you did. I'm partial to Rugers and own an LC9, an LCR in .22 and an SR22 in addition to the MKIII 4. Good luck with your selection.

Buy what you like best I own a mark iii 22/45 lite and its a great gun I have shot a lot of buckmarks and they are also great guns. The ruger tends to have more after market support if that matters. With a mark iii if you want it to take down like a mark ii get in touch with tandemcross and order a bushing and it fixes the takedown issues. If you want a lighter trigger with a buckmark just flip a spring, with ruger you just order a new sear if you want something nicer buy a trigger at the same time with pretravel and trigger stop adjustments (rimfiresports are hard to beat on price around $60 for both)

I have both. A Ruger Mark III 22/45 Hunter and a Buckmark slab barrel. Both have 5 1/2" barrels and both are excellent target pistols. I just changed the sights on my Ruger because I was not that wild about the wide 'V' rear with the Hi-Vis front. I still have the Hi-Vis front but I installed the Williams Fire Sights rear sight (I may put their front sight in but that remains to be seen). I bought the Buckmark about 13-14 years ago and it has the standard patridge sights and is very accurate.

The Ruger Mark III can be made much easier to field strip by installing a hammer bushing in place of the magazine disconnect safety. The other benefits of this is a smoother trigger and a magazine that drops free. Either one of these pistols should serve you very well. Both are quality pieces and both are excellent choices.

Great guys....thanks for all the informative responses. Looks like either is a great choice...I guess its just a matter of seeing how they feel next and making a selection! Maybe just flip a coin

Browning? Ruger? Both are good pistols.
I bought the Ruger when I was somewhat price sensitive. The Browning, though,nice, was a fair bit more money.
The Ruger MK3 is a bit of a PITA to disassemble/reassemble. However it's not a big deal after you've done it a few times.
MK2, sure, it's a bit easier, but not so much that it's worth a bunch of trouble. FWIW, if one is dedicated enough, you can order the parts needed eliminate the Magazine disconnect on the MK3 that is much of the problem. It's not that big of a deal.
I'm one of those shooters who cleans .22 after each use. My MK3 has been outstanding as far a reliability is concerned. It's never jammed and I've put several thousand rounds through it. But then, I've only shot CCI Blazers or Mini Mags through it. Of course finding them these days is a bit of a challenge. Through it all, the malfunctions I've experienced were ammo (maybe 4 or 5 duds) or optic related (battery died), neither of which are the gun's fault.

Negatives? Initially the trigger was heavy and a bit gritty feeling. A complete detail strip with a clean & polish fixed it.

I own both and I have had more trouble with the buckmark fouling up and jamming. They both are accurate enough for plinking but I like the Mark 3 more. If you can find a friend you should shoot both of them and see what works for you.

Anyone have any suggestions on an inexpensive scope for the MKIII .22 pistol?