Familiar with Forkin Arms???

[218bee]

Hey guys, wondering if anyone has used Ben Forkin of Forkin Arms as a pistolsmith. I am contemplating turning a ratty old 3 screw Ruger Blackhawk 357 into a 44 Special which seems to be the "rage" nowadays. I am familiar with Clements and Bowen and a few others but I saw just such a pistol that Brian Pierce in "Handloader" had built by Mr Forkin and it sure looked good and I believe Brian said it is his most accurate sixgun. Just wondering if anyone had some first hand experience they want to share....Thanks

[Lloyd Smale]

ben forkin is both one of the best gun builders in this country and a very nice man to boot. You will never meet a man that is so fussy about what comes out of his shop. He was the head machinist for Hamilton Bowen so if you have a bowen gun that was built years ago ben probably did most of the work on it. He also is in my opinion the best man to choose if you want a custom lever gun project done. There are builders that will beat his prices but Ben takes his time and never rushes a gun out and when they are finished there right!! He just took on a 50 alaskan my buddy has that was built by someone else at great expense that was a total ***. It runs like butter now!! Ben doesnt advertise as he doesnt need to. He has all the bussiness he needs from people who know how good he is.

[bisleyfan41]

Ditto what Lloyd said. Also John Taffin has an article in the current American Handgunner Mar/Apr 08 about Ben's work. Included are pics of a flat top 44 conversion that is absolutely gorgeous. Also pictured is a bisley-gripped 445 Supermag that Ben built on a Ruger 357 Maximum long-frame. It is aweful purty as well. I would love to have one just like it and maybe I will one day. Never had any work done personally, but his work looks to be flawless.

[shawn45]

Ben is a super nice guy and does top notch work. I wouldn't hesitate to use him. One of the top craftsman in the industry.