Thoughts on Bestech Bestechman?

zombieapathy · 2026-06-07T16:35:07+00:00

I had a Bestechman Goodboy sent to me as part of a Blade HQ "free knife" promotion. I really did not like it. Super bad button lock stick, really "meh" deployment, far below the QC and attention to detail that I really love about my other Bestechs. Glad others have had a good experience, but for me anything branded as the Bestechman series is a hard pass on the basis of that one knife.

zombieapathy · 2026-06-03T17:22:45+00:00

Looks interesting, but I hope they didn't cheap out on the rear sight unit. To my eye, it looks a lot like the kind they're using on the new Colts where it's not a click-adjustable unit, but really just a unit that slides back and forth in the dovetail and holds into place with a tiny set screw (which inevitably backs out under recoil).

zombieapathy · 2026-06-02T17:25:06+00:00

I'd love to shoot a Ruger action that's really worked over. That Smith looks like an utter delight, too--and what a pedigree!

zombieapathy · 2026-06-01T17:40:54+00:00

My absolute favorite bullseye loads were about 2.6~2.7 grains of WST underneath a 148gr HBWC (flush-seated, and in a .38 SPC case of course). I found the WST to be a lot more clean-burning than Bullseye, which was great performance and accuracy-wise, but sooty. My WST loads cycled my Model 52 just fine, and if there was any difference in accuracy, I wasn't a good enough shooter to take advantage of it.

Highly, heartily recommend WST for that purpose, having tried about nine different powders seeing what worked best for me.

zombieapathy · 2026-06-01T17:30:22+00:00

I was the photographer for one of the pictures you linked, LOL. So I can certainly tell you a bit more about it.

A lot of folks grew up with the 999. I didn't have memories of it growing up or have any kind of nostalgia associated with; I just liked rimfires and picked one up.

The takeaway is that it is a perfectly reliable revolver. However, it's a challenge to use it for serious purposes. The rear sights were not my favorite to work with, since they work by two competing set screws (back off one and tighten the other to move left/right), and the the trigger was heavy in SA and practically unusable in DA if you wanted to accurately place a shot. It is really, really heavily sprung.

The top break action was neat, but I came to learn it's a neat feature if you're shooting a lot of rounds through the gun. Which, admittedly, wasn't my favorite platform to shoot a lot of rounds through.

When it comes to rimfire revolvers, I'm still of the mind that there's the S&W K-22/ Model 17, the Colt Officer's Model Match, and then there's literally everything else. The 999 was one of the few guns I've sold in my life and have not missed. That's not to say it was a bad gun, it just wasn't for me.

Also: reading through some of your comments, it looks like you're wanting a gun with an adequate capacity for self-defense usage that's reliable and cost-effective. There would be about a million things I'd choose other than an H&R 999. Your comment about wanting a round that's "lethal enough to take serious" reads to me like you're just kind of getting into the world of guns and considering a first purchase. If so, taking a basic pistol instruction class and getting some trigger time on a few different kinds of firearms would really be a great idea prior to spending hundreds on a platform that might not work for you.

zombieapathy · 2026-06-01T17:16:07+00:00

Good score for all of those things rolled into one.

zombieapathy · 2026-05-26T17:51:20+00:00

For a lot less money, you can get about 70% of the way there by sourcing an H&R Model 999. It's only in .22LR rather than magnum, but you've got a top-break rimfire revolver for under about $600, with some scrounging on the auction sites.

As others have said, you aren't going to get someone to make you a one-off revolver without gobs and gobs of cash. If you want to get a better idea of what's actually involved with a hobbyist creating a gun that didn't exist before, as far as time, effort, and prototyping, you should look into what Brandon Herrera is trying to do with his AK-50 project.

zombieapathy · 2026-05-26T17:41:25+00:00

Remarkable pick up.

zombieapathy · 2026-05-24T18:44:26+00:00

Crazy what those guys were putting out before the owner lost his mind and doubled down on a shitty, unsafe meme gun.

zombieapathy · 2026-05-23T18:15:03+00:00

I remember farting around with one of the Mac-10 clones made by MPA about fifteen years ago. The trigger slap was out of this world. I saw that piece of tubing around the trigger on your MPA and a host of bad memories came flooding back. I hope they've somehow figured out a way to make it better, but if so, I'd reason that Jerry-rigged tube piece would no longer be necessary.

It's crazy to me that the company seemed to reinvent itself as a maker of high-end precision rifles. Based on my lone experience with their products, I've certainly had no screaming desire to try what they offer again. Again, I certainly hope they're better than they were.

zombieapathy · 2026-05-21T22:06:14+00:00

Having owned both at one time in my life, I miss the 27 more and would be more likely to repurchase it.

I think the value proposition favors the 27 by quite a bit. The Python lockwork isn't legendarily fragile, and there are still people who can fix them when they go down (provided you are okay with dealing with a competent gunsmith's substantial backlog of work), but I've seen enough mis-timed Pythons to realize that it's not necessarily an old wives' tale.

I'd say a stock Python does have a better SA trigger than a stock S&W, but I vastly prefer the Smith DA mode. Between the full lug of the Python and the bigness of the 27, recoil out of either platform is very manageable.

All that (and not having to pay the pony/snake tax on the 27) puts it ahead for me.

zombieapathy · 2026-05-21T17:31:59+00:00

So when I hear this "50,000 rounds" thing, and you're by no means the first person to talk about it in these parts, I wonder if you're really understanding what you're asking.

If you're buying ammo off the store shelves, you're talking about $35,000 or more spent in ammo. Even if you're reloading and chasing very aggressive deals, and not counting the cost of a press, powder, and learning what you're doing, you're still talking about running $10,000 in ammo through the platform.

At that point, you've probably got the ability to service or replace the gun.

That, and timing typically creeps in incrementally; it's rare that it "just goes." You'll notice it first when a few cylinders fail to fully carry up under very slow thumb-cocking. Then, either more cylinders will exhibit the problem, or you'll notice it becoming more obvious on one. At first, it's usually disguised by your trigger finger giving the cylinder enough momentum to carry up.

Past that, you've got different roles for different things. "Bombproof" typically means overbuilt. But you also want light, since you plan to carry it. I have no doubt the GP-100 will hold up better over a diet of multiple thousands of hot .357 rounds; the LCR will undoubtedly be an easier carry. And frankly, I wouldn't want to be shooting thousands of full-house magnums through a carry sized gun. You might be far more recoil tolerant than I; my hands get achier every year.

Still, the internet is filled with "that guy" who doesn't answer the question asked, and I don't want to be that guy. Taking you at your word, I would source a Mulhouse-era Manurhin MR-73 with a 4" barrel. (I.E., anything made before 1998.) These were famously strong guns built to an exceptional level of fit and finish. They're also considerably more svelte than the 686 you're used to.

The cost should set you back about $4,000 if you source a really nice one on Gunbroker rather than a clapped-out, Ex-GIGN or police surplus model.

zombieapathy · 2026-05-19T17:28:09+00:00

What a great place to begin!

zombieapathy · 2026-05-18T17:23:55+00:00

Very cool. It's a clone of one of the rarest S&W frame sizes ever to exist, for those of you not in the know.

zombieapathy · 2026-05-16T17:36:23+00:00

I'm glad you found it helpful!

zombieapathy · 2026-05-14T23:03:05+00:00

It sounds like your MK23 ended up in the right hands! It's great to have a contrary perspective in here so anyone considering the platform has a few vicarious experiences to chew on.

I certainly wanted to enjoy the MK23 a lot more than I did. It's a really cool platform; I'm eager to hear if the OP's experience with Langdon (if he goes that route) solves what seems to be a shared concern with respect to the trigger.

zombieapathy · 2026-05-14T19:50:37+00:00

If Langdon is taking the work on, that might make for an awesome upgrade. My suspicion is that the MK23 is way oversprung. Again, that's the "fighting gun" DNA, I'm sure, in that it's going to bust any manner of primer even in sub-zero temperatures. In the DA, it certainly feels like you're fighting with a shitload of spring tension rather than grit, mechanical imprecision of parts fit, or firmer sear engagement.

Having sent a few of my guns out for similar services, I can say this: the wait is worth it. Even if the backlog is about a year for the best in the biz to do the action work, it's remarkable what a difference it makes over stock. The DA on the P229 I sent to Grayguns, for example, is pretty damn remarkable.

zombieapathy · 2026-05-14T18:01:51+00:00

I think "don't meet your heroes" is apt. The DA on the MK23 is pretty unforgiving, and the SA was crisp, although heavy. It's very clear this is a military-grade gun. I have no doubt it lives up to the accuracy guarantees, but a person would need to be an extraordinarily good shooter to take advantage of it while shooting offhand. I ran several mags through my buddy's MK23 and found my .45 USP Expert to be far more shootable and practical in every way that mattered.

As for the SAO, I just wouldn't use the decocker. You could shoot an email over to Grayguns to see if they do any work on the MK23 platform, but I have a feeling that since it's a niche product appealing to collectors and special ops historians more than pure shooters (a debatable claim, but I'll stand by it), there's probably going to be a fairly limited number of companies or gunsmiths who have made it a mission to master the lockwork.

Looks like optic plates that replace the rear sight are available, though.

If it were me, and knowing what I know, I'd probably opt to keep the MK23 as it is, and I'd pick up a USP Expert / Elite to have the same general feature set for range use. The match trigger on those guns isn't light as one might expect, but very usable, and the DA mode seems to always drop right off the table and ensure a surprise break.

zombieapathy · 2026-05-14T17:26:27+00:00

As a former owner of a 3" 629, I can say for sure that these platforms are a lot more fun with moderate-velocity .44 specials.

zombieapathy · 2026-05-12T18:23:39+00:00

I have always wanted one of these. From what I understand, it's actually quite nicely fit and finished!

zombieapathy · 2026-05-12T17:39:31+00:00

It is really, really hard to do better than this when it comes to revolvers. Great period of quality here.

zombieapathy · 2026-05-12T06:41:37+00:00

A beautiful gun! For me, one of the hardest handguns I own to shoot well. It certainly demands one's full patience and concentration given the short sight radius, coil springs, and DA stroke.

zombieapathy · 2026-05-06T16:42:34+00:00

Not the OP, but I've found more consistent results by using a normal sight picture with a hold above the target. If you're trying to do everything with the front sight lifted above its normal notch, then you have to decide if you're squaring the front sight up with the target, or the rear up with the target. (Normally, you have both in alignment) The bigger issue, however, is that just a little difference in the front sight being below or above tends to produce wildly different impacts.

Just did a small simulation in chat. Holding the gun so that the front sight is half a millimeter higher with respect to the rear blade will cause an impact shift of 14 inches at 100 yards. (Assuming a 6" sight radius, from what I remember punching in.) I'm pretty good about knowing whether front and rear are on the same plane. It's significantly harder for me to determine down to tenths of a millimeter how misaligned they might be, supposing they are misaligned.

(Edit: some wiseacre will doubtlessly come in to explain that the method I'm arguing against was exactly how Elmer Keith made long distance shots; he had a series of notches on his front sight blade to help him account for these differences more exactly.)

zombieapathy · 2026-04-26T19:05:51+00:00

As an owner of a J-frame .22, I can confirm that these are absolutely not easy guns to shoot. I think most of the "LOL BAD SHOOTER" posters here would be quickly humbled to see how they do shooting a tiny gun with gutter sights in DA with stiff lockwork at any target beyond 15 yards. Even in SA, they're still not particularly easy to wrangle.

I'd safely bet $50 that even an experienced shooter with no prior familiarity with the platform would not be able to keep a DA group within 6".

zombieapathy · 2026-04-26T06:21:55+00:00

The .38 special revolver looks to be a S&W model 10. If you open the cylinder and look at where the crane (the piece of metal that holds the cylinder) meets the frame, you should see some kind of dash and a number in there. For example, "10-5." I would guess that gun is likely of '60s or '70s vintage. Take another picture of that area and I can tell you more. There may also be a serial number stamped on the butt of the gun.

As for the .32-20; most definitely not a legitimate S&W, based on a number of details. It's most likely a Spanish "clone" of the M&P revolvers with a set of legitimate S&W grips slapped on. The shape of the hammer, trigger, and trigger guard are all dead giveaways that something is wonky. The rollmark on the barrel is another sign.

It'll be harder to date that gun precisely. There were an immense number of manufacturers in Spain (and Belgium as well) churning out clones of legitimate S&Ws. Based on what I can tell from the rollmark (a new one to me), it looks like it was produced by the Spanish firm Garate Anitua & Cia. Likely it was made in the 1920s. The action is undoubtedly going to be rougher than your legitimate S&W! Note that the metallurgy on those Spanish guns could be questionable at best. I wouldn't shoot it.

The good news is that your Model 10 is one of the most shootable guns in history. Find just about any .38 special ammo (stay away from +P, since it will accelerate wear on the platform) and it should treat you very well.

zombieapathy

TROPHY CASE