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I went with a #2 stainless barrel 24" long to keep the weight down and the velocity up in my M24 .30-'06.

I got my first ULA "loaner" in '93, one of Melvin's ML rifles. I sent it back in '06 to get it refurbished. I also paid to have it painted, well worth the money charged. The check up was free.

jim

If you go with the M24 I'd suggest the 280AI rather than the 6.5-284. IMO, it's tough to see the advantage of the short case in the long action argument.

I agree!

257AI seems to be calling me with a NULA, or a 7x57AI.

SH

I have 3 of them, one of which is a .22LR. The others are a .257Roy and a .308. The .308 was originaly a 6.5X.284 and I shot the barrel out and made it a .308 just so I could have one rifle that was as common as salt and I could get ammo for in case I got lazy and didn't want to reload. Also had a .284 for many years that was stolen from me in Wyoming. That rifle was a really early one and seemed much smoother than my newer one. I much prefer the short actions and definatly the standard calibers over the Mags. The .257 Roy is about as big as I would want in one. Used a .300 Win in one for a while...the recoil didn't hurt but was exremely quick and sharp, it ate scopes. Especially Euro ones!

.257 ackley sounds super and with a 3" magazine should be about perfect.

LC

Scott,

I've got a 257AI NULA which is terrific. But if I had to do it over again, I would skip the AI, and get a regular Bob. The additional 100fps with the AI is not worth the trouble of fireforming to me.

But it is scary accurate, and has killed a bunch of antelope and mule deer. Last two years I used 115 VLDs, and they are quite explosive, accurate,and effective. And easy to load.

JMO.

Hope all is well.

Steve

Hey Steve,

You know me and Ackley rounds. All is well my friend, cept for NO deer been seen, but a very small problem in the grand scheme.

You?

Steelhead

go for it melvin has a thirty day no hassle return policy
who else gives that in the industry
Thats standing behind your product!!!

gene

I guess stock color is next, think I'll just tell him to surprise me.

Melvin is a believer in the .257 Ackley, and also believes Douglas barrels in .25 are among their best. I ran a NULA .257 Ackley with a #2 stainless barrel for a while and it was VERY accurate. But I never could see any advantage in the field over the standard .257, so eventually it went down the road. The guy I sold it to also got weary of fire-forming and sold it after one hunting season. But whatever....

On the subject of recoil, the very first NULA I ever got on loan was a .300 Winchester, one of the two rifles (the other a .284) that Melvin used to send ut to gun writers. This was 20 years ago when I was perhaps a little more recoil-tolerant, but it never seemed bad to me, even from the bench with 200-grain Nosler Partitions at 2900+. And I did not mount a heavy scope. As I recall the scoped rifle weighed 6-3/4 pounds. So recoil is indeed a very individual thing.

My present "heavy NULA is a Model 24 .30-06 with #2 barrel, a little lighter than the .300 due to the lighter action, about 6-1/2 pounds with a typical 3-9x. It comes back some with Federal High Energy 180's, as these average 2950 fps out of this rifle. But to me it is very tolerable, especially in the field.

Some people also will not "fit" the NULA stock all that well. It is a typical modern sporter type with a very straight comb (actually it slants downward a little from the butt). This works very well for a typical square-shouldered, short-necked man like me, but does not work so well for people with sloping shoulders and/or longer necks.

I wanted to buy the .300 but Melvin wouldn't sell it. He still has it, and it has slain a pile of game in the hands of various people--including his own son John, who brought it back out to Montana 15 years ago for a black bear hunt with me. He took a really big (for Montana) chocolate-phase bear at 300 yards. The rifle might be on its 2nd barrel (or maybe 3rd) now, and it still shoots.

When I had the .300 it once put 9 shots--3 each of handloads using 165, 180 and 200-grain bullets--into a group that was 1-1/4 inches high and about half that wide. That is another characteristic of NULA's probably due to the full-length bedding of the barrel. They tend to group different loads to pretty much the same POI.

Scott,

PM sent.

Steve

Bringing up and older thread ...

Are NULA actions CRF???

No

How much does a NULA cost say in 308? Are they made from stainless steel if wanted?

A new Kimber 84M Montana goes for about $995 here.

Kimber 84M Montana's in GA

About $3K, and worth it.

How is the NULA bolt handle attached to its bolt body?

Can we get one made in SS?

I don't think Melvin makes stainless actions. I don't know about the bolt handle, but for me that's a red herring.

I am glad this topic came up... I was looking at his website yesterday... the Model 20 Mountain rifle with 3 inch magazine and chambered in plain jane .260 Remington is what I would want... stock to be some sort of olive and black pattern, not sure of the other specs other than 1:8 twist, I would lean heavily on his recommendations as to what will work for a 6'3" shooter with long arms who anticipates shots of 250-350 meters while roaming hillsides and ridgelines in the Virginia mountains...

My stock broker which is one of my hunting buddies order a NULA in 22 Lr and should have received it last week or sometime this week. I will try it and if shoots the way i think it will i may order me one but if i do it will be a 22 Magnum in LH

I had my NULA assembled with a stainless steel barrel, but chrome moly is the only action choice.

jim