Went out today with the new toy. its a 24b in 270 win. Thought i would give a quick review. Barrel is 24" with a OD of .615 at the muzzle. Finish is a matte black oxide coating. In all honesty seems a little soft in that it scratches easily but its hard to tell and doesn't appear to go to the metal but rather just dulls the matte finish. The receiver looks great. Scaled to the size of the 06' based cartridges, much like the 84L. Push feed with the same safety as found on the NULA's. two position but when you push down on the safety you can work the bolt. I have stubby thumbs so it is a little easier for me to reach than the Montana's. It is very quiet when used as well. Small pet peeve of mine. I hate a trigger that clicks. The supplied rings are very nice- talleys with a little angle to the rear ring/base. Nicely done. Aluminum trigger guard. Trigger is a Timney. Easy to adjust and breaks clean. Stock reminds me alot of the kimber but has a cheek peice. Of course it is full length bedded like the NULA's. bedding seems nicely done. Not perfect but more than adequate.

I mounted my new $299 zeiss 3-9 scope (thanks to the fire for the tip on theses scopes at cabelas!) and went out. In all honesty the zeiss seems a little bulky on this rifle. Not that i couldnt get used to it but seems a little top heavy but hey- for most of what i do it is just fine. I do handload but had been in a little bit of a funk on one of my other rifles so I thought i would try some factory to see if it was me. I love partitions so I started with the 150gr Federal premium load. First group was about 1.2". Went home and thought that it was ok for the first couple shots out of it. Cleaned up the barrel. Which was not terribly difficult to do. They supposedly use ER shaw barrels. I havent had experience with them before. Cleaned up much like other factory tubes. From the little bit of rifling i can see from the muzzle, about 1/2", it appears to be cut clean without much chatter. I would love to have a bore scope! Anyway- a little KG1 and a brush and it cleaned up just fine. Second time out she started to shoot much better. 0.6" was the best (i quit after that! didnt want to spoil a good feeling) Then I tried a factory 130 barnes TTSX loading. they went 1.3 ish but I think I flinched on one of them. I will give them another try soon. Both loadings hit within 1/2" of each other as well. I like when a rifle shoots differnt loads to about the same POI. Anyway- just my observations. If Forbes keeps this up i think they will sell a few. Here a some pics of my rig.

I've been waiting for someone to actually get one of these in their hands. Looks like you might have a winner.

I shouldn't have sold mine.......they are nice!

I just asked my shop to order one. Didn't tell them I would buy one in a long action but I would like to look before I drop a deposit on a ss SA. Thinking 7-08 for a Forbes. 338-06 on a CLR. 300 WSM in a Montana. And a 260 in a NULA. And my Mountain Guide 243. Should be set.

Seen the Gun Nuts review on the Forbes with Petzel. Solid 2 moa shooter. Blamed it on the wind. It's called TV, keep shooting till you get a good group. From a guy that owns NULA's he liked it but stated he would not go larger than a 270 in that light of a rig.

I like mine so far. SS would be a nice touch. Havent had any factory loads over that 1.3" range yet. I think a shortaction 260 would be solid.

Thanks for the write-up and good shooting. They keep putting them out like that and the line to get one may be long.

Have fun, looks like you have a winner.

So where did you buy it from? I wouldn't mind picking one up to compare side by side with the Montana.

Scheels is stocking them

Nice review.

I can easily see myself dumping my Model 7 and second rifle to come up with funds to buy a short action Forbes when available. The only downside to it for me is that I can't get it with a shorter, smurf-sized stock to fit my stature.

Is there a Scheels in MN? I've heard of them but never seen one.

Thanks

Melvin Forbes told me that he'd cut those stocks and repaint them for $100.

St Cloud, and Fargo ND.

And Mankato, and Eau Claire.

Good to know. Thanks, T.a.k.