Originally Posted by battue
Originally Posted by Starman
Originally Posted by RBO


If you want to buy one just to have a rifle made by Melvin Forbes then by all means I can understand,....


Re: made by Mel Forbes...well depends what people understand that to mean.

As long as I can remember his actions are made by an outside machine shop, his stocks are made by his stock maker,
employees fit the barrel and action , finish the stock, etc.

just curious what hands on processes are normally done by Mr.Forbes himself.

I could not imagine owning a NULA in anything but .284win.


Actions are made for Melvin. Out of 3 Nula’s and one Montana re-barrel with Douglas, all clean easily. His rifles and stocks are made in house-at one time his garage-stocks are painted by another away from the shop. Melvin oversees perhaps 4 or 5 employees and his phone rings constantly with people who want to buy or talk rifles. Melvin shoots the finished product.

You think Barrett has his hands on every rifle that leaves the shop?

Between 7mm-08 and .284W, Melvin said 7mm-08 is the winner based on the constant availability of good brass.

Different loads do most often come close to the same POI. Close, but not 3 inches away or on top of one another.

Been to his shop perhaps 5 times and unless things have changed, I’m not guessing.



Fast forward this video to the 5:35 mark

https://hah.life/video/yHZiaHsFzw2Q...-%20Melvin%20Forbes%20And%20His%20Rifles

I do believe that at one point in time Melvin had hands on all his rifles, either he doesn’t anymore or age is having its effect on him. My first rifle was shipped with a crooked trigger, sticking out past the right side of the trigger guard. It was the first thing I noticed when I got the rifle, then I noticed a couple small chips in the paint (even the paint seemed easy to scuff off). This was my first Nula so I wasn’t sure if this was normal, I called Melvin and told him this is the sort of QC I’d expect from a $500 factory rifle not a $3800 semi custom order.

If I were ever to buy another Nula it would be second hand and no newer than 2014, after he lost his cnc operator and his painter, his workload got too big for him to teach those skills to new employees, those two guys were a huge part of the Nula’s the legend was built on.