I'm gonna go out on a limb and predict the Forbes will not be a big seller....Although big among many serious rifle people like you find on this board me included I own 2 NULA rifles, the majority of the rifle buying hunters Havent ever heard of Melvin Forbes or his Rifles and they are perfectly happy with the Rem. 700 or Tikka or Savage ect ect that they already have....I know all the advantages to owning a Melvin rifle but most aren't willing to put down $1300/1400 for a lightweight rifle that shoots under an inch, I bought a factory 700 SPS a little over a year ago put it in a used HS stock and it shoots amazing 1 hole groups with reloads..My Model 28 in 300wm does too...I think factory rifles have caught up in the accuracy dept. and lightweight is just not worth the extra $$$ to most of the Rifle buyers . Just my opinion !
Agreed. Not available in enough cartridges and options for the loonies. Too expensive for the one rifle crowd. The hard core guys aren't buying until it's all stainless.
I hope it does well, but in this economy? I see a lot of really nice higher end rifles languishing in the racks or in the classifieds, despite the current buying frenzy on most everything else.
Time will tell.
I don't disagree with either of you. My hope is that Forbes understands their market position and strives to fill that niche. If they can be profitable selling 10-20 rifles a month, stay there. That will fill the niche and keep supply/demand in check.
Being a hard core bolt rifle loony, I have my opinions of potential success and failure. Had I been calling the shots, stainless would have been the only option from the start. I would have rolled the 20B out first instead of the 24. Maybe initially offer six chamberings?
They're building a quality rifle. I hope they can continue to do so, while balancing demand, QC and profit. If they can do this successfully, they'll be around a long time. I have no idea about their financial situation, budgets or overhead, but my hope is that they don't have to compete with Remington, Ruger, etc to be successful.
