I have been monitoring this thread with great interest, as I too have experienced a "Lemon" model 24B. Mine came in the flavor of a .270 SS barrel. I ordered this rifle back in December of 2013. I wanted the green stock and SS barrel and anxiously awaited its arrival. Besides a Benelli SBEII, this is the most money I have spent on a gun-period. I just got a hankering for a lightweight bolt action rifle to tote in the mountains of Virginia, and while an NULA would have certainly been nice, my wallet would simply not allow such a purchase. Nevertheless, after doing extensive reading/research I chose what I thought to be the next best thing....the "Blue-Collared" working man's NULA- Forbes 24B. The rifle arrived at my FFL in late March, and I felt like a kid on Christmas morning as a went to pick it up. I checked the rifle for initial fit and function. Although the action was initially very, very rough, it did "function" minus ammo. I had the guys at the gun shop adjust a miserable 4 3/4lb trigger down to a very nice 3 1/4lb pull before departing the shop. Overall the rifles finish and cosmetics were very acceptable, with a couple of very, very minor paint imperfections. Alas nothing the first day at the range or in the woods would not surely erase from my memory. After arriving home, I proceeded to give the weapon a thorough cleaning, as I have done with every new weapon I have acquired for the last 40 years. The bore was exceptionally "Gunky" and I went through approximately 40 Pro-Shot patches and Shooters Choice solvent to get it clean. I then greased the lugs and proceeded to work the Gritty Bolt back and forth (Never pulling the trigger) through a couple of TV shows. The action/bolt actually loosened up considerably after this procedure. After thoroughly cleaning all other aspects of the rifle, I proceeded to mount a new Zeiss Conquest 3.5-10x44 in the supplied Talley rings. Once this was accomplished, again much like a kid....I sat and stared at my new "GO-TOO" rifle I had wanted for so long. While I planned to load 130 BT over some configuration of 4831SC and Norma brass, I realized I had NO .270 ammo in the house for a regimented barrel break-in. So the next day I went to the local Wally-World and you guessed it, picked up a box a trusty Blue-Box Federal 130 Soft Points. The next day prior to departing for the range, I figured I would check TRUE function with live ammo. Here is the point my heart sank! This rifle would not feed properly, nor would it eject properly. On one occasion it would pick up a round from the blind magazine and fail to chamber, the next time it would pick up a round and chamber but fail to extract, the next time it would work for one round, but the next round would fail to chamber! There was NO rhyme or reason for what it would do next! The new factory loaded ammo's brass suffered EXTENSIVE scratching, above and beyond anything I have ever experienced with ANY push-feed rifle. Needless to say I was heartbroken. While I realize there are certainly far worse problems in the world we live, the fact this Brand Spankin' New Unfired rifle was exhibiting such behavior was unbelievable to me. The next day I took the rifle to work with me and had two separate Weapons Armorers examine the rifle. Each said..."Get Your Money Back...NOW!" They also were completely dismayed at the feed/function of this new rifle.
At this point I telephoned Forbes rifles and spoke with Rick Campbell, the Sales Manager. I had been dealing directly with Rick when placing my order, so I felt best dealing with him at this juncture. Needless to say he was very apologetic and assured me they would make it right. I will say without hesitation Mr. Campbell has been a true professional throughout my ordering/payment/shipment, and he DID NOT disappoint me at this point of the ordeal. He provided me a shipping "Code" and advised me to return the rifle for necessary repairs. He further explained the extractor, and magazine box would be replaced as a starting point.
After sleeping on this, the next day I telephoned Mr. Campbell and advised him of my desire to have a Full-Replacement of the weapon. After all I had not fired a single round through the rifle, and it was still brand new. I reasoned that if this were a new car and the salesman pulled it off the showroom floor and it was smoking and leaking oil, "Fixing-It" would not be an option, as a Full Replacement would ONLY suffice. Mr. Campbell did not hesitate on my request. He did advise me it would be Mid-Summer before they ran SS .270's again, so my replacement would be delayed nearly 4 months. I advised him, since it was March, and I typically like to do initial load development in cooler weather this would be acceptable to me. Needless to say, I pointed out the ideal of the cost of this weapon versus a $350 Ruger American, and how as the consumer I expected MUCH, MUCH more for my hard earned money. Hezz, fail to function is a Basic regardless of the weapons cost. Other than Mr. Campbell's customer service....EVERY part of this purchase has been a true Nightmare! I went so far as to ask him to personally test and Shoot the next rifle before shipment to me! He assured me he would do the same by taking the rifle to his home and test firing it, as they do not have a range facility at the manufacturing plant.
I am willing to give Forbes another chance to provide me a fully functioning.......much better than average accuracy rifle....for my much higher than average cost incurred. Don't ask me why, but I truly believe Mr. Campbell and Forbes rifles will deliver! As a footnote......while I know nothing about marketing/production/or sustaining a business...based on some of the feedback I have read......FORBES RIFLES BETTER GET A HANDLE ON THEIR QUALITY CONTROL, and start delivering the quality of weapon they have promised to the consumer.....because in reality NO LEVEL of Customer Service will be able to overcome an Inept/Faulty product. Furthermore, from all that I have read about Mr. Melvin Forbes and his attention to detail...I suspect incidents like these Do-Not sit kindly with him in the least!