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To those who own a CLR.. Is a NIB CLR in 30-06 worth sending to Melvin Forbes to work his magic? If one should send a CLR to Mr. Forbes, what should be done?

shoot it first to see if it shoots with the factory barrel.

I would definitely try it first most of those shot really well.

I have a 7 mag and it shoots lights out as is. I have been thinking about sending it to Mr. Forbes for a stock and trigger upgrade.

Short answer, yes, it should be sent to Mr. Forbes for a stock and a trigger. Add a bbl to the mix if your's isn't accurate or should you wish to change the chambering of said rifle.

They are not bad as is. The stock is not as noisy as some tupper ware stocks. But a trip to NULA and you will have a very nice rifle at about a third of the cost of a NULA. Check to see if your rifle is one of the early recall rifles, but not an issue if you get it worked over by Melvin.

Here are my recommendations some what in order of priority:

New Stock
Replace all springs especially the firing pin spring
Convert to the Forbes three position safety if it is a two stage
NULA trigger gaurd
New barrel, only if you want to change cartridges or the original doesn't shoot (rarely the case).

Seems like I am forgetting some others but just ask Melvin and go with what he advises.

Most definitely worth it, new stock, trigger guard, timney trigger, safety, bolt rebuild because the firing pins/springs were known to fail, follower and main spring. I think it's running about $850 for the upgrade these days. the factory barrels shoot pretty good too especially with the new stock. The 30-06 I just traded to razorhog shoots lights out with 168gr bergers an imr4895.

Yep.

Thanks for the insight fellas. I believe Mr. Forbes will be getting a call soon.

I like them.

Some of the early CLRs in 30-06 had a recall. If you have the serial number you can call Colt and see if it has, or hasn't, been through the recall process.

I have 4 CLRs in 30-06, the lowest sn being LR0015xx, none of which were subject to the recall.

I wish that I had had the foresight to buy several NIB CLRs when CDNN was selling them for $400.

My primary elk hunting rifle is an unmodified CLR in 270. Light and accurate enough for anything that I've done with it. I've thought about having Mr. Forbes replace the stock, but I don't know if the amount of improvement is worth the cost.

Same here wish I had picked up several at close out prices. They are a good serviceable rifle as is but with the upgrades they are really nice and compare favorably with the best semi custom rifles. The NULA stock is one of the best light weight stocks around, the stiffness to weight ratio is possibly the best. The spring replacement improves the functioning and the reduces the chance of getting miss fires after a couple of thousand rounds. The trigger pull and safety reliability are also improved with the spring upgrade. Either way if you see one at a good price go for it.