Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles so, how does this faux nula actually work???

i'm referring to sending a colt light rifle to melvin for a nula upgrade. can you pick any chambering that you want or does he have a list or some such? i'd love to find a 7 mag and send it to him to turn it into a 6.5 rem mag 1-8" twist naturally.
thanks,
Big Ed

The best answers will come directly from the source, so I'd suggest that you call NULA at 304-292-0600 and discuss the work you are interesting in having done with Mr. Forbes himself.

10-4 260. gotta find a donor colt light rifle in 7 mag first. just figured some of the fellas here had done such conversion and wanted to pick their brain. thanks for the phone # tho.........
Big Ed

CLRs have simple barrel shanks with a flat face, no extra mill work required, so they should be an easy rebarrel job for any competent 'smith.

Nobody knows more about the CLR/NULA hybrids than Mr. Forbes and he usually answers the phone when you call.

Good luck with you project.

Melvin has been building rifles for so long, I'm sure he has every chamber reamer under the sun. So order your chambering, contour, barrel length, barrel maker (std is Douglas), SS or CM.

He replaces bolt springs and trigger/safety as part of the conversion. Maybe some other minor parts. I'd suggest swapping out the bolt release if possible - the standard CLR release is sharp and too skinny in my opinion where you press down with your thumb. I guess the only other option would be paint color/scheme for the NULA stock, along with LOP and any other special stuff you'd want done.

The trick will be finding a 7mm Mag CLR for a decent price to send him.

thanks 257.,so, is a barrel swap part of the deal then usually? my reasoning for wanting a 7 mag is it and the 6.5 rem mag have same size bolt face i believe.
thanks,
Big Ed

The $900 +/- upgrade that I bought includes the stock, trigger and safety, trigger guard, firing pin spring, and magazine follower. Barrel work is extra.

Going to a 6.5 Rem Mag is nostalgic, but brass is real hard to find and ammo variety is non existent. A better bet for success would be the 6.5 PRC (.532 bolt face) on a standard long action. No belt, popular round with Hornady making components and brass, ammo and bullets are plentiful. Although the Rem Mag holds more powder and provides slightly more velocity, the PRC is a better hull design. If you want a nostalgic belted 6.5mm magnum the 264 Win Mag is older by about 9 years over the Rem Mag and is a bit faster. Brass and components are way more plentiful than the Rem Mag and a 26-inch barrel is needed to reach potentials.

Any belted-mag CLR will get you where you've penned you're going. I can't say that a 6.5Rem nor a 6.5PRC make much sense to me on a long-action, but, I'm not footing the bill.

For very similar ballistic performance you could find a standard (non-magnum) caliber CLR, go 6.5x284, have an extra round in the belly, and have far easier access to quality brass.

6.5-284 -or- 264 win...depending on donor 😎

How long ago was that? I would consider spending that to have the same work done. I have a good shooting CLR in .30-06. My major complaint is the bolt handle angle when ejecting a round. It gets too close to the scope. It needs some bend it it.

Within the past 4 months.

Thank you!

So maybe $1500 with a barrel change?

6.5 Rem Mag brass can be formed from 7mm Rem Mag brass....right?? Not sure how easy it is.

And you will need a 7mm Mag CLR with a magnum bolt face for any of the std magnum cartridges.

CLRs came in 300 Win Mag too if you are looking for .532” bolt face and rebarrel.

Maybe $1,500 for a full rebuild, replacing everything except the action. Maybe more, maybe less, best to ask Mr. Forbes for a quote.

I spoke with Forbes about a month ago about a 30-06 to 25-06 conversion and it was about $1500 for new barrel, trigger and stock. Best to speak with him directly to get an exact quote for what YOU want done.

6.5 RM brass can be formed from 7mm RM brass, but it requires shortening the case and moving the shoulder WAY back because the 6.5 RM is a short (308) action cartridge. Since all Colt Light rifles are long (30-06) length actions, it makes more sense to go to a long action cartridge. If you like 6.5mm, the 264 Win Mag is calling you.

I had Melvin do a 30-06 Light Rifle into a 7mm Weatherby,8 twist,within the last year.Total price was $1533 with return shipping.The price included $100.00 for cerakote on the action and barrel.

That sounds like a nice one!

Colt Light Rifles and Forbes Rifles are getting much harder to find and usually more pricy. Good luck. You can't go wrong with a "Melvinized" CLR!