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Don't know much about the Forbes rifles,was looking at a 20B in 308. Looks like a nice lightweight rig, In pros or cons on them and how would you rate it compared to a Kimber Montana or Kimber Ascent? Thanks Jerrad
Last edited by JerradPelzer; 12/05/13.
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just curios what store you saw one in
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It's essentially a NULA marked down 65%. Hard not to love that, unless you really, really want some custom options that Forbes doesn't offer.
When Forbes starts cranking out all stainless rifles, I predict a lot of Montanas in the classifieds. Just a guess, though...
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Campfire 'Bwana
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It's essentially a NULA marked down 65%. Hard not to love that, unless you really, really want some custom options that Forbes doesn't offer.
When Forbes starts cranking out all stainless rifles, I predict a lot of Montanas in the classifieds. Just a guess, though... Forbes is an M700 action, in SS with a chromoly bolt and 21" barrel... for those of us that like an actual SS rifle, longer barrel, 3-pos safety at $300 less.. I doubt it.
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Campfire 'Bwana
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It's essentially a NULA marked down 65%. Hard not to love that, unless you really, really want some custom options that Forbes doesn't offer.
When Forbes starts cranking out all stainless rifles, I predict a lot of Montanas in the classifieds. Just a guess, though... Forbes is an M700 action, in SS with a chromoly bolt and 21" barrel... for those of us that like an actual SS rifle, longer barrel, 3-pos safety at $300 less.. I doubt it. You tell him Brad. By the way, WTF is a "Frobes" rifle???
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style. You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole. BSA MAGA
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Cmon bsa . . . from the guy that designed the LUA 
FÜCK Jeff_O!
MAGA
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It's essentially a NULA marked down 65%. Hard not to love that, unless you really, really want some custom options that Forbes doesn't offer.
When Forbes starts cranking out all stainless rifles, I predict a lot of Montanas in the classifieds. Just a guess, though... Forbes is an M700 action, in SS with a chromoly bolt and 21" barrel... for those of us that like an actual SS rifle, longer barrel, 3-pos safety at $300 less.. I doubt it. Guess I'll try again...
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There have only been 10 20B's produced so far. I've not seen or held one..
With that being said, I will own one soon. I did own a 24B in 270 as soon as I could grab one. I was extremely impressed with the rifle....especially the out of the box accuracy.
Both Kimber and Forbes have their pros and cons. I'm not a hater of either. If I had to put rifle pink slips on the line and out of the box accuracy was the determining factor, I'd not bet against the Forbes.
I enjoy handguns and I really like shotguns,...but I love rifles!
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Just talked to the engineer @ Forbes today with a bunch of my own questions.
He said that there have been a few 20B's in .308 floating around out there, but that the first actual "run" just went out of the factory the other day, IIRC 25 guns, all .308!!! 7mm-08 will shortly follow.
I asked him about the possibility of things like "fast twist" .243's, etc. He said they were initially limited to 1:10" twist but planned to at least offer a "run" of 1:8" twist rifles in the not so distant future.
He said demand for the 35 Whelens has been low and that it might be possibly dropped in the future if things don't "pick up" for that offering. He said that the 24B 6.5x55's have not been shipped yet because of a "wait" for a couple of the components. Interestingly, he said the orders in for the 6.5x55 have been limited as well, but that an overseas ongoing sales committment from New Zealand will keep the 6.5x55 in the catalogue!!! (Sounds good to me!)
He said the 24B .270 is the #1 seller by far.
He also said that the SS action does in fact require additional engineering R&D, and likely modifications to make the Forbes action "safe" in SS vs CM. Maybe Melvin knew something all along! SS barrels... no problem!
He hinted at other new plans/ offering for the future... said to watch facebook early next year (2014).
Finally, he reiterated that the new Forbes rifle is about offering a mass produced, quality product, at a given price point. Sales, consumer feedback, and a little "loonie-ism" will dictate catalogue offerings in the future! They are very aware of the shortcomings and missteps associated with the CLR project of the past (SACO Defense), and Titan/Forbes wants to avoid that path.
Todd
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Don't know much about the Forbes rifles,was looking at a 20B in 308. Looks like a nice lightweight rig, In pros or cons on them and how would you rate it compared to a Kimber Montana or Kimber Ascent? Thanks Jerrad I had both the Kimber Montana 84L (5# 10oz)and the Forbes 24B (5# 9oz)in 30-06 at the same time. Essentially the same comparisons can be made when comparing the 84M and the 20B. I posted a long review of them last March side by side with photos but since took the photos down. There are small but not insignificant ergos differences in stock and safety design. Both stocks are darn near as good as you are going to get. The Kimber has a more "open grip" compared to the Forbes, which has a tighter radius grip curve. I had to made a slight modification to avoid a trigger guard rap on the middle finger. Obviously everyone has their own opinion on these subtle differences. If you are a strict CRF guy you will have to make concessions with the push feed. If you are a traditional 3 position safety believer than you must accept the modified 3 position safety on the Forbes. The two Forbes I had were wickedly accurate. Clearly Melvin knows how to accomplish this and I believe in large part due to full length bedding and by not using a pencil thin barrel. There has been a lot written here about the accuracy potential of the Kimber. I've had a couple of bad ones but most get to perking very well with a skim bedding job and a few little extra loony type tasks. See "Brad"s recent posts on his pre-range list of common sense tweaks. Will the difference in price, $300 for the Forbes make a difference? Maybe but the best scenario would be to see each in person. Both Kimber and Forbes represent some of the best in mass production rifles. Good luck.
My home is the "sanctuary residence" for my firearms.
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I don't think I'd enjoy shooting a 35 Whelen is such a light package.
I have not held or seen a Forbes. Yet. It does fall right in line with what I want in a hunting rifle though and would be at/near the top of the list to choose from.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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It's essentially a NULA marked down 65%. Hard not to love that, unless you really, really want some custom options that Forbes doesn't offer.
When Forbes starts cranking out all stainless rifles, I predict a lot of Montanas in the classifieds. Just a guess, though... Forbes is an M700 action, in SS with a chromoly bolt and 21" barrel... for those of us that like an actual SS rifle, longer barrel, 3-pos safety at $300 less.. I doubt it. Guess I'll try again... There's no reason to believe they will make an all stainless rifle as they clearly intend to use a chromoly bolt in a stainless action. Personally I'd just get a Forbes with Chromoly action and stainless barrel. I don't like the 21" barrel on the SA's... minor nit to pick for sure, but it should have been 22"+ as most of us would have preferred. I was a carbine fan for years, but in the last 10 years have gone to longer barrels, mainly for hearing's sake. But I'd not be dogmatic about the 21" M20 until I have one in my hands to feel how it balances. I think bigwhoop made the case why most of us Montana fans won't be dumping ours for a Forbes. I think the Forbes is likely a terrific rifle. Its stock geometry isn't my cup of tea, but something one could undoubtedly adapt to (like most rifle minutiae).
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Campfire 'Bwana
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I don't think I'd enjoy shooting a 35 Whelen is such a light package.
I have not held or seen a Forbes. Yet. It does fall right in line with what I want in a hunting rifle though and would be at/near the top of the list to choose from. The 6.5x55 is the one that would have my interest.
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Can't argue with the Swede as a great choice. But for some reason, if I get a Swede it needs to be in a fine walnut stock. Don't know why, just fits my thinking.
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Just talked to the engineer @ Forbes today with a bunch of my own questions.
He said that there have been a few 20B's in .308 floating around out there, but that the first actual "run" just went out of the factory the other day, IIRC 25 guns, all .308!!! 7mm-08 will shortly follow.
I asked him about the possibility of things like "fast twist" .243's, etc. He said they were initially limited to 1:10" twist but planned to at least offer a "run" of 1:8" twist rifles in the not so distant future.
He said demand for the 35 Whelens has been low and that it might be possibly dropped in the future if things don't "pick up" for that offering. He said that the 24B 6.5x55's have not been shipped yet because of a "wait" for a couple of the components. Interestingly, he said the orders in for the 6.5x55 have been limited as well, but that an overseas ongoing sales committment from New Zealand will keep the 6.5x55 in the catalogue!!! (Sounds good to me!)
He said the 24B .270 is the #1 seller by far.
He also said that the SS action does in fact require additional engineering R&D, and likely modifications to make the Forbes action "safe" in SS vs CM. Maybe Melvin knew something all along! SS barrels... no problem!
He hinted at other new plans/ offering for the future... said to watch facebook early next year (2014).
Finally, he reiterated that the new Forbes rifle is about offering a mass produced, quality product, at a given price point. Sales, consumer feedback, and a little "loonie-ism" will dictate catalogue offerings in the future! They are very aware of the shortcomings and missteps associated with the CLR project of the past (SACO Defense), and Titan/Forbes wants to avoid that path.
Todd
First "run" of 25 guns. I don't think I would call that mass produced. Unavailability of what I wanted when I had the cash has been a major drawback for me for both the Montana and the Forbes. I often thought of getting a Montana in 7-08 or 260 but never wanted to plunk down cash to a dealer for who knows how many years. I guess I just don't need one that bad, but if anything hurts the company in the long run, it will lack of availability for what people want. If Forbes would have had plenty of stainless short action guns to sell with the initial announcement of the company, they would have went like hot cakes. Desire follows attention but when attention begins to fade after a few years, so does desire. It would seem that to sell what is essentially a custom gun, in non custom chamberings, at the price point Forbes is attempting, volume would be necessary, and they have failed at that. They have also failed at advertising to anyone outside of a handful of gun nuts on the web. 99 out of a hundred average big game hunters and shooters have never heard of a Forbes but a large percentage of them know what a Kimber Montana is.
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I'm not sure the Forbes will ever be "mass" produced. It's my understanding that they have actions on the shelf. They shared a post on FB a while back about selling actions to gunsmiths.
Stocks will likely be what keeps the production limited....and remember these rifles are individually bedded. If Forbes goes to full mass production, quality would likely suffer. Each rifle receives lots of individual attention now.
We can't deny that Kimber has experienced some issues over the years. Kimber Montana's need a little tweaking out of the box to achieve their full potential. I like the Montana, but I know I'm going to do some tinkering when I buy one.
Personally, I hope Forbes keeps their current niche, adds a few chamberings and doesn't get into the mass production game. If they continue to produce quality, the word will spread.
I really don't expect many new announcements from them at SHOT. I expect them to focus on filling current orders. I do expect if things go well, we'll see more options in years to come.
I enjoy handguns and I really like shotguns,...but I love rifles!
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There's no reason to believe they will make an all stainless rifle as they clearly intend to use a chromoly bolt in a stainless action. Hmm, I wasn't aware of that at all. Good to know and thanks for the info.
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I don't think I'd enjoy shooting a 35 Whelen is such a light package.
I have not held or seen a Forbes. Yet. It does fall right in line with what I want in a hunting rifle though and would be at/near the top of the list to choose from. If my memory is correct R. Mann said shooting a 24B in 35 Whelen was like "getting kicked by a mule with a tooth ache". Not sure how he knows how hard a mule with bad dentition kicks?
Last edited by SWJ; 12/06/13. Reason: clarity
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I'm not sure the Forbes will ever be "mass" produced. It's my understanding that they have actions on the shelf. They shared a post on FB a while back about selling actions to gunsmiths.
Stocks will likely be what keeps the production limited....and remember these rifles are individually bedded. If Forbes goes to full mass production, quality would likely suffer. Each rifle receives lots of individual attention now.
We can't deny that Kimber has experienced some issues over the years. Kimber Montana's need a little tweaking out of the box to achieve their full potential. I like the Montana, but I know I'm going to do some tinkering when I buy one.
Personally, I hope Forbes keeps their current niche, adds a few chamberings and doesn't get into the mass production game. If they continue to produce quality, the word will spread.
I really don't expect many new announcements from them at SHOT. I expect them to focus on filling current orders. I do expect if things go well, we'll see more options in years to come. I agree on your points. I just hope that niche is large enough to for them to stay in business.
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I just saw on facebook where Forbes will be fluting the bolts. Lame idea.....it does nothing but provide a path for crap to get into the magazine. I let them know 
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