Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Melvin Forbes on Outdoor Channel Last Night

I don't think Melvin liked my scope choice. Went with a Trijicon 3x9 duplex. He said it would probably work if he could turn the dot off to shoot the gun. He also added that he was simply sighting in the gun as it did not need to be tested. Pretty funny. I like his confidence.

battue,

So you picked up a NULA rifle at a show, that you didn't order, and didn't like the balance. Then you assumed the second rifle you ordered from Melvin would have the same barrel length as the first. Didn't you fill out an order sheet for the second rifle?

Yes, you're correct. You shouldn't ASSUME a custom riflemaker will do what you want unless you tell him. I've experienced that a number of times with various custom makers, but when I've filled out one of Melvin's order sheets, the rifle turned out the way I wanted it. And when he questioned some feature I wanted (as most custom makers do), when I explained my reason he said fine--just as he did with your LOP.

One reason many custom rifle makers (not all) question their customers is many customers don't really know what they want. Consequently, when they receive the rifle they ordered, they whine.

So yes, you should never ASSUME what will be delivered. Instead you should spell it out.

bonefish,

I have seen Melvin take a brand-new Leupold scope out of the box, mount it on one of his rifles, and hit within 3" of the aiming point at 100 yards. That's how well his rifles and mounts are aligned. Yep, he's pretty confident!

I watched that interview then it was on earlier this year and was impressed with Melvin his process for designing his rifles.

It was after I read Mule Deer's Honest Guns column in RLN spring 2011 that I realized I really "needed" a NULA and it had to be a 30-06!

Actually I read it many times! But since we are now reduced to one income not the old days of two good incomes it would be need to be a NULA clone in other words a Forbes from Titan.

At the time folks were waiting over a year for one, but I received a call from the local gun store. A customer had ordered one 18 months earlier but when the gun arrived he had left town and was no where to be found. Turns out it was a 30-06 and I had to have it!

Taking it out of its wrap there were two problems, first the dealer could not find the talleys (I think he lost them) second the stock had paint issues. Rick Campbell at Forbes took good care of me and I had a free set of talleys in 3 days! Being at the start of hunting season I decided to wait on the paint issues and used it all fall. The rifle is a dream to carry and was surprising on how the POI of various loads and manufactures were within a inch of each other.

After new years day I sent it back to have the paint issue addressed. They came to the conclusion that the stock had not dried enough before it was packaged and shipped. The factory stripped, primed and painted it. There were paint supply issues and it took much longer than I expected but the results were worth the wait! It is perfect now and I purchased a second 24B in 25-06 that was for sale here in the classifieds.

The good and bad

I love the rifles but I do see a customer service issue at Titan-Forbes rifles, whenever you call for a customer service issue you always are directed to Rick, he has been more than helpful and treated me great but when he is out for a week or more and the costumer still has to wait for him that is a problem It is also a problem that is fixable. Rick needs to have a team backing him up.

I have 40 years working for several of the biggest and best major corporations, I have seen how a great product is toast if you do not have a smooth running customer support system. I am sure that with a few changes it would clear up a lot of the costumers complaints I see here.

What I said:



What show? However, did say off the rack when I was "down there". As in down there in his garage where he makes rifles and added perhaps that is what the customer ordered. Didn't get into those particulars, just that I wasn't all that particularly fond about that particular rifles balance.

"Down there" is Pittsburghese for when we head South. Sometimes we even say "downtown" when we are heading into the city or to the main street of any small town. Doesn't make any difference if it is N or S or if we have to go up or down.


Second rifle: What order sheet? " Rinnnnng, Rinnnng. Hello Melvin Forbes, etc, etc." "Melvin, its H��., etc,etc concluding with "Make me up a .223AI with a 1:8. Let me know when it is ready. I'll send you some money and pay the rest at the end when I pick it up. Thanks, see ya. We will worry about colors when you are ready to paint"" First I saw an order sheet was the day I picked it up.

Not faulting Melvin at all and I obviously made the wrong assumption. No big deal I can live with it, but I can point out my mistakes to someone else.

At least I assume I can.


And innnn ADDITION: We-as in Melvin and I-talked and he filled out an order sheet for the .22-250. I ordered a 1:8 from him and he ordered a 1:10 from Douglas. Took awhile shooting to figure things out and then he checked his order records and discovered he ordered the 1:10. He adamantly insisted to put another barrel on it, and I adamantly said I would keep it as is. Shoots lights all out with 55gr TTSX, but leaves some lights on with 62gr TTSX. Again, I could live with it.

Harry, you must not be a married man. Or you wouldn't have to.

battue,

Guess I made an assumption too. Didn't know what you meant by "down there." Most of the people who handle Melvin's rifles do so at a major sporting goods show, whether Harrisburg or SHOT, since relatively few go to his shop.

Most also fill out an order sheet. Some do so over the phone, but some do so themselves, since one has been on his website for years. It's called up by clicking on "Printable order form" on the left side of the home page.

Good to know you weren't complaining about Melvin's customer service, which wasn't plain from your first post.

Smokepole: A women doesn't want to hear what you think. She wants to hear what she thinks in a deeper voice. Still you gotta love some of them. Especially those willing to put up with the hunter/shooter types.


Mule Deer and everyone else: Didn't in anyway mean to criticize Melvin or his customer service. Melvin is top shelf in my book. If you disagree with him it's best to be up on the subject, but Melvin wants each and every customer to be satisfied with their rifle.

MuleDeer:

Thinking back I did see an order sheet before I picked it up in that he sent me one that indicated the amount of my deposit. Looked at it and filled it away without checking all the particulars. Again, my error not his and not that big of a deal. It shoots better than the .22-250.

Yeh, but that 30-06 kicks

I would imagine a 6 1/2 lb 30-06 with 165 or 180g's would pop pretty good on the bench. For me this would be a non issue hunting but a teeth rattler on the bench.

The recoil from a NULA 30-06 is much less than I expected. The stock handles recoil very well. The rifle seems to recoil straight back. Mine is ~6.5lbs scoped. I have a Montana in .308 that is ~6lbs scoped. The recoil from the Montana shooting 150's seems sharper (with more barrel rise) than the recoil from the NULA shooting 165's.

Found the same to be true in that off the bench with the same cartridge I get more barrel flip with a Kimber vs a Nula.

May be one of the reasons some have problems with Kimbers off the bench.

My goal will be to find a load the NULA likes and only take it back to the bench to check POI.

For anybody interested, Dennis shot ONE round from my NULA .30-06--and it was the discontinued Federal 180-graiun Trophy Bonded High Energy load. It shot pretty well in the rifle (minute of elk, anyway) and averaged around 2940 fps, which is a little more than the average 180-grain .30-06 handload.

With a 180 doing 2940 from an 06 who needs a 300 win mag !

No wonder he remembers the kick. I shot a standard 700 30/06 with Hornady Superformance 180's. Sighted it in for a friend. I was ready to give that gun back asap. It was much heavier than a NULA. Heavy 30/06 loads with 180's have some pop.

Yeah, I wasn't all that unhappy when that load was discontinued. By then I was older and becoming less fond of recoil--and also had enough experience to realize there's no need to get the snot kicked out of you to kill big game!

These days I usually use milder handloads in that rifle. In fact last fall worked up a load that only gets about 2900 out of a 150-grain Cutting Edge Raptor. Accuracy is great, and the bullet is plenty for anything in Montana. Best of all, it doesn't kick much!

There is a lot to like in a .308 Winchester.

I've had a LH ULA 30-06 for about 12 years. It has a #2 or #3 barrel(not sure which) that provides a steady hold and recoil reduction. It is the most accurate big game rifle I have and it is a sweetie to shoot.

Will be taking it to Wyoming this Fall for bull Elk. I plan to use the JB load of 58.0 H-4350/165 NAB. The area I'm hunting(Fortification) is very open and 300 yd shots are not unusual.

I've got five other ULA's and they all very accurate and easy to load for and shoot. Have known Melvin for about 15 years and he is the smartest and most creative gun maker of a lot of generations. He is also one helluva great guy.

Steve