{"id":10952,"date":"2014-12-31T17:07:44","date_gmt":"2014-12-31T17:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/?p=10952"},"modified":"2015-12-02T16:57:31","modified_gmt":"2015-12-02T16:57:31","slug":"melvin-forbes-rifle-magician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/melvin-forbes-rifle-magician\/","title":{"rendered":"Melvin Forbes – Rifle Magician"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Melvin-1\"<\/a>
Melvin Forbes with his first “magic” rifle. A 6mm Remington weighing less than six pounds, with a\u00a0Leupold variable powered scope.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The history of the rifle revolves around just a few men. Jacob and Samuel Hawken gave the muzzleloader respect that has remained untarnished for almost 200 years. John Browning applied a level of engineering rapidity, volume and genius of which has never been matched. And, Paul Mauser concocted a rugged, metallic work of art that, to this day, is spoken of as if it were the Holy Grail.<\/p>\n

For what John Barsness<\/a> likes to call \u201crifle loonies\u201d the names of Hawken, Browning and Mauser are akin to gun god disciples. Admittedly, there are a few others. Richard Gatlin, John Garand, and Hiram Maxim left their mark too, partly because of their ingenuity but very much because their inventions carried their names.<\/p>\n

Taking Stock<\/h4>\n

A most revolutionary rifle advancement occurred, almost unnoticed, in the mid 1980s. That\u2019s when a machinist, a mold maker, a high school shop teacher, and a part-time gunsmith perfected the bolt-action sporting rifle by applying as much attention and ingenuity to the stock as to the\u00a0steel. This new rifle was impressively accurate and unbelievably light. Remarkably, the machinist, mold maker, shop teacher, and gunsmith were all the same person. Even more remarkable is the fact that you probably don’t know his name.<\/p>\n

Why? His friends and associates who invested in his incredible creation insisted the company be named Ultra Light Arms (ULA<\/a>)\u00a0now New Ultra Light Arms (NULA). In 1985 the name seemed reasonable because light weight sporting rifles did not exist. What these investors did not foresee was that these gravity defying rifles that also defied conventional wisdom would start a trend. A plethora of copycat rifles, from manufacturers like Kimber, Remington, Ruger, Winchester, and just about everyone else emerged. And, they were marketed as ultra lights, thus marginalizing the name of the rifle that started the movement.<\/p>\n

Because their name was descriptive of their qualities as opposed to being distinct and proper in nature, the rifles from ULA became lost in a sea of lesser quality, under performing knock-offs. These imitations found success through poor replication of a rifle that created the genre that allowed them to exist. But, the inability of mass-produced, lightweight, bolt-action rifles to deliver premium\u00a0performance diminished the entire concept.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s in a name? Sometimes everything.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Ultra Light Arms “Melvin” rifle.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A One Man Committee<\/h4>\n

True rifle loonies tried these facsimiles because they believed, like Townsend Whelen<\/a> said, \u201cA man will travel farther, hunt over more country, have a better chance of coming on game, and be in better condition when he does if his weapon is light.\u201d<\/em> After repetitive disappointments these men learned, through the writings of other men like Aagaard, Carmichael, Barsness and Petzal, the origin of the lightweight bolt-action rifle concept. And, they learned about the man who made it a reality: a West Virginian named Melvin Forbes.<\/p>\n

The brilliance of Forbes\u2019 design is that a committee of different men with varying areas of expertise did not conceive it; a single man developed it with a committee of different skill sets, which he had learned over his lifetime. Forbes used his experience hunting in the hills of West Virginia to format the heft and ergonomics. He used his machining brilliance to impeccably craft the steel and his mold making knowledge to create the magical\u00a0stock. And, he used his shop experience to turn the screws. When he became stumped, he turned to experts, like the aerospace\u00a0engineers at the Allegheny Ballistics Laboratory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Melvin<\/a>
Melvin Forbes has been building the lightest, most accurate, bolt-action rifles in the world for 30 years.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finding Balance<\/h4>\n

In the end, his ability to balance his mechanical and hunting background produced a perfectly balanced rifle. A rifle like Whelen could only have dreamed of. When he took his rifle to the range it did things he’d never seen a rifle do.\u00a0He found that he only had to zero it one time because the combination of the full-length bedding and the unique stock – which was stiffer than the barrel – held zero no matter the weather. He discovered that all loads shot to essentially the same point of impact. And, he realized that precision accuracy was possible without a heavy barrel.<\/p>\n

Without a full understanding of the science at work, Forbes walked over to West Virginia University and asked them to conduct comparative tests. That\u2019s were he discovered the true magnificence of what he had accomplished. His hand-built, one pound stock of carbon fiber and Kevlar was actually dampening barrel vibrations. In fact, barrel vibrations were non-existent after 12 inches.<\/p>\n

Yes, Forbes had created a marvelous rifle but the hero was the stock. It was not just a wood or injection molded handle; it was a purpose-built, hand crafted chassis, designed to strengthen and enhance the performance of the steel. It was not there to\u00a0just give the shooter something to hold on to. The stiffness and straightness of the stock pushed recoil back into the shooter so that it could be better\u00a0controlled. The shape of the stock had a 20% higher interface with the shooter. And, its one pound weight allowed for perfect balance to be achieved.<\/p>\n

\"Melvin<\/a>
Melvin Forbes and his wife Patty receiving the Golden Bullseye Pioneer Award from the National Rifle Association in 2011.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Believing in Magic<\/h4>\n

Those who have not experienced a rifle built by Melvin Forbes cannot believe. Their exposure to the rifles designed by men like Browning and Mauser have left them skeptical of what is possible. Their disappointment with chopped down, skeletonized sporting rifles soured their lust for a true, ultra light hunting rifle. Unless they find faith in the words of those who have seen the magic, they are destined to carry a heavy load. They will forever consider a less than six pound .308 Winchester unstable and inaccurate.<\/p>\n

Melvin Forbes had\u00a0cast rifle\u00a0magic.\u00a0And, during\u00a0the last 30 years, he has\u00a0built a legion of riflemen who, while they might not understand the magic (science) they trust it. As\u00a0unfathomable as it may seem, three out of four of those who buy a rifle from Melvin Forbes buy another one, often within the next 12 months. (I own four and have another on order.)\u00a0What Melvin Forbes has been unable to do is wrap up all this wonderment up into a package that will fit inside a single paycheck of the average American. For this reason, and this reason alone, his\u00a0name will never be as well-known\u00a0some as\u00a0Hawken, Browning and Mauser. But, for the fortunate few who believe, his name is just as respected\u00a0and revered.<\/p>\n

Melvin Forbes’ name belongs on the list of iconic rifle engineers because he realized the rifle stock is just as important as the rifle steel and he was the first and last to make a truly light-weight, accurate and dependable both-action rifle. Melvin Forbes is a rifle magician and magic \u2013 science \u2013 is real. If you want to experience it first hand, all you have to do is believe and write a check.<\/p>\n

But when you do Melvin will tell you, “That’s my rifle, you’re just paying to have it on permanent loan.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The following video was recorded at deer camp in December of 2014. We urge you to watch it and listen to master story-teller and rifle magician, Melvin Forbes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The history of the rifle revolves around just a few men. Jacob and Samuel Hawken gave the muzzleloader respect that has remained untarnished for almost 200 years. John Browning applied a level of engineering rapidity, volume and genius of which has never been matched. And, Paul Mauser concocted a rugged, metallic work of art that, to this day, is spoken of as …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[2371,134,2370,135,136],"class_list":["post-10952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bolt-action-rifles","tag-hunting-rifles","tag-light-rifles","tag-melvin-forbes","tag-new-ultra-light-arms"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5hujZ-2QE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11097,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/melvin-forbes-and-his-famous-rifle-stock\/","url_meta":{"origin":10952,"position":0},"title":"Melvin Forbes and his Famous Rifle Stock","author":"gunwriter","date":"January 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the last of a four-part video series on Melvin Forbes and the wondrous rifle he created 30 years ago. If you are a hunter and you like light rifles I urge you to watch all four videos. Even if you are not a fan of light weight hunting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "HUNTING"","block_context":{"text":"HUNTING","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/hunt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Melvin Forbes and his wife Patty receiving the Pioneer Award from the National Rifle Association. ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Melvin-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14385,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/rifle-school-and-the-professor\/","url_meta":{"origin":10952,"position":1},"title":"Rifle School and the Professor","author":"gunwriter","date":"July 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Rifle school. I\u2019m not talking about a rifle school where you learn to shoot; I\u2019m talking about a school where you learn how a rifle works. I\u2019m not sure a school like this actually exists but because I have a friend who could be the lead\u00a0professor\u00a0of that school, I\u2019m unofficially\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EDITORIAL"","block_context":{"text":"EDITORIAL","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"RC-9","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/RC-9.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/RC-9.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/RC-9.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/RC-9.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10735,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/ultra-light-hunting-rifle-stories\/","url_meta":{"origin":10952,"position":2},"title":"Ultra Light Hunting Rifle Stories","author":"gunwriter","date":"December 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Most of the stories you hear about good hunting rifles\u00a0involve itty-bitty groups or ridiculously\u00a0long and difficult shots. This is because that's really all there is to tell about most hunting rifles. There is an exception and that's the rifles from New Ultra Light Arms.\u00a0In\u00a01985, New Ultra Light Arms started the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "HUNTING"","block_context":{"text":"HUNTING","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/hunt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"NULA-1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/NULA-11.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/NULA-11.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/NULA-11.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/NULA-11.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16371,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/daily-blog-12-6-20\/","url_meta":{"origin":10952,"position":3},"title":"Daily Blog: 12\/6\/20 (Melvin Forbes)","author":"gunwriter","date":"December 6, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I'm working on an article for Gun Digest about my friend Melvin Forbes from New Ultra Light Arms. I've written a similar story multiple times and I can never seem to capture the magnificence of it all. Of course, in every case I'm only allowed 2000 words or less\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Daily Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Daily Blog","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/daily-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/rifle.jpg?fit=1000%2C225&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/rifle.jpg?fit=1000%2C225&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/rifle.jpg?fit=1000%2C225&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/rifle.jpg?fit=1000%2C225&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14660,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/the-magic-rifle\/","url_meta":{"origin":10952,"position":4},"title":"The Magic Rifle","author":"gunwriter","date":"November 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A few years back Melvin Forbes - the man behind New Ultra Light Arms - spent an evening at my deer camp talking about his rifle. I was smart enough - sometimes I have moments of greatness - to get it all on video. If you're truly interested in learning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "HUNTING"","block_context":{"text":"HUNTING","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/hunt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Melvin.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Melvin.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Melvin.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Melvin.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14250,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/i-have-this-rifle\/","url_meta":{"origin":10952,"position":5},"title":"I Have This Rifle","author":"gunwriter","date":"February 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"There are five rifles from New Ultra Light Arms\u00a0(NULA) that live in my house. I could not bring myself to part with any of them. My NULA 22 LR is a single shot. It has potted a lot of squirrels and I used it on Christmas day to shoot my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EDITORIAL"","block_context":{"text":"EDITORIAL","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"35 Zebra","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/35-Zebra.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/35-Zebra.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/35-Zebra.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/35-Zebra.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10952"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12698,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10952\/revisions\/12698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}