Forbes 20 B Sheep Rifle review

[North61]

Several hundred shots downrange. This is my second Forbes 20b, as I sent the first back for feeding and inconsistent accuracy issues. This one is more consistent but still not a true MOA rifle. I got to MOA with 125 Ballistic Tips and H322 but the pressure curve was a bit wonky and the bullet overly fragile. I would love to try Varget but can't find it. Almost out of RL15 which works nicely but 4064 is doing pretty well. Federal 150 grain blue box also shoots well as does Rem 150 CL's and Winchester 150 PP's. I have a 1.25MOA rifle at present. Ergos are great, and it handles well from field positions. The bare weight is an ounce or so over 5 pounds. These are NOT 4.75 pound firearms!

I put an old Leupold Mini-4X on which was made in the old days when they made a centerfire version.

Video here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDuCcGvsOqI

 

[hodgeman]

Nice review on an intriguing rifle- thanks.

 

[RCA Dog]

Yes thanks very much. I have been contemplating getting one in 7-08.

 

[North61]

No worries. I would save my dollars and get a genuine NULA if I had it to do over again but the Forbes is a good rifle. Wet out again today and was averaging closer to 2" groups with stiffer charges of 4064. However Win 150 PP went into 1.1 and was knocking down steel targets like crazy!

 

[bard]

What cal u shooting? My 7/08 Forbes likes varget. Have it shooting 1 inch groups with Barnes 145gr LRX. It had ejector issues after I oiled it up at the range last time out. I couldn't pull the bolt back at all. Needed to hammer it back. Wasn't from hot loads or shooting a hot barrel. First time out the rifle was fairly dry and was tossing brass out no problem. Could you explain what your ejector issue was. I know my rifle was almost a year late in getting to me because of ejector issues but I never heard if it's what I'm experiencing or something else.

 

[North61]

Mine is a 308 with stainless barrel. My ejector issues were entirely self-enduced from a too hot load that blew a primer and knocked out the ejector. Cant blame Forbes for that one though the load was 2 grains under book maximum. The first one with a feeding problem was a magazine problem that was easy to fix. Finally found some Varget and hopeful it can stand in for RL15 which seems impossible to find up here.

 

[mtluckydan]

I have had good luck with H4895 with 150 grain tipped triple shocks in the 308. You may want to look at the Leupold fx-ultralight scopes. A 3x9 comes in at 9.3 ounces. The 2x7 is slightly lighter. I have one of these on a custom 308 and the rig comes in at 5 lbs 13 oz scoped. Not knowing your experience with light rifles, shooting style can definitely impact your group size. The 4x scope may also contribute to larger group sizes. Melvin that owns NULA sells a specific shooting rest that he swears by. I have heard of several people in the area I live that floated the barrel on those Forbes rifles and got better accuracy. I have a NULA in 284 that has no issues with the full length bedding. It will shoot all day without any issues.

 

[North61]

I have about 500 rounds down range now. I am tempted to free float the barrel. Mine is working better with a pressure pad on the barrel over the neutral bedding. I have had others scopes on this rifle up to a 6-18X and it is only MOA with H322 and 125 Noslers. I find a 4X with a good visible target can get Sub-MOA. H4895 doesn't work very well in my Forbes. RL 15 followed by 4064 followed by Varget.

Pretty sure the ER Shaw barrels are NOT in the same league as the Douglas barrels on the NULA's

 

[mtluckydan]

I have been contemplating buying one of the Forbes in 7-08, but it sounds like they are a little sketchy. I have several builds with Rem model 7 actions and benchmark barrels with a lightweight stock out of Oregon. They all shoot very well. I have definitely heard mixed results with the forbes. Hopefully you will get yours figured out. One of my custom 308's has a Douglas barrel and it shoots quite well. You may be correct about the ER Shaw barrels. I have also had good luck with Vihtavuori N150 in 308. It can be hard to find, but I also use it in my 284 and have quite a bit on hand. Really low SD's and reasonable velocity with 150's.

 

[North61]

Good news is that with a lot of load development I have this rifle shooting reasonably well. With loads it doesn't like 100 yard groups of 3+ inches are possible. That doesn't feel too good when I outshoot it with an open sighted SKS.

However, with carefully matched loads 1MOA is shadable. A breakthrough for me came with seating depth. It definately likes a bit of jump. 165 Sierra HPBT at 2.725 OAL and 44 grains of Varget got me a 2.5 inch group today at 325 yards. Either the 150 ABond or Ballistic tip with a max load of RL15 gets me groups just a bit bigger as long as I keep the OAL at 2.8 and no longer. This is also kicking out of the barrel at just over 2900ft/sec. Pretty good. I was loading long in the near 3" magazine box and the gun didn't respond well. It is now bedded just like it was from the factory, I removed the pressure pad. Going to check for stability over the next 2 weeks. If the groups stick to the same impact point this will be the rifle I use this summer.

When I shoot out the 308 barrel I am thinking about re-barreling it into a 338 Federal. I dig those 160 TTSX 338 bullets!

 

[Stickslinger]

I was gifted a Forbes 20b 7mm-08 last year. I first bought some hornady superior ace ammo and was getting 4-5" groups at 100 yards. I was ready to send the gun back at that time. However, after testing some different hand loads. I now have in shooting 1" groups at 200 yards. I found my 20b to like H380 over varget.

H380- 46 grains
Barnes TTSX 140 grains
Federal match primers
2.822"
2808 FPS

 

[snowcamoman]

I'm in the same boat with my Forbes. Tried a variety of powders, primers, seating depths. It does not shoot any factory ammo I've tried very good (Nosler, Federal, Hornady). Seems to like Varget the best and they're at 2.93" OAL right now. I had it shooting excellent last week, but was single loading them at the range. Come to find out they were just a bit too long and wanted to hang up in the magazine. Seated deeper and reduced the powder a little bit and will hit the range again tomorrow. If I can't get it to shoot MOA, I'll likely sell it or rebarrel it to a .260 rem. Frustrating to say the least. Might have to take the Tikka. It's half a pound heavier, but shoots and shoots well.

 

[snowcamoman]

Spent a few hours at the range this weekend and finally got a load that the Forbes shoots and shoots well. The rifle definitely likes a good cool down as well as a solid cleaning after 5 to 6 shots. It did 2 at 0.5" at 200 yards and then I adjusted the Leupold 2.x8x36 .25 MOA turrets and touched the bullseye at 300. I'm happy with that and looks like I'll keep it for now. I shot those 3 shots in pretty quick fashion to simulate a hunt type scenario (although I was on sandbags). I burned up a lot of powder and bullets getting this one figured out. Glad it's finally shooting. Good luck to everyone who has one, hope you can get them dialed in.

 

[luke moffat]

Right on man!!! Sounds like a winner for sure snowcamoman!!! What was the magic load anyways just out of curiosity.

 

[snowcamoman]

Lapua brass with 45.3gr of Varget. 165 grain Accubonds seated to OAL of 2.930"
That's pretty close to max load in the Nosler book and likely very close with the Lapua brass, so anyone working on loads should take the safe route and work up their loads. No pressure signs for me with that load though and performance was excellent....finally.

 

[North61]

Good to know it's not just me that find these rifles a bit finicky. The guy at Forbes had me near convinced I couldn't shoot anymore. He said it should shoot just about any factory ammo into an inch. I sent back the first rifle convinced it was a dud and the "hand selected" second rifle shot pretty much the same as the first. Both shot the blue box Federal into about 1.25 MOA and every other factory ammo tried shoots worse, sometimes much worse (180 grain Remington Corelockts are +3"). Best hand-loads average just over an MOA and I guess that is good enough for big game use. Worst handloads and factory loads can easily go over 3" and make you want to find religion! I'll keep it as the light weight is hard to beat but don't expect a bench-rest gun. They can shoot adequately but it takes some time and effort.

One thing this rifle taught me is the uselessness of one or two 3 shot groups as an indication of accuracy ability. I have shot this rifle a lot and my occasional .5 MOA, 3 shot groups are not repeatable. 150 A-Bonds and Ballistic Tips with RL15 and 165 Sierra HPBT with Varget will sometimes shoot under an inch but average 1.25 MOA over the long haul.

 

[snowcamoman]

The Forbes worked well enough to get me a sheep, but a rifle that only shoots one bullet and load accurately is a tough pill to swallow.....so my Forbes is in the masters hands (Melvin Forbes). I'm having it rechambered into a 6.5x384Norma. Melvin has made a lot of these in the 20B action and says it works great. I don't think the 3 inch magazine will limit me too much for hunting bullet selections. I'm really hoping the Barnes 127gr. LRX works well in it.

 

[snowcamoman]

The Forbes worked well enough to get me a sheep, but a rifle that only shoots one bullet and load accurately is a tough pill to swallow.....so my Forbes is in the masters hands (Melvin Forbes). I'm having it rechambered into a 6.5x384Norma. Melvin has made a lot of these in the 20B action and says it works great. I don't think the 3 inch magazine will limit me too much for hunting bullet selections. I'm really hoping the Barnes 127gr. LRX works well in it.

I meant 6.5x284Norma..

 

[Bob L.]

Glad to hear they are shooting. Spend that kind of money on a rifle that can't shoot at/under moa is unacceptable.

 

[Snyd]

Holy smokes, 500 rounds and multiple loads to get it to shoot almost moa?! I'd expect that from a "pawn shop who knows what" rifle but not a $1000+ gun. My Kimber MT 325 shot 5 shot sub moa groups with Winchester factory 200gr Accubond ammo out of the box. I was able to duplicate that load and accuracy in a weekend and can shoot 5 rnds one hole if I don't drink too much coffee before I head to the range. I've also got a 220gr Sierra GK load that shoots as good. It's seen 10 years in the sheep mtns, never been babied and still shoots like it did when it was new. With a Leuopold 2.5-8x36, Talley LW's and a nylon sling it's 7lbs all up.

I hope you get it sorted out, I'm no expert but something doesn't sound right.