New Ultra Light Arms Rifles

[Liftman101]

I am not sure how much the Barrett has in common with the NULA. I like my Barretts but I always see comment in the reviews about how well the Melvin Forbes hand built stocks mitigated recoil on such a light rifle. I am not sure the same can be said for a Barrett.

 

[Fishermen0105]

I guess each person is different. I shoot a Barrett 3006 fairly regularly and felt recoil is less to me than a heavier pre 64 3006 Winchester or Sako Finnbear 3006 due to Stock design. The same can be said for my NULA 284. There are notable difference in the stock… check piece, grip, materials etc…. The NULA is probably a bit easier to shoot probably because it balances in the hands a bit better. Neiither are true long range rifles but they certainly hold there own on my 500 yard range.


Great interview of Melvin Forbes on YouTube I suggest you check out if you want to learn more about his stock and rifle design.

 

[Liftman101]

I am not saying the Barrett is bad. I love mine but the heaviest caliber I have is a .308. I tried to compare my Barrett 21" barrel in 6.5 Creedmoor to my Tikka T3X Ultralite 21" barrel in 6.5 Creedmoor. The Barrett did seem to hold its own against the Tikka which is 1 lb. heavier. The Tikka also had a Limbsaver Airtech on it because I had one, not because it needed it so not a fair test. 6.5 Creedmoor just doesn't seem like much of a test. In the reviews of the NULA rifle people seem to comment how it is almost magical in its ability to absorb recoil.

 

[Fishermen0105]

I have a tikka in 270 wsm with noticeably more felt recoil than my Barrett ‘06 or my colt/nula 7mag. Even the 7mag isn’t bad to shoot for me.

 

[Fishermen0105]

I think the magic of the stock is that it transfers the recoil straight back to your shoulder where it is felt less. The recoil is still there it’s just not noticeable compared to other stock designs like weatherby. All depends on the shooter though. For some weatherby style stocks work great.

 

[Liftman101]

Thanks. That makes sense.

 

[J Dubaya]

Anyone have any recommendations on what scope I should replace the old one with? Needs to be 1 inch main tube and lightweight. It has an old Vari-x iii 2.5-8 on it which is great weight wise but is beat up big time and I don’t necessarily trust it.

If you ever feel like parting with that 2.5-8 let me know.


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[rickco]

I am not sure how much the Barrett has in common with the NULA. I like my Barretts but I always see comment in the reviews about how well the Melvin Forbes hand built stocks mitigated recoil on such a light rifle. I am not sure the same can be said for a Barrett.

My understanding the NULA is the parent design for the Forbes. The Forbes rifle company went out of business and the design was. purchased by Barrett. I own a Forbes M24 in 270. This Forbes is a great rifle and very accurate.

 

[wyosteve]

Just an update. Finally got to shoot the ULA .17 Rem. What a joy! Shot factory Remington 25 gr. and HSM 20 gr. rounds. Both grouped at .75 inches I’m sure I could tighten the groups with a scope that has a finer crosshair The Leupold duplex is a bit thick.

 

[Milestown]

Steve
I'm glad to hear you .17 shot well. Any pictures of your .17s ?

Hand loads would also shoot better.

Hal

 

[Pabst]

I've had a Fieldcraft (production version of NULA, long story) in .270 for quite a while and it's easy peasy to shoot. With scope it weighs around 6.5 lbs.

Then about a year ago I ordered a model 20 in 7mm-08 and got it during the summer. I went with a Vortex Razor LH 1.5-8 on it, which is about perfect. Great rifle, slightly lighter than the Fieldcraft and same design. After owning the Fieldcraft I just had to have one of Melvin's guns before he retires. I've not hunted with it yet but will next year.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I've had a Fieldcraft (production version of NULA, long story) in .270 for quite a while and it's easy peasy to shoot. With scope it weighs around 6.5 lbs.

Then about a year ago I ordered a model 20 in 7mm-08 and got it during the summer. I went with a Vortex Razor LH 1.5-8 on it, which is about perfect. Great rifle, slightly lighter than the Fieldcraft and same design. After owning the Fieldcraft I just had to have one of Melvin's guns before he retires. I've not hunted with it yet but will next year.

I’m curious as to what the difference is in wt., even though it’s comparing a short action to a long action.


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[Pabst]

I’m curious as to what the difference is in wt., even though it’s comparing a short action to a long action.


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Yep Fieldcraft is a long action but also has a 24" #2 contour barrel, NULA is 22" #1. My NULA is almost exactly 6lb with scope is about 6lb 9oz but has the 2-10x version of the Vortex Razor LH.

I would guess something around 6-8oz difference between the two, rifle only.

 

[mbappe]

I called Wilson Combat. They are planning to release the rifle this fall (2023) and didn't have any answers for me. Anyone know what the bolt rotation on a Model 20 is? And what is the rate of twist for the .284 Win and 7mm-08 barrels? How many rounds does the magazine hold? For .284 Win. or 7mm-08. What is the LOP? Is the recoil pad glued on? Or is it screwed on? What's up with the claim that it shoots bullets of all weights to the same point of impact? That must be nonsense. Even if you consider only left/right and ignore up/down, right?

 

[Pabst]

I called Wilson Combat. They are planning to release the rifle this fall (2023) and didn't have any answers for me. Anyone know what the bolt rotation on a Model 20 is? And what is the rate of twist for the .284 Win and 7mm-08 barrels? How many rounds does the magazine hold? For .284 Win. or 7mm-08. What is the LOP? Is the recoil pad glued on? Or is it screwed on? What's up with the claim that it shoots bullets of all weights to the same point of impact? That must be nonsense. Even if you consider only left/right and ignore up/down, right?

I can answer a few questions, at least based on how things were when Melvin owned and ran NUlA:

LOP: whatever you specify
ROT: whatever Douglas the barrel make of your choice will do, and according to what you specify
Mag capacity: my 7mm-08 holds 3 rounds
Recoil pad is glued on
POI question: Assuming moderate range where trajectory variability is negligible, e.g. 100 yards, it is well established that these rifles put most/all bullets, weights and loads into pretty much the same POI. That's not BS.

I'm not sure what Wilson plans to do as far as configurability but this was my experience working with Melvin.

 

[mbappe]

Thanks for the info. Sounds too good to be true. What about the bolt throw? 90 degrees? 60 degrees?

 

[VAHunter01]

Has anybody handled one? From the couple of pictures, the stock looks very similar to the Fieldcraft stock. Unfortunately, that was the worst feeling stock I’ve ever had on a hunting rifle, really hoping these aren’t as similar as they look.

 

[VAHunter01]

I called Wilson Combat. They are planning to release the rifle this fall (2023) and didn't have any answers for me. Anyone know what the bolt rotation on a Model 20 is? And what is the rate of twist for the .284 Win and 7mm-08 barrels? How many rounds does the magazine hold? For .284 Win. or 7mm-08. What is the LOP? Is the recoil pad glued on? Or is it screwed on? What's up with the claim that it shoots bullets of all weights to the same point of impact? That must be nonsense. Even if you consider only left/right and ignore up/down, right?

There’s no magic in the POI being very similar with varying bullet weights. I have 3 rifles that I’ve full length bedded and they all do that.

 

[Liftman101]

I talked to Melvin Forbes on the phone once. He absolutely thought the full length bedding dramatically help the rifles shoot better with such light barrels. Why has no other manufacturer tried this? Everyone obsesses about free floating. I have owned several Barrett Fieldcrafts and they are nice rifles. Just got my first NULA. It is a Colt Light Rifle converted using a NULA stock fully bedded with a Douglas barrel. Setup and tuned by Melvin Forbes. It is a very nice rifle but I have only fired a few rounds.

 

[Formidilosus]

I talked to Melvin Forbes on the phone once. He absolutely thought the full length bedding dramatically help the rifles shoot better with such light barrels. Why has no other manufacturer tried this?

Because freefloated works with all rifles and all stocks mass produced. Full length bedding requires a very stiff stock and must be done to each individual rifle. It is not fast nor really mass producible.