I am the Canadian owner you referenced. The only positive experience was once again experiencing the outstanding customer service of Prophet River.
Here is my Forbes experience that I posted on the 24hr Campfire thread you reference:
I hesitated to chime in on this thread, but felt I had to after reading it. Recently I ordered a 24B in 270 Win. Got it in short order. Must say that my initial impressions were disappointing. There were areas along the action that the paint never got to. The safety cutout looked like it was done at the society for the blind with a broken dremel tool. As well, the bevel along the right side of the action was very uneven. Finally the trigger - a Timney - had a ton of creep. Then I took the gun apart. Wow. The roughest finish job I have ever imagined seeing. The bottom of the barrel was covered with what Forbes later said was "epoxy filler". Finally, the trigger guard screw was protruding into the mag well.
Does anyone check these things as they leave the factory?
Later that evening I adjust the trigger to lighten it, problem is that it has very little adjustment room as the set screw makes contact with the stock behind the mag well. Nice. Tighten the bolt and put gun back together. Fits now, so I take it apart again to see if I can lighten it a bit more and take the creep out. Gently break the rifle apart and hear a cracking sound. Look at the kitchen table and there are pieces of stock. That thing was as brittle as a potato chip. I am speechless at this point, so I just start to laugh at my bad fortune. I take pictures and email my gun shop and Forbes. Both were very gracious and accommodating, and sent me out a 20B as a replacement.
I chalk it up to bad luck and the fact we all make mistakes.
The replacement arrives the next day. It is every bit as bad as the first, same issues, but in addition this one has a big chunk of epoxy missing from the bedding at the recoil lug. Thankfully, it didn't break, and the trigger had no creep, as one would expect from a Timney. I took pictures of the shoddy workmanship and sent them to my gun dealer. He gave me a full refund no questions asked. Great service from him. You may have noted that I didn't bother sending the email or pictures to Forbes the second time. Why? I can overlook one bad gun. Two? No way in hell. Pure garbage that I will never touch with a ten foot pole. The thing that ticks me off the most is that I sold a mint Finnlight to give Forbes a try. Stupid me.
I have ordered a Kimber Montana 84L to replace this Forbes debacle.
After reading this thread, all I can say is be forewarned. Why buy a gun that costs more, weighs the same, and has a chromoly action? I did, so I could say I had a gun that not many did. Live and learn.
The moral of the story is that even when a good designer passes off production duties to someone else (i.e. Colt and now Titan Machine), don't expect the same as the designer made himself.
Buyer beware. You've been warned.
