In our latest "Gun Of The Week" segment, we’re taking a closer look at Wilson Combat’s NULA Model 20, a lightweight, bolt-action hunting rifle that incorporates innovations first pioneered by the “rifle wizard of West Virginia."
Of course, we can only be talking about Melvin Forbes, the former owner of New Ultra Light Arms, who passed away in 2024. Shortly before his passing, though, Forbes ensured that his lightweight rifle concept would continue to live on as one of the companies under the Wilson Combat umbrella, joining other brands like Chip McCormick Custom, Lehigh Defense and Scattergun Technologies, just to name a few.
In the transition from New Ultra Light Arms to Wilson Combat, some changes have been made to the Model 20 design, all aimed at streamlining production and reducing costs for consumers. For Melvin Forbes and his team, the biggest hurdle to mass production was the creation of the custom stock, which involved a slow, methodical process of hand-laying carbon fiber, Kevlar and epoxy together. In the Wilson Combat NULA Model 20, that handmade stock has been replaced by an entirely new carbon-fiber stock design from AG Composites, which uses pillar bedding to free-float the stock and ensure repeatable accuracy while still remaining lightweight.
Wilson Combat’s state-of-the-art manufacturing methods result in a smooth, fast action that can be produced at less cost than previous NULA-produced guns. The Model 20 receiver, though, is still the same proprietary design initially pioneered by Melvin Forbes, with every ounce of excess steel removed while still remaining entirely safe for use. The featherweight, stainless-steel barrel has undergone a similar thinning process, measuring just under 7/10ths of an inch for most of its run, until it reaches the muzzle, where it swells out to provide extra meat for threading on a suppressor or brake.
Currently, Wilson Combat offers its NULA Model 20 in five different chamberings, along with a range of different barrel-length options. The one we have on the range today is chambered for the .308 Winchester cartridge and outfitted with a 20-inch barrel, with the whole package weighing in at just under 5 lbs. without a scope. Regardless of chambering or barrel length, each NULA Model 20 rifle will weigh in at right around 5 lbs., give or take a few ounces on either end.
Given that weight, one might expect the NULA Model 20 to be a real handful on the range. But there’s another aspect to Forbes’ stock design that makes this lightweight rifle fairly comfortable to shoot. The negative comb, where the stock drops from toe to heel instead of heel to toe, like most guns, means you won’t be smacked in the cheek during recoil. The recoil pad also has a wider footprint, too, meaning more of the recoil energy is spread out across the shoulder pocket. These simple tweaks make the NULA Model 20 one of the most shootable lightweight rifles on the planet.
