On Wednesday the 5th of June 2024, I went to visit Melvin Forbes. After a long difficult illness he’d left the hospital the day before to be at home and with his family. We didn’t talk. I just held his hand, and we shared our memories. When I left, I knew.
30 minutes later he was gone.
I want to write something about my friend. The words are there, they’ve just not arranged themselves in a manner that pleases me yet. That’ll happen, but not today.
In their absence, here’s a video of Melvin and I at hunting camp from a decade ago. My son would tell me the video quality is horrible and that the sound is worse. He’s right, but I don’t have his talent for those things. This video was unplanned; the weather was too bad to be at the campfire, so I just put my camera on a table and pressed record. It’s just two friends – two hillbilly hunters – talking about the best bolt action hunting rifle ever created.
Field & Stream asked me to write something to honor Melvin Forbes. I deferred to Dave Petzal, partly because Dave and Melvin were very close too, but also because I wanted the tribute to be really well written. It was and you can read it HERE.
You can find visitation and funeral information HERE, where you can also share a memory or send flowers, which I know the family would appreciate. Additionally, a very practical gesture could be a donation to the Melvin Forbes Next Generation Scholarship fund at the Montgomery Community College School of Gunsmithing.
The Melvin Forbes Next Generation Scholarship
This scholarship is completely funded through donations from family, friends, organizations, and manufacturers within the firearms industry. If you would like to contribute, you can do so in three ways:
1. Call (910) 898-9633 and donate by credit card.
2. Mail a check or money order to: Montgomery Community College Foundation, 1011 Page Street, Troy, NC 27371
3. Donate on-line by clicking HERE
Please be sure to note or indicate the “Melvin Forbes Next Generation Scholarship with your contribution.
I’m sorry for your loss. May his memory be a blessing to you and your family.
I remember watching this video from 2014 when it was first released and watched it more than once enjoying it each time. Great memories, I had visited with Melvin just a few months earlier before its release (I was one of the 75%). A very great gentleman and I always enjoyed talking with him and his knowledge each time we would talk, he will be missed by many!