Three Outdoor Cards Through the Scope....Thomas BR HV

michaelthomas

michaelthomas

www.thomasrifles.com
I headed out to the outdoor range today to check out a rifle.....Thomas BR HV. I was shooting JSB Monsters .177 at 810fps. Conditions were variable with 1-5 mph wind.

It's not a whole lot of fun to shoot through my iphone...so I honestly do feel that I could have shot a little better through the scope like normal. The tough part is seeing the screen and the flags at the same time...and being able to see the very fine reticle on the phone.

I just wanted to post this because I get the idea from a lot of people I talk with....that they really don't understand what its like to have a rifle that does what it's supposed to do every time...in every condition. When you have something that you can depend on to do its part...all you have to do it read the wind. I think a great number of misses (not all of them) that people struggle with and blame on the wind, are really due to a rifle that just doesn't handle the wind very well and is just not very accurate. I have very little up/down to contend with, and that makes hitting the middle a whole lot easier. Shooting a rifle that doesn't like the wind will cause you to believe that there are freak conditions present all the time that cannot be read....and your confidence will be zero. When you have something that does the right thing all the time....the wind isn't nearly as mysterious.

I shot a 250 15x, a 248 13x with an extra fly splat, and a 248 16x....for a 746 44x Aggregate. I payed almost no attention to wind angle and just held straight left or right.

I apologize for the audio....I was trying to mention the conditions and switches and stuff, but they came out sounding like I had a pillow over my face. I guess the holder that I made for the iPhone is obscuring the microphone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a12perlUiSU

I have combined the 3 videos into 1. I wanted to do that before, but didn't know how.




Mike
 
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Great shooting Mike!

Mike,
Thanks for posting! Would love to shoot at your range sometime! Great shooting with you at the Nationals. Lots of Thomas's and sure that more will be at next year's Nationals.
Thanks for all you have done in making and improving your Thomas's.

Paul Bendix
 
Great example...

…of how to do it. Your guns are definitely tough to beat.

For those who haven't watched the videos yet, take notice of where Mike is holding. On a couple of shots you can tell they're going to miss the X due to where the hold is compared to the shot before. But, then again, on a few others you get fooled because of not knowing where the wind is coming from. It was on a few of those that I thought for sure the pellet wouldn't be anywhere near the X, but cleaned the thing right out.

Good shooting. And, as Paul said, it sure would be fun to come out and join you for a match - or two.

Dave
 
Thanks guys.

I edited the videos to combine all 3 into 1. I didn't know how to do that yesterday.

I wanted to say that I was being purposely cavalier about my holdoffs to illustrate a point...... if your gun shoots tight enough groups and doesn't fall apart in the wind, you can ignore vertical holdoff completely.....and still catch the 10 most of the time. That's a pretty valuable asset in my book. My POI was about 3-4 clicks low in the first video, and I made the adjustment on the beginning of the second.

Mike
 
Mike,

I liked your holdoffs and have used similar setting on myown guns when shooting Indoors. The way I was taught when group shooting in High Power was to use one of the first couple of rings away from the X as your POA as it not only gives you a clearer view of your POI, but also gives you a greater surface area to line up against and make adjustments on as you are out on the curve of one of the rings rather than being "stuck" in the middle of the X-ring. Of course, when group shooting especially you need to do this as once you've shot the center ("X") out, you've lost your POA for the next however many shots.

Thanks for the post.

Dave
 
michaelthomas said:
Thanks guys.

I wanted to say that I was being purposely cavalier about my holdoffs to illustrate a point...... if your gun shoots tight enough groups and doesn't fall apart in the wind, you can ignore vertical holdoff completely.....and still catch the 10 most of the time. That's a pretty valuable asset in my book. Mike
Click to expand...

Hi Mike,

Just to clarify, are you saying AG ballistics don't exhibit the same vertical deflection due to "Aerodynamic Jump" that RF and CF spin stabilized projectiles do?
It would be impossible to succeed in RF score shooting without holding off for vertical deflection, but some of the posts I've read over the years and my limited research into AG ballistics suggests you guys experience some pretty weird stuff dealing with the flight behavior of pellets.

BTW, great post and video! I've probably read every one of your posts on this forum since you started this journey and I've followed your success with great interest.
I also plan on blaming you and maybe Steve G if I ever decide to take the plunge into AR BR shooting and become very frustrated! LOL

Regards,
Landy
 
Hi Landy,

We experience the same thing you guys do.....but a left to right raises our "fin stabilized projectile".....while your spin stabilized projectile drops.
This particular combination I am shooting has all but eliminated it, though.....and that has been a huge help to me.

If I just hold on the center and shoot 25 shots in every wind condition I can encounter.....I end up with a nearly flat horizontal line. There is still a slight bit of aerodynamic jump.....but it can be ignored and the shooter can still put up good numbers in most conditions.

We'd be happy to have you in AG...:D.

Mike
 
Thanks Mike,

That's what I suspected, but didn't want to put my foot in my mouth over a subject I'm relatively short of answers on.
Sure wish you were on my side of those very tall hills you have in Colorado cuz I'd probably show up at your front door if you were a wee bit closer.
Or, if you're ever in my neck of the woods....I know of a first class testing facility run by a Nebraska red-neck you might enjoy visiting? LOL

Landy
 
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"I just wanted to post this because I get the idea from a lot of people I talk with....that they really don't understand what its like to have a rifle that does what it's supposed to do every time...in every condition. When you have something that you can depend on to do its part...all you have to do it read the wind. I think a great number of misses (not all of them) that people struggle with and blame on the wind, are really due to a rifle that just doesn't handle the wind very well and is just not very accurate."

That's the bottom line...the absolute bottom line. It's the top line as well and all lines in between regardless of what kind of rifles are involved.
 
Wilbur your are correct, Mike and I have spoken about this many times. I had the chance to shoot some of Mikes rifles over the past 8 months, and where he has evolved to get where they are today is what we all look for in a rifle wether it be CF, RF or AR.

Until you own a rifle of this caliber, one will not fully understand what you are talking about.

Regards,
Joe
 
""Until you own a rifle of this caliber, one will not fully understand what you are talking about.""

That's what I've been trying to say for all these years!!! You're absolutely right - folks don't know what I'm talking about....
 
Mike, what's the OAL of your LV guns - just the action?
 
Howdy

Well here I am. Finally joined. :>) Interesting to hear what the big dogs have to say. Bill Tramel
 
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