5 under a dime at 50? How about 195?

[thomasair]

Was weeding through my pellets and rather than throw away a massively beat up tin….I decided to shoot a group with all of them. Probably 75% of the pellets had badly misshapen skirts. Took me about 20 minutes for this 200 shot group at 50y. I think the one all by itself must have been a bad pellet.

Mike

 

[Removed]

Haha reminds me of a few years ago when I decided to load a few backwards and was pleasantly surprised with the results. I learned my lesson last year after ordering some pellets on Amazon, came shipped in a giant box with two tins of JSB's rattling around inside.

 

[nomojo65]

I wish I could get groups like that with weighed, sorted, lubed, head sized and rolled pellets.

 

[steve123]

That sure is small for 200 shots!

 

[thomasair]

Those pellets shot really well despite their appearance. There would be no way anyone would want to trust them based on the damaged skirts. They did better than a lot of better looking pellets, though.

Mike

 

[qball]

HOLY COW!!!! Even a slightest breeze would push a pellet way off, that’s some mind boggling good shooting!!!!

 

[thomasair]

I think you are misunderstanding Qball. Haha

It’s 200 shots at 50y….maybe 195 of them were under a dime. It was light wind.

Mike

 

[thomasair]

Here is the same setup with some more barrel work and decent looking pellets. This is 50 shots at 50y. The group on the right is my sighters for the group on the left. You can get an idea about the wind from that. The aluminum button is .490”.

Mike

 

[igolfat8]

Mike, that’s amazing accuracy and equal credit to the guy behind the trigger too. How many shots are you getting per fill from that particular rifle or are you shooting it tethered to a larger tank?

 

[DonC]

Name of rifle and pellet?

 

[thomasair]

Igolfat8….the gun is tethered.

DonC….it’s a Thomas shooting 22 cal redesigned monsters.

Mike

 

[SimpleGuy]

195 under a dime at 50 I call BS!

 

[thomasair]

You can call whoever you like. If BS answers, let us know what he says.

Mike

 

[DonC]

Great post Mke!
I have a request, could you please tell us in detail how a guy can immobilize a PCP for testing. If memory serves, you use sand bags. Sure would be nice to see a photo of where you place the bags and some details. Perhaps my memory of using bags is incorrect. Please inform us interested guys that want to learn from your expert experience.
By the way you had 11 percent at the Worlds using your rifle this year . I'll betcha next year it will be triple. Watch out temperature sensitive Steyr.
Don Carkhuff
BAGA, Wisconsin, same group as Greg Sauve.
I have a Steyr 110 and am saving for your rifle. Greg told me once he was shooting your rifle and then switched to Steyr 110 several times in high wind conditions. Your rifle had much less wind holdover than the Steyr. This empirical evidence as well as your groups prove you are truely the best of the best! I especially like the fact that temperature does not affect your rifle. More empirical evidence proven by the heat in Italy. You should attend the next Worls and kick butt.

 

[thomasair]

Thanks Don….nice of you to say. I remember meeting you at the FT Nationals in Michigan.

Most guns do better if they are allowed to move. I mostly use a one piece rest made by Randolph. I use a ball bearing roller front top, and a ball bearing rear V. The gun is held in the horizontal plane but rolls rearward about an inch before hitting a stop each shot. There is a cleat under the front of the gun that prevents the rifle from rolling off the back of the rest. Clamping a rifle in a “vise” is usually poor for accuracy. Here is a pic of my slug gun on the rest. The pellet gun is essentially the same.

Mike

 

[Franklink]

That thing is missing some pretty critical parts that need to be present to fit into my mental image for a "rifle."

 

[thomasair]

I can dress it in different clothes….but I prefer the minimalist setup.

 

[Franklink]

Yes, was talking about a stock. This second one does look more like a rifle. And it even has a trigger!!!

Couldn't see a trigger on the first one, and suspicious wires sticking out of the rear of the tube. A button clicking gun. When you're shooting in that bottom-of-the-deep-end-of-benchrest-pool, push-a-button-to-fire configuration, do you need to look through the scope or do you just get things lined up and then click away?

 

[thomasair]

I use the same technique whether I’m shooting a light mechanical trigger gun or a remote operated switch. My right eye is always looking through the scope and my left eye is always watching the flags.

Shooting “heads up” is kind of a primitive technique in my opinion. Lining up the gun for a specific wind condition and raising up your head to watch the flags and waiting for that condition to return is problematic because the exact condition is unlikely to return. Might be the same flag angle…but more or less velocity. Might be the same velocity but slightly different angles. Either way you end up taking a compromised shot…. or you sit forever and wait for something that doesn’t come. Making minor or major hold corrections based on what you see in real time requires your right eye to stay in the scope.

Mike

 

[igolfat8]

Mike,
I don’t think I’ve seen a Thomas with a moderator. Why is that? Do you think they negatively affect accuracy?