I frequent another forum devoted to firearms in Washington state. They know that I like to shoot my airgun and they recognize it is more than a 'BB Gun' but it still doesn't interest them much. When I talk about shooting my airgun they mention "that guy who shoots pigeons and squirrels with an airgun at 300yards" and how "even for a firearm, those shots are impressive". I had to point out it's not 300yards that Ted is shooting at, but his shots at birds on silos and barns in wind at 100-150 yards are indeed the stuff of legends. Of course, his video of near misses aren't nearly as popular as the hits. ;-) So even they know about Ted. I just thought that was interesting.
I've found that many of them don't really know squat about scopes, mildots, or anything like that. The only guys who know what those dots in the scope are for, are the guys who've done 5 tours of Vietnam/Afghanistan/Iraq and spent most of the time hiding in the mountains/sand shooting at targets 2500m away. Most of the guys on the firearms forum are shooting between 50-100 yards. With a firearm close enough is, well, close enough. The nuance of ballistics/wind-drift and all the other things we battle don't really come into play for them until they're out at 150-200yards. They can afford to be a little sloppy because they have so much more power at their disposal. It's funny how it's all relative. The guys in the UK give the guys in the US a hard time over their unlimited power large caliber air rifles. With 12fpe limits in the UK you have to be able to knock the dot off an 'i' at 20 yards while speed and mass allow the US shooters to be a little looser with their shots. Comparing many of the airguns in the US to firearms is about the same. At any rate, I shared Ted's mildot videos with them because it really is the simplest, functional, and entertaining explanation of mil dots that I've seen. I watched another video that got into radians, minutes, seconds, blah blah blah...and I woke up face down in my own drool.
I've found that many of them don't really know squat about scopes, mildots, or anything like that. The only guys who know what those dots in the scope are for, are the guys who've done 5 tours of Vietnam/Afghanistan/Iraq and spent most of the time hiding in the mountains/sand shooting at targets 2500m away. Most of the guys on the firearms forum are shooting between 50-100 yards. With a firearm close enough is, well, close enough. The nuance of ballistics/wind-drift and all the other things we battle don't really come into play for them until they're out at 150-200yards. They can afford to be a little sloppy because they have so much more power at their disposal. It's funny how it's all relative. The guys in the UK give the guys in the US a hard time over their unlimited power large caliber air rifles. With 12fpe limits in the UK you have to be able to knock the dot off an 'i' at 20 yards while speed and mass allow the US shooters to be a little looser with their shots. Comparing many of the airguns in the US to firearms is about the same. At any rate, I shared Ted's mildot videos with them because it really is the simplest, functional, and entertaining explanation of mil dots that I've seen. I watched another video that got into radians, minutes, seconds, blah blah blah...and I woke up face down in my own drool.
because I was looking for an inexpensive rifle for backyard pests... then i started watching other videos he had... one thing led to another and I now suffer from a full blown airgun addiction!