Mike Niksch has again raised the bar with his Thomas Rifle
here is what he posted over on GTA earlier today
I thought I would post a bit about some new stuff on the Thomas BR and FT rifles.
My goal has always been to provide a world class performing rifle right out of the box. No need to replace the reg, find a "good" barrel, send it to a tuner, etc. You open the rifle case.....put on your scope.....and know that you will be National and World class competitive. This past season has shown that goal to be met. Gold and two silver medals at the Worlds....Most of the top 10 in every class at the Nationals, a 1st and 3rd at the Extreme Pro 25m.....and all the USARB national benchrest records (indoor and out).
The most notable addition to the BR rifle was the addition of a jetted swing port. This allowed me to shoot the same rifle in every class at the Benchrest Nationals with zero compromise. The jet is located at the top of the swing port, and simply removing the LV jet and replacing it with the HV jet is all that was necessary to go from 12 fpe to 20. The jets are tuned by me here at my shop....and cannot be put in wrong or out of adjustment. There is no need to chronograph the rifle after changing over.....it will be right every time.
New rifles will have a Titanium air tube to replace the Aluminum tube. Physical size is the same, but the Ti tube can hold 50% more air. Volume is approximately 375cc.
The next logical step was FT.....so I'm just finishing up a FT chassis for the BR rifle. One conveniently located bolt allows you to switch from the Bench chassis to the FT chassis.....and it takes about a minute or less. The FT chassis has a full length Anshutz accessory rail for just about anything you may want to add. Everything is where it should be and simply adjusted. Grips will come in 3 different sizes, or custom fit by Steve Corcoran. Steve is also getting together a wood FT and Bench stock for those that don't like Aluminum.....and I'm sure its gonna look great. Andras from Maestro-Designs also has trigger arms in about every configuration a guy could want....and they are a direct bolt on to the 4mm trigger rail.
Doug Miller couldn't wait for the actual FT chassis......so he shot his somewhat awkward BR platform with a few add ons at the recent CA State FT Championships and took the overall win. Nice job, Doug.....and a great first showing for Thomas rifles in FT.
So, a guy can spend less than 5k and get one rifle that will be at the top level of performance for BR (LV, HV, and Open) , and FT (Open or Hunter, and WFTF)......and be able to switch from one to the other in less than a minute without leaving anything on the table. Compare that to the amount of money that the average BR and FT competitor has spent to be competitive (maybe) in these classes the traditional way (5 or 6 rifles).....and I think you should see the value.
Mike
here is what he posted over on GTA earlier today
I thought I would post a bit about some new stuff on the Thomas BR and FT rifles.
My goal has always been to provide a world class performing rifle right out of the box. No need to replace the reg, find a "good" barrel, send it to a tuner, etc. You open the rifle case.....put on your scope.....and know that you will be National and World class competitive. This past season has shown that goal to be met. Gold and two silver medals at the Worlds....Most of the top 10 in every class at the Nationals, a 1st and 3rd at the Extreme Pro 25m.....and all the USARB national benchrest records (indoor and out).
The most notable addition to the BR rifle was the addition of a jetted swing port. This allowed me to shoot the same rifle in every class at the Benchrest Nationals with zero compromise. The jet is located at the top of the swing port, and simply removing the LV jet and replacing it with the HV jet is all that was necessary to go from 12 fpe to 20. The jets are tuned by me here at my shop....and cannot be put in wrong or out of adjustment. There is no need to chronograph the rifle after changing over.....it will be right every time.
New rifles will have a Titanium air tube to replace the Aluminum tube. Physical size is the same, but the Ti tube can hold 50% more air. Volume is approximately 375cc.
The next logical step was FT.....so I'm just finishing up a FT chassis for the BR rifle. One conveniently located bolt allows you to switch from the Bench chassis to the FT chassis.....and it takes about a minute or less. The FT chassis has a full length Anshutz accessory rail for just about anything you may want to add. Everything is where it should be and simply adjusted. Grips will come in 3 different sizes, or custom fit by Steve Corcoran. Steve is also getting together a wood FT and Bench stock for those that don't like Aluminum.....and I'm sure its gonna look great. Andras from Maestro-Designs also has trigger arms in about every configuration a guy could want....and they are a direct bolt on to the 4mm trigger rail.
Doug Miller couldn't wait for the actual FT chassis......so he shot his somewhat awkward BR platform with a few add ons at the recent CA State FT Championships and took the overall win. Nice job, Doug.....and a great first showing for Thomas rifles in FT.
So, a guy can spend less than 5k and get one rifle that will be at the top level of performance for BR (LV, HV, and Open) , and FT (Open or Hunter, and WFTF)......and be able to switch from one to the other in less than a minute without leaving anything on the table. Compare that to the amount of money that the average BR and FT competitor has spent to be competitive (maybe) in these classes the traditional way (5 or 6 rifles).....and I think you should see the value.
Mike
