A TM-1000 That Dominated The 2018 Championships In The USA

[azuaro]

Precision is the name of the game when we talk about good rifles…As an ISSF shooter I am used to European guns, the German made ones have always been my favorites: Feinwerkbau, Anschutz, Steyr, Walther…

I tried the FWB 800 FT and the Anschutz 9015 FT and settled for a “One Gun” for shooting everything and a Steyr LG-110 was my choice…This gun can be fully rebuilt in 15 minutes and this is a convenience when shooting away from home. I re-barreled this gun with a US made Shilen Ratchet and it turned very competitive for FT and did well in Benchrest all the 2017 season (USA), nevertheless, it was short of what I wanted for BR as this gun is “Too Temperamental”, and by this I mean that it does not forgive a single mistake…

I bought an Anschutz 9015 FT…Accurate but not to BR standards and it has about the same precision as the Steyr LG-110…

At the end of the season a shooting friend offered me to try his RAW BM-500, the very same gun as a TM-1000 but manufactured with benchrest shooting conveniences (larger air cylinder, BR stock)
To my surprise, I shot 2 good targets: a 250 and a 249 outdoors with not so much effort…I immediately ordered a TM-1000 with a custom stock made out of an exhibition French Walnut blank I had…

Martin ships those guns shooting very competitive and this gun needed nothing and I only refined and tuned the gun to my liking.

During the 2018 USARB season, this rifle dominated the HV class (outdoors) and set 2 USA records:
A 750 -35X in June and 2 weeks later a 750-50X…This same gun shot almost 14 perfect registered targets outdoors without missing a 10, this is, it shot 348 consecutive 10’s which is not only a USA record but a world record of all times; NO rifle has ever shot this amount of 10’s consecutively, outdoors and with variable windy conditions and twice with much rain.

Visit the USARB site and look for "HV Outdoors", "Records" and in "Championships" look for "USA Nationals 2018 - HV"
https://www.usairriflebenchrest.com/471 ... -april-30/

On October 10-2018, I won the USA National Championship with this RAW and this fact confirms that the gun is one of the most solid, reliable and precise air rifles in existence.

Conclusion: The RAW TM-1000 is a VERY SOLID platform, well built as a tank. The reviews I read about “Being Old Technology”, “Lock Time too long”, etc. proved to be of no importance.
The German guns I considered: Steyr LG-110 and Anschutz 9015 were good options, but in my perspective the miniaturization of the regulators and other high tech systems make these guns unreliable and not consistent for BR shooting. All of these rifles are very fine high tech guns, but they are very delicate and have many systems that can easily fail.

My next project will be a .22 High Power...I will get another RAW for shooting at 50 and 100 meters...After attending the Extreme Benchrest Shoot in Mesa AZ the following day after we concluded the USA nationals, I found that this is where precision shooting is heading and shooting at 50 and 100 yards is very fun, challenging and popular…At the EBR all 40 benches were always full.

Best regards,

AZ
Flathead Lake, Montana USA