Yep that's true.
I know Mike personally so I've seen little advancements happen here and there as time has gone by.
This scenario is one of those rare things in life that is birthed through huge amounts of, money, grit, determination, and also plenty of trial and error experimentation.
Most everything he's learned about building airguns is self taught.
Always looking for improvement in every way possible.
I kid him and call him a Bulldog! He don't let go.
Mike makes most of the parts for his Thomas airguns in his garage with his cnc machinery. Also does his own anodizing.
If things go well he builds a gun a week then tunes them as good as can be.
One time he literally rejected an entire shipment of pellet barrels because these didn't meet his specs or standards which set him back for months. That takes balls because it meant lost, time, income, and the heat from pissed off customers.
He's learned which barrels work best and knows exactly how to prep them.
He shoots hundreds of thousands of pellets and slugs a year while tuning, experimenting with projectiles, and also in practice which is mostly done on his property. This alone is a Wow thing. Can you imagine doing that?! I can't and I love shooting.
Nothing is perfect but it's about as perfect a storm of - personality traits, skill, equipment, etc, to bring this feat to fruition.
All combined this makes a national airgun BR champion too.
On top of that he's a good guy and has integrity.