mlmiller1 Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 (edited) Let me start with a disclaimer here for you expert rifle shooters, ok? I have never been a very accurate iron sight shooter. I like shooting irons, I respect what it takes to make them work & honor the guys that are really good at it but I am not now & have never been one of those guys. However, today I felt like an expert. I took my new rifle out for a second shakedown run. The first time I only shot at paper at 50yds. I got it sighted in pretty well at 50. Today, I went out to the range & started shooting at some 8" plates at a bit over 200yds. Second shot, Got it! I proceeded to hit at 90% accuracy at that distance over 50 shots! Granted, I was seated with the gun just resting on a table but for me, that was incredible accuracy. On top of that, the wind was blowing in the 15-25mph range coming out of approx. 1:30 (if the targets were at 12:00). Understand that I realize this is not 1.5' or 2" groups for you great shooters but for me, it was unbelievable accuracy. I am certain the gun is capable of much more than what I can make it do. These were just plain old reloads with win55s, mixed brass & v.v n135 powder. It is a "book" load with little to no development & what development was done, was done with my other AR-15. I am jazzed to say the least. I lay all the credit to the awesome Firebird that Jim Lambert built for me. It has a JP trigger, a lothar walther 20" barrel, with the JP free float handguard. It is one of the Firebird receivers from the very first production run. What an awesome gun! The family of the guy that owns the land our range is on stopped by to visit. He had never shot an AR before or even held one & I had to show him how to load & charge the gun & the works. After I finally got him to "see" the targets, he started hitting them at better than 50%. He missed the first two shots, then started picking them up regularly. I see this as a testament of the "shootability" of this rifle. By the time he left, he wanted one, also. hahaha. Sorry, mine is not for sale! I like my Firebird! MLM Edited April 8, 2009 by mlmiller1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoShooter Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 cool I got a completion kit for my lower just the other day and got to use my Firebird lower this weekend. I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlmiller1 Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 Now I just need a match to shoot it in! MLM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SA Friday Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 FOUL! No pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taco101 Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Man, you were good with your other rifle.....you are going to rock out now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlmiller1 Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 Thanks Todd! It is going to take a bit to get used to this gun. It is way heavier on the front end with 4 more inches of barrel & a comp out past that. Also, I've got the front sight set right on the end of the barrel. This puts lots more weight out away from me on the front end. IOW, up close speed stages are going to take a little getting used to. Being able to hit longer range shots is the reason I started this deal. Now I just gotta do my part, I have the equipment. MLM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taco101 Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Holy Cow! What a gun!!!! Mark generously let me launch a few down range today.....WOW. Easily one of, if not the best, AR that I've seen. 200 yard plates were almost easy. The gong at 200 was easy. Cool rig!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 FOUL! No pics. Yeah, that should be a "1 free beer to everyone after the next match" offense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 FOUL! No pics. Yeah, that should be a "1 free beer to everyone after the next match" offense Make that a free beer of their choice! CYa, Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlmiller1 Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 This is starting to sound serious. I gotta figure a way to get some type of picture up. Maybe I can use my cell phone. I can't afford beer. Especially your choice. You really just need to buy your own. Not the beer, a Firebird built AR. You won't regret it. I've thought about the $$$ & have not regretted it one bit. The gun is worth every penny! For me, that is unusual. I am one that is prone to "buyer's remorse" but not this time. Todd, Glad you like 'er! You & Charlie showed me what she can do, for sure! In that wind, just standing upright is a challenge. Todd, you had the disadvantage since Charlie is "vertically challenged" & he didn't catch as much wind as you! Hope Kevin enjoyed the match. How long is he home? MLM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Ho Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Mark, If the potential beer bill gets too big, call me. You can use my camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken hebert Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Mark, bring it to Space City and I'll put up pix for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taco101 Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Hope Kevin enjoyed the match. How long is he home? MLM Couple more weeks. Had a ball. Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgood Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 Mark let me shoot it at the match in Hobbs today. Felt really nice. I just fired a few rounds at junk on the berm, so I don't really know anything about the accuracy. (I've developed a blink again, so I didn't see where most of my shots were going. I'm going to have to go back to the range and force that out of my system.) If I'd have seen this thread earlier, I would have brought my camera. This yellow monstrosity has to be seen to be believed. Just kidding, Mark. It actually looks pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlmiller1 Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share Posted May 3, 2009 Thanks Michael, Glad you liked shooting it. The gun was awesome today. Now I just need to learn to trust the sights & the shooter(me). It was fun in the little side match, wasn't it? Getting beaten by Freddy is not a bad thing at all. He is a great rifle shooter. The firebird pointed like a bird dog at the targets. We had paper at @40yds & a swinger(what is that ringing? would somebody get the phone?) at maybe 15 & 4-8" plates @80yds all shot through a barrel(is the doorbell stuck?). The plates were so much easier than with my 16" gun plus the neat ringing that a compensated gun leaves you with after shooting through a barrel is so hard to explain! Actually, it wasn't the volume, it was the pressure on your face that makes it hard to concentrate & keep focus. The second string through wasn't so bad. I hardly jumped at all when I fired the first shot. It is so much more fun shooting a well built gun like the firebird than a little tinker toy rifle like I've been using. Thanks again Jim & Firebird precision firearms! MLM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taco101 Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 We had paper at @40yds & a swinger(what is that ringing? would somebody get the phone?) at maybe 15 & 4-8" plates @80yds all shot through a barrel(is the doorbell stuck?). The plates were so much easier than with my 16" gun plus the neat ringing that a compensated gun leaves you with after shooting through a barrel is so hard to explain! Actually, it wasn't the volume, it was the pressure on your face that makes it hard to concentrate & keep focus. The second string through wasn't so bad. I hardly jumped at all when I fired the first shot. I swear Mike Tyson was inside that darn barrel with me. I'll have to have a talk with that Miculek fellow about his comp.....doubt I'll be able to hear what he says.... Still a fun match and watching you cruise through those plates was fun. If I had to finish 3rd at least it was a friend with a wicked stick right in front of me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken hebert Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 There is nothing that says you HAVE to climb in the barrel ith a comp'd gun... Kinda like sticking your USPSA pistol al lthe way through a port to engage the targets on the other side of the wall... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgood Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 I considered staying behind the barrel and shooting through it. It was suggested that putting at least one elbow in the barrel for support would be worth it for those shots on those little plates way out there. I think hitting the targets would have been difficult from kneeling behind the barrel. My rifle doesn't have a comp. So maybe I didn't get beaten up by the muzzle blast as bad as most. I do have burn marks on both elbows where hot brass rolled down on me though and I tried to ignore it and keep shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlmiller1 Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share Posted May 3, 2009 Ken, Normally that is true but this particular time, the targets you had to engage through the barrel were way off to the left & the only way to shoot them all was from deep inside the barrel. Thanks Todd! If the DI comp was as loud as that Miculek, I'd still be hearing it ringing in my head. Man, your gun is loud! I would have quit after the first shot. To heck with shooting the targets. hahaha. MLM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgood Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 . . . the only way to shoot them all was from deep inside the barrel. I think they could have been shot without getting in the barrel, but it would have been much more difficult. It would have required some scrambling around on the knees to see all the targets and then shooting from a position with little or no support. The only single place where you could see all the targets at once was from leaning up inside the barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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