The Adams Arms Competitive Shooting Team is made up of some of the most skilled shooters in the industry and we are proud to have Rick Birdsall as part of our 3 gun competition shooting team. Rick recently got a spotlight written about him by Chris Andersen from 3 Gun Nation and we thought we would share! Check out the spotlight below.
“One of the newer competitors in the 3GN Pro Series is Michigan’s Rick Birdsall. I was actually squadded with Rick when he shot is first major match in 2011 and recently sat down with him for a talk about his progression in the sport.
CA: What is your background?
RB: I grew up in Northville, Michigan, which is a suburb of Detroit. I have a younger brother and sister, Brad and Brittany, respectively. My family was very sports-oriented growing up and my parents ran around like crazy trying to get us where we needed to be and to see all of our games. That’s where I first developed my competitive spirit, and I’ve had it with me ever since. Currently, I work for a top-tier automotive supplier in the Detroit area and I’m a Mechanical Engineer by degree.
CA: How long have you been shooting competitively?
RB: I began shooting in 2007 but didn’t start competing until about 2010. Prior to 2010, I had only been taking the occasional trip to the range or defensive pistol class. It wasn’t until 2011 that I competed in my first major 3-Gun match, CMMG. I had no idea that it would evolve into something that would provide me the opportunity to represent organizations at the highest level of the sport. It’s been an exciting ride up to this point, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!
CA: What would you say are your greatest strengths in shooting?
RB: I would say that my greatest strength is my mental game. I’m traditionally very cerebral during a course of fire. Even when an initial plan falls apart or issues arise, I’m able to deal with them accordingly. My ability to think on my feet allows me to quickly deal with many different contingencies, if required. This is a bit of a double-edged sword, however, because it can cause me to become too deliberate during a course of fire, which can cost valuable time in a Pro Series match.
CA: What have you worked hardest on this offseason?
RB: Hands down, the one aspect of my game that I’ve spent the most time on is my shotgun loading. After seeing the introduction of the quad loading method early last year, I knew it was going to provide a significant advantage over the other current techniques. I am fortunate enough to be sponsored by the company who makes the top-of-the-line shell carriers, AP Custom. As such, I was able to get my hands on some of their QL-4’s and QL-8’s to begin my offseason training. If I had to describe them in with a phrase, it would simply be “game changer.” I spent countless hours working on my technique and I would definitely consider it to be one of the stronger aspects of my game.
CA: Where you do you want to be in the sport of 3-gun?
RB: This is a very difficult question and one that I’ve thought about quite a bit recently. Being one of the “newer” shooters, compared to others on the Pro Series, I’m trying to decide what type of shooter I want to be. Obviously I want to be a 3-Gun Nation Champion, but I find that it’s better to set more achievable goals that allow me to improve from match-to-match and season-to-season.
Performance aside, I am certain that I want to continue to have a major impact in the social media realm. I take great pride in providing my sponsors with a high level of exposure across all of the major forms of social media. I really enjoy putting together product demo videos and editing my match footage into useable content to suit a particular sponsor’s needs.
CA: What are you most proud of in shooting?
RB: My greatest achievement, at this point in my relatively short shooting career, is making the 3GN Pro Series and having the opportunity to compete against the best shooters in the world.
My 4th place finish in the 2012 3GN Semi-Pro Series, which lead to the opportunity to shoot in the Semi-Pro Shoot-off in Las Vegas, was an important achievement for me.
My best match finish was 2nd place in the Tac Limited division at the 2012 Blue Ridge Mountain 3-Gun Championship. I missed winning the match by less than 0.1%, so that one has stuck with me as motivation for quite some time.
CA: Tell us about your sponsors and equipment?
RB: I have the pleasure of representing some of the best companies in the firearms industry. Most recently, I had the honor of joining the Adams Arms Shooting Team. My other sponsors include Ann Arbor Arms, Warne Scope Mounts, Vortex Optics, Hayes Custom Guns, AP Custom, SportEAR, Italian Gun Grease, Taran Tactical Innovations, Rose Action Sports, Samson Manufacturing, Nordic Components and Voodoo Innovations.
For the Pro Series, I’m shooting a 16.5” Adams Arms COR Rifle with a Vortex StrikeFire red dot and Warne Scope Mount; Rose Action Sports Benelli M2 with Nordic Components Magazine Tube Extension; and my pistol is a custom 5-inch 2011 built by Hayes Custom Guns. All of my magazines feature Taran Tactical Innovations base pads and my shotshell caddies are from the AP Custom QL series.
Birdsall has been steadily improving and recently logged his best 3GN Pro Series finish to date—22nd at Event #2 in April.”
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