As large as it may seem from the outside, the firearm industry as a whole is more akin to a small, close-knit family. Those who are successful in the long run are those who conduct business with the best of intentions, supporting the Second Amendment mission and all things related to the shooting, hunting and outdoors spaces. With the constant inundation of news stories depicting everything that is going wrong in our world, it’s important to take time and focus on the positive—and that is exactly how I spent a recent weekend.
Before we get into the event itself, we must first take a closer look at its inspiration and the fine organization that has been conducting it year after year. Revere’s Riders is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to marksmanship, American history and civic engagement. Affiliated with esteemed organizations such as the National Rifle Association, the Civilian Marksmanship Program and the Youth Shooting Sports Alliance, they have amassed an impressive amount of support not only from those who attend their events, but also from manufacturers who believe in their mission.
Education is provided that covers how our country was founded, and the important historical events that occurred over the next 250 years. Civic engagement is also addressed, regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum. Resources are provided to make the process of becoming involved in your local and national political climate less intimidating, with an emphasis on simply being an active participant in your community rather than passively sitting on the sidelines. Lastly, Revere’s Riders offers myriad firearm training courses, including basic, intermediate and advanced rifle courses, defensive rifle and pistol courses, and a variety of new shooter programs.
So, what exactly is the Marty Brown Memorial Invitational (MBMI)? Preceding the main event are two Open events, the MBMI Rifle Open and the MBMI Pistol Open, each serving as a qualifier to potentially receive an invite to attend the Invitational at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center near Edinburgh, Indiana (also home of the NRA World Shooting Championship). The inspiration and reason behind the creation of the Marty Brown Memorial Open and Invitational events is the late Marty Brown. Aside from being an amazing mother and wife, Marty was a passionate rifle instructor and strong supporter of the Second Amendment. To make a long and harrowing story short, in 2017, after a multi-year battle with ovarian cancer, Marty passed away. It was in her memory that this event was created.
In 2019, Ovar’coming Together became the official partner of Revere’s Riders for all Marty Brown Memorial events, with a portion of event proceeds donated to support Ovar’coming Together’s mission to educate women about ovarian cancer, support research and directly support patients currently receiving treatment. To date, in memory of Marty and all those battling this horrific disease, Revere’s Riders has raised more than $91,000 towards the cause.
Now, back to the weekend and what the event entailed. The Marty Brown Memorial Invitational is an informal two-day, three-position rifle shoot conducted at Camp Atterbury JMTC. Each stage consists of its own specified position, distance and round count. This event is run “high-speed, low-drag” style, with shooters expected to know their dope for each of the distances being shot, only carry with you what you need and nothing more, and the only supportive device allowed being a sling. Each stage is scored in “hits count” fashion, with hits located in the center V-portion of the target recorded as these are often required as tiebreakers.
Here is a breakdown of each of the four stages:
Camp Atterbury uses a pit system for target handling and scoring. The pits are located behind the berm and are constructed to ensure the safety of those within. Day one begins with breaking into two groups: one shoots in the morning, while the other works the pits.
“Working the pits” at the MBMI involves raising and lowering the targets to mark sighter shots, pasting sighters before shooting for score and scoring targets after each stage has been completed. The event is also complemented by eight or more skills challenges, which not only raise additional donations for ovarian cancer research but also offer ample opportunities to win prizes, including guns.
After the morning shooters complete two runs on the aforementioned course of fire, the groups swap positions, and the process repeats. The process for day two is the same, except that the afternoon shooters from day one shoot in the morning on day two. Doing it this way ensures everyone has an equal opportunity to battle the sun and unpredictable wind.
Other than bringing a centerfire rifle to the event, there aren’t many other constraints as to what firearms you are permitted to bring. While ARs are the most common rifle to show up on the line, more often than not, there are a handful of people who opt to bring something unique, such as an M1 Garand or other popular vintage military rifles.
Something that has been pretty steady throughout the years is the number of people who fancy the art of handloading. While it may seem daunting to those who have never tried, custom tailoring a load to your rifle allows you to achieve the utmost accuracy from your ammunition and rifle combination. Wanting to gain as much of an edge as possible, I’ve called upon my handloading skills to whip up some highly accurate loads for not only my M1 Garand, but also two different ARs chambered in .223 Rem. and 22 ARC.
Loading your own ammunition will only get you so far, and it is essential to use quality components. When loading for my AR chambered in .223 Rem., I chose brass cases from Nosler, which came in convenient 100-count boxes. This brass is fully prepped and ready to load, with case mouths chamfered and deburred, flash holes deburred and everything visually inspected before packaging and shipping to the end user.
The weather is unpredictable this time of year, so for powder, I went with Winchester StaBALL Match, given its temperature stability. After seating CCI #400 Small Rifle Primers into each case, powder throwing was a quick and painless process, thanks in part to my RCBS Matchmaster Powder Dispenser. Placing filled cases into our RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme press, which was paired with a set of RCBS dies, each case was topped off with a 73-grain ELD-Match bullet from the fine folks at Hornady. These rounds faired quite well, earning me amongst the highest scores that I’ve recorded throughout the many years I’ve attended this event. The same can be said for when I drew up handloads for my 22 ARC and M1.
Anyone can grab boxed ammo off a shelf and shoot a course of fire, and heaven knows ammunition straight from the manufacturer is getting better and better every year. Still, there’s a certain level of accountability and satisfaction that comes with doing it yourself. Custom tailoring a round to my rifle aided in me obtaining one of my highest scores yet, with next year’s goal of taking home the high-score trophy.
As day two of the event drew to a close, we all began to reminisce over everything that had happened over the weekend. We shared where things went right, where things derailed completely, and how we could improve our gear and skills in anticipation of next year’s MBMI.
Many of us entered the weekend as strangers, but the funny thing about shooting sports is that they have a way of bringing people together. A weekend filled with marksmanship, camaraderie, learning and a healthy dose of shenanigans was refreshing for the soul, and the fact that it was in support of such a great cause and in memory of Marty made it even better.
For more information on Revere’s Riders, Ovar’Coming, and everything discussed in this article, please visit reveresriders.org.
