I first heard about Brownell’s Action Hero Experience the same way most attendees did: through their YouTube channel. I decided to check it out since it was only a few hours away, and I’ve never been to a 2 Gun shooting competition before. The event coordinators were gracious enough to offer me a spot on one of the squads when I arrived, but I decided I wanted to observe from an outside perspective. (Also, I’ve never competed before, and I didn’t want to embarrass TFB.) ArrivalThe event took place at Brownell’s range, the Big Springs Shooting Complex in Searsboro, IA. I arrived 30 minutes early on the 20th of June, only to find out that I was the last one there. All the competitors were fired up, and you could feel the excitement and tension in the air. At 7:45 am sharp, the mandatory safety briefing started with the Range Master. Big Spring’s Range Master briefing the competitors. There were about 50 competitors present, and of those, about 40+ had never done an event before. As it turns out, this competition is a fantastic way to get your foot in the door if you want to compete for the first time. Many of those in attendance I talked to said they just wanted the fun experience more than they wanted to compete.Groups were broken up, and I decided to follow the 12 competitors of Reaper Squad. Competitors grouping up into squads Perfect weather and rolling hills at the Big Springs Shooting Complex Stage 1The first stage was inspired by the video game Helldivers II. The targets looked fantastic, and the stage was true to the video game. You get dropped onto a terminid world, and the stage starts with shooting the little bugs, tossing grenades into the bug holes, and even completing a Strategem puzzle before taking the full-auto rifle to the Charger (big bug). If I didn’t know better, I’d swear someone was playing the song A Cup of Liber-Tea directly into my earpro. Say hello to DEMOCRACY! Sweet liberty, my leg! Stage 2The second stage was inspired by the 2007 movie Shoot Em Up. This stage was pistol-only and forced shooters to take cover with the plastic baby and alternate shooting hands. It’s been at least a decade since I last saw the movie, but I was hoping for Carrots and Merry-Go-Round to be integrated into the stage. I didn’t envy the shooters on this one; it required tactical decision-making and reloads, all while taking cover and without dropping the baby. “Shooter ready?, Baby Ready?” Stage 3The third stage was inspired by the 1986 movie Aliens. Like the props during the first stage, these ones were clearly made with love. You start out by crawling through netting, much like the air ducts in the movie, followed by blasting a bunch of aliens. Once you’ve hotwired the hatch, you pull out your pistol and blast some face huggers. Finally, you run back down the range and engage the giant Alien Queen target. This had to be my favorite stage, definitely not because of the running, but because the range lead, who was dressed as Ripley, was shouting orders at the competitors the entire time. I was filming a lot of the competitors as they ran the stage, and she had us all amped up. Stage leader Jennifer “Ripley” explaining to the competitors that this is where you take on the Queen Alien. Stage 4The fourth stage, I believe, was inspired by the movie 1917. This trench warfare stage was definitely the crowd favorite. It rained the night before, so the trench looked and felt authentic. You would start on a small berm and shoot some targets, followed by a sprint to the trenches. You’d toss a grenade into a fortified position, followed by storming the lines, taking out some officer targets, and wiping out the leftover targets. This one really made you feel like a war hero, so I get why this one was popular. Stage leader describing the course of action at the Trench stage for the competitors. Stage 5The final stage for the Reaper squad was inspired by the video game Gray Zone Warfare, specifically the Hunters Paradise area. I’ve never heard of it, mainly because I’m a casual Xbox player and not some dirty PC player. This stage looked fantastic and included cutting through a fence/mesh and blasting a door open with a shotgun. You’d then take out a few targets inside the structure and hit a few more through the window. After you jump through the window, you have to get down low, put some guard dogs to sleep, then apply a tourniquet to your dummy/buddy. The final objective is to enter a truck and shoot out the back at 3 targets 300 yards away. Once you’ve completed the shots, you sprint back to the beginning of the stage to record your time. From a strategic standpoint, this stage had the most range, both literally and figuratively. You could tell that the red dot crowd was breezing through the first part, but the LPVO shooters took the cake during the 300-yard shootout. I hope to see similar stages like this in the future. YouTube Superstar Caleb Savant leading the Gray Zone stage. First Hand PerspectiveI didn’t know a single person at this event, but everyone was friendly, and there were nothing but smiles and laughs the entire time. I met a couple of local young men who signed up for this as their first event. Near the end of the day, I asked for a few of their thoughts. Dain said, “I had a lot of fun. I would have to say the Trench was my favorite Stage,” and Isaiah followed up, “It was great. I liked the Trench as well as the Baby stage. It was also nice to be able to test my gear.” When asked whether they would recommend the event, they both said a definite yes, and they seemed to suggest I would see them there again next year. Isaiah (left) and Dain (right), two friends enjoying their first match. Awards CeremonyThere were three divisions you could compete in. Essentially, there was gun belt, chest rig, and plate carrier. Each division had First-, Second-, and Third-place winners, with some pretty awesome prizes. There were additional prizes for best dressed and overall score. Lastly, everyone walked away with something; random prizes were handed out to all the competitors. I don’t want to get too deep into the prizes, as they’re always subject to change, but it almost looked like they were handing out LPVOs, ACOG’s, and EOTech’s like candy. Pretty sure I saw some BRN4 upper receivers in some of the contestants' hands. Again, not everyone got one, but everyone walked away with something. Final ThoughtsAs it turns out, this is the second time they’ve hosted the Action Hero event. According to the Range Master, the first, surprisingly, had only about 10 competitors, but I won’t be surprised if next year the event has more than 100. The stages were fun, the range personnel were professional, and the prizes this year were out of hand. I’d also like to give a shoutout to Sgt. B., the dedicated medic who volunteered his time at the event, as well as the local youth shooting group that helped keep the event running smoothly. Sgt. B, Event Medic, keeping an eye on all of us. This event was too much fun to watch from the sidelines, so you’ll probably see me compete next year at the 3rd Annual Action Hero Event!If you’re interested in events like these, keep an eye out for Brownell’s YouTube announcements, as well as their Big Springs Complex Events Page. They always have something going on. Brownell’s can also be found on X and Instagram.