Brink Excursions owner Cody Brink decided to open the Marshalltown location because of a perfect mix of family and opportunity.

“This is a family-based, family-run company,” manager Eric Briggs said. “All of us are family. The owner of the land and building is [Cody’s] mother. It made a lot of sense to open it up here as opposed to finding somewhere in town. This also gets us out farther away from town and distractions.”

Briggs said the Marshalltown store gives customers quality optics which might not be available anywhere else.

“A lot of shooting and hunting equipment,” Briggs said. “We have the customer come here and we tailor the optic based on the application — what they are doing, what they are hunting, what they are shooting.”

T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Brink Excursions owner Cody Brink and manager Eric Briggs stand with their high-end firearms accessories, such as scopes for hunters and competition shooters, in the business’ new Marshalltown location. They are in the process of applying for a Federal Firearms License and are awaiting approval.

The process saves the customer money and provides the desired result, he said. What makes the products higher quality, according to Briggs, is the focus on quality over quantity.

“One, the material they are made of, and two, the warranty that comes with them,” he said. “Most everything we sell has a lifetime warranty. If you break it or it stops functioning, we send an email to the manufacturer and they will have it sent back. They will either fix it or replace it.”

Briggs said what makes their optics higher quality is the clarity of glass, which is determined by how much light is attracted. Also, he said multi-coatings and types of glass are focused on by the manufacturers overseas.

“Germany and Japan are some of the best glass makers in the world,” he said. “It’s a huge difference, and knowing the difference in glass and the different features in optics is a big thing.”

One feature is magnification. Brinks Excursions carries optics with magnification ranging from one to 30.

With Iowa deer season starting Sept. 16 for youth and disabled hunters, people will be looking for accessories to help them hit their target. Briggs said deer hunters will not need something with 24-power magnification.

“It’s nice, but most of the deer shot here are within 100 yards,” he said. “Anywhere from one to nine power magnification is in the range you want to be.”

Most of the time, Iowa hunters might need magnification to cover a distance of 100 to 200 yards. However, Briggs said that is rare, especially for deer.

“They come in pretty close, and not many people are taking that shot at 150, 200 yards,” he said. “There’s no reason to have it and the more magnification you put into an optic is one more thing that can go wrong or have a flaw. Buck fever is a very real thing. You sit in a tree stand, you take a shot at a buck, you get excited, take the magnification all the way up and can’t find the deer.”

Briggs shoots precision rimfire, and rarely does he go past 12- or 16-power magnification, even though he has 30-power. Precision rimfire is a type of cartridge used for accuracy and consistency.

“Every level of optic has better features to it,” he said. “You just have to look at it and decide what you want.”

The maximum distance Briggs has covered with one of the optics at Brink Excursions is 900 yards.

“I was able to read a license plate,” he said.

Soon, the Marshalltown location will also sell firearms. Briggs said they are in the process of obtaining a Federal Firearms License, and should be close to getting an answer as to whether or not they have been approved.

“We won’t have any pistols and very few semi-automatics,” he said. “Most of it will be precision bolt guns or hunting rifles is what we are really looking at.”

Briggs said they will also have firearms for people who enjoy shooting paper or steel targets.

Of course, Brinks Excursions products are not limited to hunters and shooters. They also carry binoculars.

“In my opinion, everybody needs a set of binoculars — whether you’re a bird watcher, just someone wanting to keep eyes on your children,” Briggs said. “Where I live, there’s a park that’s 600 yards away and I send my kids there. If I get worried, I look out the window with a set of binoculars and I can see them. The difference between what most people perceive as good optics as to what they actually are is a huge margin. Until you put somebody behind really nice glass, they don’t completely understand.”

Besides selling firearm accessories and binoculars, Brink Excursions hosts and sponsors shooting events. Brink said in 2023, the business will host five different shooting matches in Marshall County.

Briggs and his 14-year-old daughter, Toni Nelson, have become active in Marshalltown shooting sports. Nelson, for the last five months, has run a shooting club, White Pine Precision Shooters, at the Marshall County Izaak Walton League, of which Briggs is the new board president. He said the club is for all ages. Brink said the Izaak Walton League has been phenomenal in helping the business get the events set up.

“There’s different classes,” Briggs said. “Anyone from 8-years-old and up can shoot.”

Brink Excursions was founded in 2009, and the business has another Marshall County location at Daryl’s Gun Shop in State Center.

“We’ve put on a couple educational shoots there,” Brink said. “Where it was kind of, come learn, check it out, get your basics done and some one-on-one with families and new shooters.”

STORE CONTACT INFORMATION:

Location: 1817B Wiese Garden Rd.

Telephone: 641-854-0660

Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday; 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., every other Sunday; by appointment, Monday, Tuesday and Friday evening.

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.

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