Our History
Every great organization, has a unique and interesting history to where it all began. MARS is no different.
In 2018 the explosion of long range rimfire took off. Long range precision rimfire has been the fastest growing sport in the country for the 4th year in a row, and it doesn’t look like it will stop anytime soon.
The ability for smaller shooting clubs, facilities, and farms to hold rimfire events continues to increase at a rapid pace.
Dave Luu was among many east coast shooters who quickly jumped into the sport in 2018. We all had been, shooting another series in our area that only had a limited series of events. The focus of that series wasn’t on growing the sport and bringing new shooters into the sport.
Dave being frustrated, and seeing the interest by so many shooters, young and old, that wanted to participate in this type of shooting activity, lead to him creating MARS.
MARS was founded in 2019.
Dave put his plan in motion and in 2019, and the inaugural year of the series with 3 clubs (York, PA, Westminster, MD and Baltimore, MD.) The series was an instant success.
2020 brought even more growth. The sport was still rapidly growing all over the country. MARS went from the original 3 clubs to 8 clubs. MARS was quickly noticed by shooters all over the country. The MARS series was revered by these shooters. They legitimately were jealous, that MARS had the ability to run so many events in such a little area. MARS offered us the ability to shoot more matches than any other area in the United States.
MARS also started getting interest from several media outlets and sponsors. In the following video Dave presents to the MARS series to the Guns.com viewers.
In 2021 MARS evolved again. MARS expanded from 8 clubs to 13 clubs which offered over 55 matches this season.
As you can see Dave’s initially small vision of trying to hold a simple small series, has now evolved into something much bigger, and I think we will continue to see Dave’s vision continue too rapidly grow.
As life and careers advance, so does responsibilities to work and our families. Dave has unfortunately hit this crossroad in his life, and his real life duties, are now demanding more of his attention. Upon the completion of 2021 season, Dave has decide to pass the torch on Tony Gimmellie, who has the ability to continue what Dave had started and to continue advancing it into the future.
Dave wont be totally leaving the MARS fold, he still has a passion to compete and coach youth shooters to help promote and grow the shooting sports. Dave will be taking the roll as the Youth training coordinator. You can can schedule your private coaching sessions with Dave by contacting him through the store tab at the top of the website.
A lot of shooters should be thankful for what Dave has accomplished with MARS. He created a vessel to which we can continue to expand and grow, to continue to train the next generations to safely use and compete.
November 1, 2021 MARS has officially changed its name to MARS. (Modern American Rimfire Series). We wanted to keep the history and name of MARS, while being able to expand up and down the east coast, as well as any other regions that would like to participate in what MARS has to offer.
The vision for the 2022 MARS season once again, shows promise and major growth. We have expanded from 11 clubs in 2021 to over 50 for the 2022 season, as well as we will have a Team Series. We all look forward to see what 2022 brings us.
Born and raised in Maryland, over the last 22 years, he has trained with some of the best shooting, tactics and martial arts instructors. He is an avid competitor, including 3-Gun, USPSA, IDPA, PRS and various combatives. Dave works full-time as an attorney at the US Attorney’s Office.
“Add a testimonial from someone who loves what you do.”
Jane Doe