We may have had a saddle hunting seminar, too.
The Saturday morning wake-up call for HHAUSA Mission 20 was a bit earlier than my body wanted, but we had coffee. Yes, that glorious, steaming, brown elixir. Chris and I first visited Manderfield’s Home Bakery for some fresh made buns for the BBQ lunch from Show Us Your Meats, and may have enjoyed one of the best donuts ever before heading over to the Twin City Rod & Gun Club. We set up the silent auction, and a few of us sampled the ribs that Jimmy served up and they were superb! We then gathered by Aaron’s truck for a special presentation.
A3G Initiative Presentation
The intent of A3G is to introduce an amputee to the sport of archery and bowhunting for improvements in mental health, physical fitness and quality of life. The full A3G Initiative (Annual Amputee Archery Grant (A3G)) information can be found on Aaron’s website (or the link provided).
Aaron’s hard work, communication skills and dedication to the sport of archery brought the A3G presentation to Neenah, WI where he blessed Andrew Macek with over $5,000 worth of archery and hunting gear. Andrew and I have been social media buds for a while, but it was our first time meeting in person. I have been following his journey as an archer for quite some time. Trust me when I say that as a spectator, you could not have asked for a better presentation. Aaron is quite articulate, Andrew as humble as ever and the crowd highly supportive. Congratulations Andrew! We look forward to your future archery (and hunting) success.
A Round of 3D Archery
Our small group consisted of veterans, retired LEOs and civilians with a love for archery. You could not have asked for a better mix of human beings. I met former LEO Brian Turner prior to our start on the range and we connected right away. We talked about the course, archery challenges and how Brian was eager to get back to bowhunting after a nine year hiatus. We all had a bit of adrenaline and anxiety until that first arrow was launched. After that, it was game on! Not only did we have fun drilling foam, but everyone was supportive of one another and full of enthusiasm. Let me tell you, we had a ball! If we weren’t telling hunting stories and encouraging others, we were laughing and lifting others up. That’s what I love about archery, especially this kind of archery where everyone gives support and there aren’t any negative words spoken. Well, maybe a few when Aaron started hunting nocks and splitting arrows. That being said, I felt incredibly blessed to be a part of such a great group of men. If I am not mistaken, Brian shot the second half of the course far better than I and it was awesome to see! We took our time and enjoyed the course, but it was a long day. There was a two-man scramble after with the proceeds going to benefit a local Green Beret turned Law Enforcement Officer who is fighting stage 4 cancer. Aaron and I paid our entry fee in support, but opted to sit out the scramble as we had prior plans to go over saddle hunting and take a much needed break.
Saddle Hunting Seminar
On our Nebraska whitetail hunt last November, I watched Aaron use his Latitude Outdoors saddle system to climb a nearby tree with ease and it was impressive! I knew that I wanted to learn more and get into a saddle system for bowhunting. Aaron and I discussed saddle hunting via Zoom back in June and decided we were going to do a hands-on seminar at the Mission 20 shoot.
We broke away from the group and Aaron brought out his saddle kit. He spent two hours going over every detail of saddle hunting, what gear is meant for each purpose, and covered safety at length. During the course of the “seminar”, we had another bowhunter, Chase, join in on the fun. It wasn’t long before I was up in the saddle putting the knowledge I had acquired to use. It felt so good to use the system to get up the tree! There is much for me to practice and since my return to Cali, I have purchased my own Latitude Outdoors saddle system. Aaron is a very good teacher and I am optimistic I will be utilizing my saddle system this year in California, Nebraska and New York.
The Journey Home
My flight home was leaving early from Chicago, so I needed to be back to O’Hare early. Aaron graciously offered to drive me back as he needed to start his journey home early as well. Each loaded with a large cup of coffee, we hit the road in the LIMB-itless F150. Once again, the time went by quickly, but we discussed so many things; from our plan for hunting Nebraska this fall, future A3G plans, a Mission 20 recap, Idaho elk hunting, saddle hunting and so much more. It was bittersweet when I stepped onto the Chicago pavement because so much positivity and enrichment had taken place over a short couple days. We hugged, said “see you later,” and we parted ways.
My wife and daughter picked me up at LAX and when I heard how their weekend went it made me happy. Happy to be a husband and a father. My wife is very understanding about my passion for bowhunting and for what these events mean to me. That being said, she puts up with a lot. Hearing my daughter enthusiastically tell me about her recent shoe purchase and how she saved money doing it made me smile. Even though I did miss the cast of characters I had spent three days with, family is everything to me and I was happy to be home.
For those of you who have not been to an HHAUSA 3D archery shoot, I highly encourage you to do so. The atmosphere, encouragement, laughter, and friendships created are worth it.
It is truly good for the soul.
Outstanding article my friend!!!!!