Uniting Archers from Coast-to-Coast to Benefit Veterans and First Responders

Ever unapologetically know you are blessed? I don’t mean blessed with a lot of money or tons of “stuff” or being better than anyone else (trust me, you’re not and neither am I), but rather blessed with family, friendship, a particular gift, or being able to help others out. Ever feel that way? I am a blessed man with an incredible family and great friends. For months, I had been trying to find a way to meet up with my friends Chris Hamm and Aaron Ritter in Appleton, WI for the HHAUSA Mission 20 3D archery shoot at the Twin City Rod and Gun Club. Chris is the co-owner of HHA Sports and Aaron is the owner of LIMB-itless Outdoors and the founder of the A3G Initiative. I’ve been blessed with their friendship and encouragement, but challenges with flight costs, flight changes and budgets kept making it difficult to meet up with them. It came down to the wire, but after some persistent keyboard tactics I was able to book a flight and the trip was a go!

Best Uber Driver Ever

Aaron picked me up at O’Hare Airport in the LIMB-itless Badlands Approach wrapped Ford F150 and we made our way north to Appleton, WI. The nearly three-hour drive flew by as we talked saddle hunting, meeting up with Chris, and the A3G Initiative. The next thing we knew, we were pulling into the hotel. Sitting beside Chris was Army Veteran Jeff Litteral. Jeff and I didn’t know each other. Chris and Aaron had not met face-to-face, but after some bear hugs and pleasantries we were like a foursome of old friends. We hit it off instantly talking about archery, whitetails and food. Over dinner, we made plans for the following day to record some video footage and shoot at an indoor 3D range nearby.

Crumbl Cookie Divine Appointment

For those who don’t already know, Chris and I both have a sweet tooth. Chris stays as thin as a rail and I store my dessert in my cheeks for winter. After dinner, Chris mentioned going to Crumbl Cookie nearby. Ok, twist my arm. I had never heard of it, but the name had “cookie” in it! There was a consensus that we needed to try it out. Having no idea what it was about, we all walked in and looked around. Off to our right, a young man and his bride were looking at the menu and turned to look our way. It just so happened that he was wearing a BowAdx hat. Why was that so important? BowAdx is a company is owned by fellow Christians and bow hunters Chad and Mandy Davis that many of us support. It turns out that Chris was also wearing a BowAdx hat and Jeff had on a BowAdx shirt. We had an immediate connection or as Chris stated so eloquently, a ‘divine appointment’! The young man’s name is Jonathan McGlin and something about him was very familiar to me as we talked, but I couldn’t quite place it. Jonathan and his wife, Amy, were preparing to celebrate their wedding anniversary and stopped in for some cookies. After picking up our cookies, we ventured outside to continue the conversation. Jonathan proceeded to tell us he has been training for a 2023 elk hunt. He asked if we had ever heard of Dan Staton from Elk Shape and then it hit me! I had heard him on the Elk Shape podcast back in April. This was no chance meeting! We spent the next half hour talking archery, bowhunting, our faith, and cookies! After exchanging phone numbers, we wished the lovebirds a happy anniversary and made our way back to our respective hotels.

Old 45 Archery Indoor 3D Range

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, we loaded into vehicles for our next adventure. Old 45 Archery was a short twenty-minute drive from our hotel and it drew smiles from all of us. Chris had arranged for us to shoot the indoor range with Troy Warshel and Tony Busko from Operation Enduring Warrior and the Chase Nation team. We were in 3D archery heaven! In all honesty, a couple of us had never shot an indoor 3D range like this and it was spectacular! We spent the day shooting the course, talking hunting equipment, joking around, testing our gear, and joking some more and shooting tripods video with Chase Nation.

My trip could have ended there and I would have been a very happy man returning to California, but God had much greater things planned for our crew the following day!