The HHAUSA Podcast

Our podcast producer and Little Debbie connoisseur Logan Chartrand is back this week to talk more in depth about Mission 24, the first HHAUSA event of 2023 coming up April 28th, 29th and 30th.  In what will be the largest weekend in our history, Mission 24 is jammed packed with a two day 3D archery shoot, a sporting clays shoot with partners The Kniestedt Foundation, a Saturday night concert with...

It's no secret that we aren't believers in coincidence at HHAUSA and meeting this week's guest was anything but last summer in Appleton Wisconsin. In town for Mission 20, three close friends and previous guests on the podcast, Aaron Ritter, Al Quackenbush, Jeff Litteral and myself were out for dinner. Passing a Crumble Cookie earlier, it sounded like a great idea for dessert so the...

No offense to any of our previous guests but I have to say that Danny Bolton provided one of the most unique and inspiring conversations that I have had in close to two years of podcasting. Born and raised in Hawaii, he's experienced so much in his life right out his back door. Spear fishing, hunting, diving, skateboarding, surfing, dirt biking, off road driving and more, this guy has done it...

My close friend Al Quackenbush, The SoCal Bowhunter, returns to the podcast to finish the conversation that Aaron Ritter and I started last week. Having formed quite the bond over the last year, I was excited to get Al’s take on all the happenings of a busy and fruitful 2022. Quackenbush returned to Wisconsin for HHAUSA Mission 20 in Appleton July 9th and 10th in what turned out to be an impactful...

There are certain people in this life that leave a lasting, positive impression on us. You meet them for the first time, feel like you’ve known each other for 20 years and can’t wait to see them again. For me, Aaron Ritter is most definitely one of those people. Introduced through mutual friend Al Quackenbush, Aaron and I first talked last winter and instantly hit it off. Soon after that initial c...

We are blessed here at HHAUSA to have some amazing partners, one of those being the Texas based Kniestedt Foundation. Started by James Kniestedt, a veteran of United States Army Special Forces, they work with both Veterans and those currently serving to get them in to the outdoors. The missions of our two organizations are the same and the time has finally come to take things to the next level in...

The outdoors and military service are two things with a long, rich tradition in the life of Peter Thies. From his grandfather serving during World War 1 to he and his brother currently on active duty in the Wisconsin National Guard, the call to duty runs deep in their family.  The same can be said for a shared loved of hunting and fishing.  Seen more as a necessity to put food on the table for a l...

It's hard talk to my good friend and our podcast editor Logan Chartrand, especially as we draw closer to Christmas, without the conversation turning to Little Debbie. After taking care of that important piece of business, we also discuss the recent success that his son and father had in the woods during the Missouri gun opener. I love hearing those stories of hunters across multiple generatio...

Travis Reigstad was a charter member of the original HHA Sports Pro Staff, going back to the late 2000's. A Wisconsin native and longtime supporter of the brand, he helped us out at a few trade shows and sang our praises to all of his hunting friends. Little did I know that a decade later, we would become close friends with a shared heart for helping others and have the special bond of being...

Let me make a couple things clear from the start. I am not a fitness guy and have never hunted the Western states where being in tip to shape is a requirement to stack the odds in your favor. Blessed to own 160 acres here in central Wisconsin, a quarter mile walk on flat ground to an elevated box blind is my preferred method of hunting and, good or bad, I seldom break a sweat unless I overdress ....

Growing up in Arizona, Caleb Brewer joined the military in 2005. After reading a book about the Special Forces, he found his true calling of becoming a Green Beret. While conducting combat operations in the treacherous Helmand Province of Afghanistan in 2015, his life changed forever when he was critically injured by an IED. Losing both of his legs, Brewer began the long road to recovery. It was d...

One of my greatest shortcomings is that I seldom take time to rest. Between being a business owner, running a nonprofit, having a weekly podcast, and trying to be a good husband, family man and friend, it doesn't leave me with a ton of free time. Having danced too close to the edge at least once or twice a year for the past decade, I have to consciously tell myself to slow down, usually with...

Started in 2017, Patriot K9s of Wisconsin has been working hard to combat PTSD in the Veteran community by getting service dogs into the hands of those who need them.  While I have several friends with service dogs, this was the first deep dive I had ever taken behind the scenes of an organization responsible for providing these life changing, and in many cases, life saving animals to their owners...

Connected through a mutual friend several years ago, my first real interaction with Jeff Vance was being part of one of his podcasts back in July of 2020. A master communicator and someone you could talk with for hours (which many have including myself), Jeff has been a blessing to my life, the archery community and the mission of HHAUSA. In spite of some hard times in the late 2000's that le...

Meeting just before his days with Buck Bomb began, Mike Homan and I had some good times together on the trade show circuit. But those good times took a toll and by the grace of God, we are both still here and better men on the other side of the darkness we once shared. Long before leaving the Air Force, Homan's battle with alcohol had started and would plaque him for nearly 30 years. Through...

Serving is something that runs in Chris Berkers' family. His father was in during the Bay of Pigs in the late 1950's, Chris himself served in the Navy from 1997 to 2002 and his daughter is currently in the National Guard. Starting as a guardian for a World War II Veteran in the early days of Old Glory, Berkers was hooked and it wasn't long before he began taking on a more active rol...

God has a way of bringing people into our lives for a much greater purpose than it may appear at the time. Luke McFarland is one of those people in my life. Meeting over a decade ago through HHA Sports and his desire to use our products, it was only in the last couple years that Luke and I started to connect on a much deeper level. While I knew that he was a Veteran back when we met, I had no idea...

Thanks to a glitch in technology, we had to record this episode twice (thus the Take 2 title) and that was just fine with both me and my guest as we always love catching up.  Nearly a decade ago, I received an email from a Veteran in the market for a new HHA sight inquiring about our Military Discount. Fast forward to July of 2022 and I was finally able to meet the man responsible for sending that...

I've been fortunate enough to meet some amazing people over the past decade as my involvement has increased within the military and first responder communities. Not playing favorites in any way but one that sticks out is my good friend Ross Witucki. The combination of his story, his humility and his heart to serve struck a chord in me from early on in our friendship and I have a great deal of...

If we allow it to, life will pass us by if we don't intentionally take a moment now and then to slow down, reflect and celebrate our victories, both big and small. Personally, I'm guilty at times of focusing on bottom lines, followers and dollars and cents, momentarily distracting me from our core mission: to change lives of Veterans and First Responders through the sport of archery. Log...

Technology is wonderful...when it works. Unfortunately, on occasion the recording platform for The HHAUSA Podcast will hang up, leaving our guest trapped in a virtual green room. Such was the case with my new friend Dave Garrett in bringing you his story. Thankfully the incident was short lived, made for a good laugh or two and helped give birth to the title of this week's episode. Mission ac...

Raised in a household where serving was a way of life, Jeremy Fisher learned early on that the only road to success was one paved by hard work. Fulfilling a dream from high school, he entered into law enforcement at 21 years young.  While his police career was short lived, Jeremy will always have a high regard for those who put on the uniform, including his late father who served in Vietnam Vetera...

We focus heavily on PTSD and how it has impacted the lives of Veterans, First Responders and Law Enforcement. While not clinically diagnosed with post traumatic stress, there are countless others who's lives have been forever changed due to unthinkable tragedies and traumas. With talks about mental health at an all-time high, we wanted to address those who may fall into this category and offe...

Growing up where waterfowl hunting was prevalent, JP France hasn't been bowhunting all that long but it's safe to say that he's hooked! Pitching at the Triple A level for the Houston Astros with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, France doesn't get nearly enough time to enjoy his newfound passion but makes the best of it. Connected with Brett Graves and his group of big leaguers fro...

An avid bowhunter, Will Jimeno almost called in sick on September 11th, 2001.  Little did he know what that day would have in store for him but looking back 20 years later, he wouldn't change a thing. Trapped beneath the Twin Towers for 13 hours, Will's journey was just beginning when he was pulled from rubble that night. Born in Columbia but immigrating to the United States at a young a...