It is important for hunters to understand that no matter what challenge you may have, you can always count on soaking up the pleasure, fun, and challenges in the outdoors. Not always easy, but learning how to love hunting can be a rewarding experience of survival skills and self-discovery. This was exactly what Leah Manth needed to regain her courage and confidence after a crushing diagnosis. At 7 years old, Leah was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis, leading to an extreme lack of protein. And without that protein, tumors can go on the spinal cord up to the brain. For this, Leah has had nine major surgeries in the past eight years. How does one keep fighting after all that?
Hunting is one thing that definitely helps to overcome. Whenever she finds herself in the woods, Leah never once thought about any surgeries or any disability that she has. The focus is all about nature, breathing in the fresh air, and going for the animal of your choice. I’ve seen the pictures of Leah’s Caribou there, with a prize whitetail. It’s very impressive. Leah’s incredible story shows how hunting outdoors can help ease the burden of illness. You can have things on your mind other than just medical.
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We have a very special guest, Leah Manth. Her father, John, and her brother headed up north on A Hunt of A Lifetime with Bob Foulkrod and ended up the season with the hunt on his brother’s whitetail ranch down in Texas. Leah has some medical issues that she’s overcome and as a tenth grader, she sure knows how to shoot.
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Leah Manth, Loves Outdoors Particular Hunting
We’re very privileged to have a courageous young lady, Leah Manth. She’s going to share a story that I hope you understand that no matter what challenge you may have, you can get out into the outdoors and enjoy all the pleasure, the fun, the challenge, and understand the commitment that it takes to be successful in the outer doors. Leah, welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me on.
Let’s talk about your medical condition, the amount that you choose to share.
I’m fifteen years old and when I was seven, I was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis 2. You can call it NF 2 for short. It’s where people with this disorder, they lack a protein than other people have. Without that protein, tumors grow on the spinal cord and then your brain. I have many tumors on my brain and my spine. In the past eight years, I’ve had nine major surgeries with the tenth one coming up. I have right sided hearing loss. I have a hearing aid. In the right side, I have facial paralysis, numbness on the left shoulder and on my foot. I had a spinal fusion. I’ve had about two years of chemotherapy now. It’s been a lot that I have been through, but there have been some things that helped me. One of those is definitely hunting.
Let’s talk about what it has meant to you to meet some of the people in the outdoor industry and going to hunt. I know you’ve got some great stories. I’ve seen the pictures of your caribou there the white tail you’ve taken. Let’s talk about how that hunting experience has helped you overcome these illnesses.
Hunting is one thing that definitely helps to overcome your medical condition. When you’re in the woods, I never once think about any surgeries or any disability that I have. All you’re focused on is being in nature and being in the fresh air and going for the animal of your choice. It helps a lot to have another thing on your mind other than just medical stuff.
Talk about your trip north of the border and the animals and the people have made that trip possible.
My dad is a teacher and a student has something called Hunt of a Lifetime. It’s kind of a Make-A-Wish, but for people who like hunting. I got chosen and we talked to this lady named Tina and some other people and they helped us out. They gave a lot of information and they told us that they were sending us up to Quebec on a caribou and black bear hunt. We went up there to the Leaf River Lodge. It’s the farthest north that you can get pretty much in Quebec. Ramey, our guide, helped us out a lot, too. Without him we would have never gotten these experience that we got with the black bear.
Talk about your journey getting from where you live and traveling. Did you take guns or knockdowns? Talk about what it took to just get the camp.
Camp was very remote, and it was quite the experience just to get there. We had to wake up early and then drove to Montreal. In Montreal, we met this guy, Roger. It’s a 45-minute bus ride to the airport. The cargo plane, two and a half hours north, and siting in an old trailer that was supposed to be an airport. It was pretty cool just to be there. We took sea planes, like in the water, and we drove about three hours north. It was five and a half hours just on a plane to get there and we landed in the river and all the guys were there waiting for us when we got there. It was incredible just to see.
Everyone, go to Montreal, go a thousand miles or so north and you get to this Inuit village that a lot of people pass through on the way to hunt caribou. Just that trip alone is arduous. John, were you there also?
Yes, I was. It was three of us were there.
John is her dad and I wanted to bring you out, John, because you graciously gave Whitetail Rendezvous permission to interview your daughter and share some real personal stuff. It’s what you’re doing as a family that truly makes a difference for Leah. Her courage and her dedication and commitment to getting out into the outdoors is extraordinary. Talk to me about Bob Foulkrod.
We’re always used to watch him on TV. We never thought we’ll meet this guy in our lifetime. In the morning in Montreal, we got on the bus. We sat next to Bob’s cameramen. We started talking to Kim and Andy and he’s like, “We’ll work on a show this week.” We shared the sea plane with them. Bob is the best hunter ever. He shared a lot of tips with us, a lot of stories. He always had something to tell us and so informative. I was so happy when I got my first bear and he’s probably killed 100 bears in his lifetime, he could care less though. He focused on when I got one, he was so happy. He took pictures with me and he signed everything for me. He wasn’t more of the celebrity though. He was more like a best friend.
Talk about some of the funny stories that he has shared and some of the lessons learned. I know in the warm up you shared about what Bob said about survival gear. Let’s unpack that a little bit and camp around this and talk about what Bob Foulkrod shared with you.
In the camp, there was a TV, so every night, Bob, my brother, my father, and I always watched the movie with him and he would talk through the whole thing. We probably talked to the whole thing, too. He told all these stories about when he was a guy, and he taught us a lot of stuff too. He said that whenever we go into the woods, we should be prepared to spend the night. Always have matches, a compass, food, water. Always have a plan of where you are going. Tell people where you’re going. Have a phone or a communication device with you. You should always be prepared for the worst. Hopefully it’s not going to happen, but you never know when something can happen.
Whenever we go into the woods, we should be prepared to spend the night. You should always be prepared for the worst. Share on XPrepare for the worse. Any time outdoors, if you’re getting back in the wilderness, it can happen at any time and the thing that makes a difference between you getting rescued or walking out the next day is preparation. What are some of the key things you just mentioned matches in other gear? Did he say anything about mental preparation?
He said always have a first aid kit with you, have like maybe a little book or something in case you don’t know about an animal that bit you or some cut that you have. You got to know where you’re going to. If you’re not familiar with the area, probably don’t go or don’t go alone at least. Always have at least two people. It’s more about preparing yourself for what you’re getting into and not even preparing yourself for survival but looking up and getting the information on where you’re going to.
I’m going to give a shout out to Peter Kummerfeldt, CEO of Outdoor Safe. If you Google Peter, you’ll find that he writes a column for Wild Sheep Foundation. Peter was one of the top survival experts in the United States Air Force. I’ve had the pleasure of sharing some camps with Peter. Audience, take some time just Google Peter Kummerfeldt and learned some of his lessons. Leah, let’s go all the way from Quebec. Tell us the story about your nice whitetail deer that you got proudly hanging up on your wall.
Bob and his nephew, Jim, was in Texas and he owns a ranch called LJ Blessings in South Texas. We never thought it would happen, but Bob and Jim we’re talking back at Quebec. They were like, “We’d love to come to this ranch and maybe your brother, he can shoot a deer.” We forgot about it and a couple of weeks later the phone rings and I answered the phone and he’s telling me all about this plan he has to bring us down Texas to film another show with him, get me a doe and get my brother a buck, get my father nothing.
It was such a joy to watch my kids get these animals. It didn’t even matter to me at all. You know what that’s like being a parent.
We took a plane to San Antonio, Texas. We got into a car and drove for two hours to his ranch and that was in the middle of nowhere. Bob’s nephew Jim was waiting for us. They took us to the lodge. It was Bob and his camera men just waiting there. We met Bob again and it was nice seeing him. I got to use Bob’s gun, so that was cool too for the buck. I was using professional hunter’s gun. We were testing a new ammunition too.
Who was the manufacturer of the guns and the ammo? Let’s give them a shout out.
For both of them, it was Winchester.
Did it have a scope on it?
Yes, it was a 270 gun.
What type of scope were you using?
I don’t know what Bob’s scope was. It was this high-tech thing.
How big is the ranch that Bob’s nephew had?
It was about 1,000 acre.
How was it set up for hunting?
He has many food plots out and water and his platform stands that are scattered out about 25 of those for both bow and gun. Before you go hunting, he spreads corn out or going to try to shoot the deer. It’s amazing.
You said you were going after your doe the first time. Tell us about the hunt. You wake up, have breakfast, and then what happened?
It was that evening that we arrived that they took us right into the brush and everything right in the platform stand. My brother didn’t come with us. He was with the owner, Jim, with another stand, but we waited for a while, maybe twenty minutes surrounded by deer. Then a good half hour and 40 minutes went by and this doe was coming in on us. Bob was like, “That’s the one you’re going to take.” I shot it and it ran like ten feet, fifteen feet and it landed right in the middle of the brush. We had to go in there and get it. Bob was so excited to see me with a little doe. It was my first year and my third species and he was beyond excited.
Then you came back, took care of the deer, had dinner and then what happened?
The next day, we went out. It was a Bob, Jim, Kim, and me. My dad and my brother went to another stand, but we didn’t have to wait too long for the deer to come in. Then we saw my buck and he was huge. There was another buck there that was about the same size, maybe a little bigger, but my buck was the dominant buck. They only go with all these families of deer. Right before I was going to shoot it actually, Bob was like, “Hold on. They’re going to fight,” and all of a sudden, they started fighting with each other and every other deer ran away except for my deer. He came back. He’s staying perfectly broadside and came up behind the cactus and I dropped him.
Tell us about the deer. How big was that deer?
He was a twelve-point. About 145 inches scored. He was very old.
How old did Bob or Jim say it was?
About eight and a half, maybe eight years old.
Here’s a young girl, first whitetail hunt. Yes, she was on private ground. Yes, they manage it for deer, but she had an opportunity to take a deer that it might be a few days, a few years before she sees another one and she did it because she had great people behind her. Great support. She’s the person that pulled the trigger. How did you learn to shoot?
My father was in the Air Force and he was a firearms instructor, so he’s very familiar with guns and he belongs to a club. He took me before my big Quebec trip. He took me twenty, thirty times and the first couple of times, he sat down with me and taught me all the CPS, he taught me how to clean it, and then he taught me how to control my breathing when I was shooting side of it. He was the reason that I could see a gunshot. We got a lot of time in range.
How many shots do you think before you went on your first time up in Quebec?
We went through boxes and boxes of ammo, at least 200 shots, if not more.
Audience, if you don’t know your weapon of choice intimately, rifle, muzzleloader, crossbow, compound bows, traditional bow, and if you’re not using that, then don’t expect to have great success. Leah, how many shots did you shoot it?
I shot one shot at the caribou and one shot at the bear.
How many shots?
One each, just two shots.
Everyone, here’s a young lady, forget about her issues for a second. She shot a caribou, shot a bear, shot a doe, and sight her rifle in because she took the time and was committed to being an ethical hunter and doing it right. Lessons learned to us all. Spend the time you need, on the bend, on the target range. Be prepared to do what you need to do as humanely and ethically as you possibly can. If it’s not the right shot, don’t take it. Would you agree with that, Leah?
Especially if it’s too far away, just don’t take the shot. You don’t want something out there being wounded and you’ll never find it. If you see a young one, I know it’s exciting, but let it get bigger and take a smart shot.
When we got to the Leaf River, the first thing they did after we unpack was they asked all the hunters to go behind the camp and sight their guns in. The guides were wanting to see and make sure that the guns were sighted in and what kind of shooters we had. Bob and Jim didn’t do that, but we went in the back and with these six other hunters and they were a hunting party that came from a corporation. It was like a corporate sponsored thing for salesmen. It was expensive guns. They went back there, and they had these expensive guns and they all shot first. Then the guy drove his four-wheeler down and it was like a piece of wood down there and he set a target off at 100 yards.
It took each of them about five or six shots even more and adjusting everything to get their sights even close. Then it comes Leah’s turn. She walks off, she gets into kneeling position, and she concentrates very well. She’s a very good shot and she takes the shot and the guy looks at his spotting scope and he goes, “Bull’s eye.” He turned to these six guys, he goes, “You just got your butt kicked in by a fifteen-year-old.” They burst out laughing and they were so excited and she had her Savage Arms 270s donated to her and that was just a real base gun with a standard scope on it, Bushnell scope, and she’d totally outshot these six guys and they thought it was great. They enjoyed the experience.
That just echoes and supports what we said, Leah’s proof positive. She got out in the range, she got comfortable with her weapon of choice, and then she went out and did exactly what she had done hundreds of times before. You got to become familiar with your weapons of choice. You can go out and do what you need to do. Very simply enjoy the hunt and when the time comes to put a period on the hunt, you’re going to show up and do the job. As we see out west here in Colorado, you’re going to get her done. Leah, let’s talk about lessons learned overall. You traveled. You’ve met a lot of different people. You’ve seen film. What are some of the takeaways that are going to stay with you for the rest of your life?
Hunting is all about making memories. I learned that if you’re not with family and friends and people that you love, it’s not going to be the same. Hunting is a big part of our lives, but we only do it with family, with tradition and make a lot of memories. I learned that you have to be with the people who love.
Hunting is all about making memories. If you're not with family and friends and people that you love, it’s not going to be the same. Share on XDid you guys take a lot of pictures, photos, in Quebec and down in Texas?
We took thousands of photos. We were so excited.
I’ve seen a couple of photos of not just the harvest, but of the whole camp and those sorts of things.
The scenery in Quebec and Texas. It was just incredible, the sights that we saw.
I’m going to give a shout out to Judd Cooney. I spent a day with him and I’ll send you the target that I ended up with. John is an outdoor writer. He said, “Bruce, what I’ve learned in my 50 some years of being in the business is that you got to take enough pictures to tell a story about the hunt. It isn’t just the quintessential hero photo, it’s about the whole journey.” Audience, just think about the next time you just walk up the same stand you’d be going to season after season and start taking pictures about the journey, your bunk house, the campfire, wherever you stay. Then the land you hunt, the people you meet. Tell a story with your photos. We want to see that buck on the ground or the elk or whatever you harvest. Sure. That’s an important part of the whole experience, but Leah couldn’t say it better. It’s a tradition of the hunt. It’s family and friends.
We’re at the time of the show, Leah, where it’s an open mic. John, you can jump in also, but if you want to give shout outs to Bob Foulkrod and Jim, the different people. Just give a shout out to the people who have supported you thus far in your journey as a huntress. There are so many people to think but Leah just going to do the ones that she can remember, and we apologize upfront for anybody that we missed.
Definitely Bob and Jim Foulkrod for the support. My guide, Ramey, in Quebec was a huge part of that experience. My Dad, absolutely. My brother Chris, my uncle, Dave, my cousins Michael and Justin, my best friend, Kelly Nichols. She’s been there for me through everything and just our Jeff, our family friend introduced us to AJ and Tom. They took us turkey hunting, I want to thank Nosler Ammunitions, Savage Arms for the most part.
Leah, you’re an amazing young lady and I’m proud that you took the time and John, your dad, let you come on the show and share the beginning of your journey. You got a long way to go and I’m excited to stay in touch with you as the hunting seasons come and go and hear your story. I looked to have you on the show at least once a year and just recap what you did the previous year and stay abreast to you.
She’s having a tumor removed from her throat, next to her vocal cord. It’s a real sensitive area. We’re on edge about this. She has so many different deficits from her neurofibromatosis and we were hoping for the best. We’ve got a really good team of doctors there and we think everything can be fine, but if people can just keep us in your thoughts, we appreciate it.
This has been a great, fantastic episode of Whitetail Rendezvous. John, Leah, thank you so much for being on the show.
Thank you for having us.
I want to thank each and every one of you for spending your time with us. I look forward to sharing with you in the next episode, more whitetail hunting tips, techniques, and storage. Until then, keep the sun at your back, the wind in your face, and always be patient. If you have any tips, comments, or suggestions or what we can do to improve because we’re here to serve you, let us know. Thanks for listening to whitetail rendezvous podcast at www.WhitetailRendezvous.com.