First Deer Hunt

By Lindsay Furmanek

Hey everybody, my name is Lindsay and I am 13 years old. I just wanted to write a little bit about 

my first hunting experience with my brother, Seth (16 years old), my dad, Rick, and my mom, 

Robin. We were privileged enough to have a guide with us, Eric Phelps with Buck n Bulls Guide 

Service. 

Before I get started I would first of all like to thank him sooooooooo much for helping us (and 

Ben too!). You guys did great and kept us going! We had a load of fun with you! This has been 

an experience I will always remember!

Seth and I both were drawn in the 16A unit for antlered deer. Making our way toward the Halupai 

Mountains Thursday after school, the weather was very cold and rainy. This would turn out to be 

the coldest night of our hunt. We made it to the Petro where we met our guide Eric, and his friend 

Ben. They led us to the area where we were to camp. After getting acquainted we decided to go 

spotlighting (with no guns of course!) just to get an idea of where the deer were. We then 

returned to camp and hit the sack so we would be plenty rested for opening day.

Around 5:30 a.m. Seth, Eric, Ben, Rick, and I headed out to some canyons to glass. We stayed 

there for a few hours and kept a very good eye out for anything moving. That morning, nothing 

showed up. So we headed back for camp around 11ish. Our next area to check out was up near 

Wild Cow Springs. Everyone came this time, including my mom. So the long, and might I add 

very bumpy, ride began. We stopped in a few areas to glass (the place was covered in snow, so it was going to make the deer a little easier to find).

My mom was the first to spot two doe on the side of a snow-covered mountain. Eric and I hiked 

up to the doe, where we were about 125 yards away. We tried to see if there were any bucks. 

There were absolutely none! Eric explained to me that the weather had changed drastically, so the 

deer changed their habits. We then moved onto a ridge (with the truck) and glassed. Soon enough, 

about 3 miles away, Eric spotted the biggest buck he had ever glassed in this unit. He was a 

monster (a toad in Eric's terms). Eric said if we got him we wouldn't have to worry about any 

kind of gear for the next few years! It was that big. Both Eric and Ben said that he had to be over 

200 lbs! We proceeded to drive over to where he was supposed to be (the roads were very hard to 

travel on and we HAD to take it slow). As we approached, a game ranger stopped us and checked 

our tags and all that other good stuff. After what seemed like forever, we finally got into the area 

where the buck was supposed to be, but he was gone. The ranger who had driven down from that 

area when we met up with him had scared him away. Very disappointed we left the area after 

having a very good look around.

Thus started one of the longest trips of my life back to camp. Never realizing we had gone about 

75 miles off road that day with another 50 or so to go, the trip home took us a total of 5 to 6 

hours. We hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and we were starving. From Flag Mine road we 

went to the Iron Skillet for dinner. My mom was way too tired to cook (it was 11:30 at night)! 

Our first day was unsuccessful but a ton of fun, and adventure!

The next day we started a little bit later (we were beat!). Around 6 a.m. Seth, Eric, Ben, and I 

glassed the mountains around Bar S ranch. We saw nothing yet again, but surprisingly Seth and I 

were really happy, and glad just to be out there. We ended up back at camp around 3 PM and ate 

some snacks and went out again. This time we had a very different approach (with Eric getting a 

little upset about seeing no deer); we hiked about 5 miles out of camp into the flats. Ben and Seth 

went together, and Eric and I went the other way. Eric and I started out with hiking a ridge and 

saw nothing, so we hit the next ridge. Suddenly, we came upon a haven for deer. Eric saw a doe 

jump out of the bushes in the canyon below. We decided to see if we could spook some of the 

deer out. We made plenty of noise so that they would run straight up a mountain and I could get a 

shot off. Having jumped 6 deer I was really happy, but no shot. So we ventured into the canyon 

and saw humongous tracks leading up the side of the mountain. One part of the hoof was as long 

as Eric's fingers and the depth was about an inch deep. 

Eric said the deer was at least a 160-class buck. I, being very excited, followed Eric up the 

mountain. We climbed up a VERY steep mountain that was all loose rock and dirt. When we 

stopped for a breather Eric looked down at the ground and I knew something was wrong. He 

turned to me and told me not to get scared. On the ground ahead of us was extremely fresh 

mountain lion poop (mountain lions are one of my greatest fears). Eric pulled out his pistol for 

protection and we continued our stalk. We reached the top of the ridge and saw a little spike go 

up the mountain (too fast for me to shoot). But my mind was set on this monster buck that we 

were so close to! After hiking the whole mountain we saw that the tracks led far off into another 

huge canyon. Knowing it was impossible to catch this buck, as it was getting dark, we called 

 (with the bugle) for Ben and Seth. They, too, had jumped 3 deer themselves. We made our way 

back to camp (about 5 miles away). With aching bones we went to bed.

Our last day of hunting Eric was sure that we would get a deer. So at 5:30 a.m. we split up again 

 (the same way we did before). Eric and I took off down Blake Ranch Road when all of the 

sudden Eric stomped on the breaks and said "Lindsay there's your buck." I thought he was 

kidding me. I said "Eric isn't that a decoy?" He just motioned for me to get out of the truck and 

off of the road. So I crept off the road with my gun and then Eric told me to STOP. The tail on the 

deer had stopped wagging at a 90-degree angle. It was a decoy. We both scanned the hill behind 

us for the Rangers. 

They popped up and came out with the video and everything. They congratulated us for doing 

everything perfect (and not shooting their decoy. lol).

After that excitement we drove on down the road and we spotted a herd of deer on a ridge (15 

does and one buck)! It was amazing seeing so many deer in one area after seeing barely any all 

weekend. I set up, making sure 

I was aiming at the right deer (it was a small fork horn). I took my first shot. Having a bit of buck 

fever I shot just behind him. The deer bolted, but the doe's stayed put. Pretty soon the buck 

returned. As I was setting up to shoot again, they all disappeared. Some hunters were walking 

with the wind into their area. 

We went back to camp for lunch and a little rest (I didn't realize how tired my legs were from the 

day before). After some rides on Eric's quad we met up with Seth and Ben for one last hunt while 

my parents stayed back in camp to pack up. We took Seth and Ben to the area where we saw all 

of the deer. We went around to the other side of the mountain this time, and soon enough Eric 

spotted the herd about 4 mountains away (near a canyon). 

On our way to the mountain (just Eric and me) we stopped in our tracks and there was very fresh 

mountain lion poop . . . and tracks (the biggest Eric had ever seen). The cat was trolling this place 

very regularly. There were tracks everywhere. We got Ben and Seth and we decide to see if we 

could call in a mountain lion using a pup call. Up on the mountain the lion had killed a cow and 

Eric took home the skull. We knew he was up there somewhere. After waiting for quite a while 

we had to go. Getting back to the camp, we said our sad goodbyes.

I had one of the best times in my life, and Eric made it worth it! I can't thank you enough. I hope 

that the next time we get drawn you can guide us again (you are always welcome)!!!!! Well that 

is my story for right now. I think I will most definitely be going on many more of these hunts!