Ground or tree, wait or drive?

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Rayleigh_Scattering

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I'm trying to decide between a couple of options.

I have access to some forested land near Pigeon Lake Alberta, which is crawling with White Tail. There is a lovely, small, steep-sided creek, with a heavily worn game trail running across one of its few fords.

A large tree has fallen north of it, and with a bit of lugging lumber I could sit myself in a folding chair among it's large branches. Slip into an old sleeping bag, sit quietly, and I can see the trails leading up to the ford from the W, E and SW and then wait patiently 'till an hour past dawn to see what comes wandering by. Repeat for a few morning/evenings as needed.

Or I can folding-ladder my way 8' up a mature pine and look down at it, and then wait. Won't be as comfy, but the basic idea is the same.

Or I can try to arrange with another fellow to start at the other end of the section and walk towards me, singing cheerfully while I look down at the ford seeing what spooks out of the woods to avoid him. Coordination of sight lines will then become important.

I'm not sure what's the best way to proceed.

The third seems most likely to produce something, but it requires coordinating with another person. And the lack of people is, frankly, one of the things I enjoy about the place. Not that it wouldn't be nice to have help dragging the corpse to the truck, but people can be annoying.

I think being up a bit will make me harder to see, but it also greatly increases the chances of getting myself seriously injured (tree stands kill as many hunters are all other hazards combined) and I won't be as comfortable on a ladder as I would be snuggled up in a folding chair in my branch fort.

What are your thoughts, oh wise ones?

Is the "sit still in sight of a well worn path" approach a reasonable one?
 
I have hunted from blinds that were quite high, and others barely above ground level.
Both have delivered whitetail deer to my freezer, so I would simply choose which you
feel most comfortable with and see what transpires. Option 1 above looks good. Dave.
 
Go with Option 1 - when the tree dries out it wont be available again. You can always invite a non-hunter to push the bush for you - then you dont have to worry about them spending time in your spot, while also introducing someone to the sport.
 
Let us know what worked!! It is called "hunting", not "shopping" - all your choices have worked and not worked on any given day for other people. I have personally taken white tail when sitting on a stump, when "pushing bush", when having "bush pushed" to me, and when crossing from one "good spot" across an open field to a "better spot". Whatever worked that day was "the best" idea, even though many times the idea was not mine... One of the better bucks I took stopped at edge of poplar bluff, just inside tree line, while I was walking towards that bluff across a stubble field. To my knowledge, there was not another human being within a mile of us, and those were the people in the farm house behind me that had given me permission to walk out on their land.
 
I would just sit and hang out watch what’s moving threw
Don’t push it till you know for sure there is a shooter is in there, don’t push the does out and let the neighborhood push their does and bucks into your spot
Your said a lot 1/4 section? Hey buddy wish luck trying a 1 man drive to push out a mature whitetail buck I’m not saying it can’t happen it’s just better to have more people and you might get only one crack at so hang out see where the deer like to enter , exit and bed
After the driv if you messed up you just educated the buck some more lol
Have seen a nice deer patch being pushed we could or hear the drivers but not see them ,a stuck her nose out of the bush she saw the shooters and turned around and went back in towards the drivers 6 guys walked out we asked them if they saw the doe that went back in they all said no what doe lol
 
I'd do option #1. If you are warm and comfortable you aren't fidgeting or trying to say warm and drawing attention to yourself. Just don't nod off for a nap:). If you do have a person driving toward you, have them just walk and not sing or use their voice. I've seen deer just go around drivers that were obvious. You see how the deer play it out if there is snow on the ground. Just my $0.02
 
>nose out of a bush

I’m used to seeing them bounce off directly away from me and to the horizon out in Elkwater. It had never occurred to me that in a more cluttered environment they’d just move “a bit to the left” and let me walk past.

But I suppose that makes sense. They’re at risk when moving, so why hoof it a km when a slow skulk into a thicket would do.

Thank you, that totally changed my understanding of what’s happening.
 
You will likely be astounded at what is to be seen with a set of binoculars when in the bush - even old time 7x35's. Walk a few steps and then look around - almost scary how many times I spotted something watching me, that I never picked up with my eyes!!! Most memorable was a Momma wolf - she was easy 80 yards or more back through the trees branches and brush, but she had me totally pegged. With my eyes, even after I knew she was there, I could not see her face!!
 
I would say it depends on what you want/priority. Big buck, sit and wait. Meat in the freezer, drive.

I have a climbing tree stand I love sitting in all day, it really is comfy. I have also stacked up deer going drives with 3 to 5 other hunters.
 
You haven't mentioned if your bow hunting or rifle or just horn hunting or just meat in whatever form...bow hunting, watch your trail you mentioned...rifle hunting, set up where you can see the furthest distance available and wait...preferably in a red-neck blind out of the wind and cold...remember this is nov. in Ab & sitting like a frozen lump ain't "fun".

unfortunately the others are right about a one-person drive for WT...chances of success aren't "none" but are very slim... I've seen them buggers on their knee's sneaking back behind pushers that were more than sight distance apart...and fish cops in AB. have been brain washed into the notion that a non-licensed person not carrying a gun if engaged in a deer drive they are engaged in hunting & molesting wildlife.
 
White tails and "sneaking" - friends came up on a long grass slough in middle of stubble field - fresh snow - one track in - nothing out. Dead grass about 2 feet tall. An old discer seeder in the middle. One guy posted, two guys walked - nothing. One guy walked all around in the stubble - still no track coming out. Back through the grass again - one guy went to the discer - a buck popped up - was down before it got out of the slough - tracks in snow showed he had multiple times been crawling on his knees around that discer to keep it between himself and the "pushers". Without the fresh snow, they would have been quit convinced that slough was "MT"...
 
>bow or rifle

This time shotgun. Rancher neighbours on three sides make this an owner-declared shotgun zone, and sight lines are short in the bush anyway.

Next year, that depends. If a few days camping out in the blind gets me to within 20m of something freezer-worthy I'll tool up and switch to bow for next year to get access to the longer calendar window.
 
Potashminer said:
White tails and "sneaking" - friends came up on a long grass slough in middle of stubble field - fresh snow - one track in - nothing out. Dead grass about 2 feet tall. An old discer seeder in the middle. One guy posted, two guys walked - nothing. One guy walked all around in the stubble - still no track coming out. Back through the grass again - one guy went to the discer - a buck popped up - was down before it got out of the slough - tracks in snow showed he had multiple times been crawling on his knees around that discer to keep it between himself and the "pushers". Without the fresh snow, they would have been quit convinced that slough was "MT"...
Click to expand...

Interesting story that confirms a suspicion I've had, thank you.
 
So 3 lovely days in the bush.

Saw no white tail on the land I was hunting, but driving out after sunset they were hopping along in other places like wildebeest crossing a river in an Attenborough flick.

Oh well. Still a lovely time outdoors with no wife and kids chewing on me.

Back in town now, and the are way too many people here. And they are all so loud when they talk.
 
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