Let's begin in Alberta, where Reiser's camp lies near Pigeon Lake, an hour southwest of Edmonton. He has a hunting area that ranges over thousands of square miles on both private and public land. In Alberta, outfitters legally cannot lease hunting rights. They are not allowed to offer money to hunt private land, and landowners may not accept it, although they may of course deny access. Reiser, who has lived in and around the region of his camp his entire life, maintains a good relationship with local landowners, which allows him to obtain permission to place his hunting stands on their properties. He uses enclosed wooden shooting houses that he builds himself, as well as some open wooden stands and some camouflaged tent blinds. Reiser places his blinds on travel ways, looking for signs of rubs and active scrapes, and on the edges of farm fields.
Whitetail hunting, whether in Alberta or Saskatchewan, means hunters must be able to sit and stay alert from well before shooting light until full night. Hunters sit alone in their blinds, while Reiser's guides, all highly experienced whitetail hunters, scout to figure out what the deer are doing next and whether they should move their hunters to different blinds. For the best hunting, the weather should, ideally, be cold and snowy. This means that for hunters to sit comfortably, they must wear down-insulated bib overalls and a down parka, plus Arctic pacs and mittens. They also need to stuff a lot of heat pads into that clothing and footwear. Whitetail hunting in Alberta and Saskatchewan additionally requires bringing a good seat cushion to use on the chairs both outfitters place in their blinds.
Reiser prefers his whitetail hunters come during the last two........(continued)
