I'm gonna go out on a limb here......there isn't a place with whitetails that one can't be killed on the ground. I agree that the guy stomping along wasn't hunting, but it doesn't mean it can't be done. I have killed deer still hunting(not stalking, by the way) on cornflakes leaves, in standing corn, and in an open soybean field. It just takes lots of time and patience. I often still hunt all day, beginning at daylight, but I assure you I would have seen you before I got close enough to hear you whistle, and if I did see you, I'd get the hell out of there, because around here, some of the "hunters" will ground sluice you. Double that in gun season!
You just ran into a tyro, or rather, he ran into you.
Pat, the briars and oak/poplar/maple leaves here are just as thick and noisy as they are in Mississippi and I'd take your bet, if I had two weeks to pull it off. I guess from my post that you see how much I like to still hunt. It isn't as effective, but a lot more fun(to me)