It was the term "spot and stalk" that I noticed being used in a recent NRA magazine that got me to thinking about the names given to various tactics that hunters use to take wild game. At first I thought that the tactic might be more applicable to hunting the more open and mountainous areas of the country before I realized I had followed the same approach to kill feral hogs in East Texas. Not being able to see very well, there have been times when I would hear the squeal of a pig and move to a spot where I was able to get off a shot. The term might also apply to squirrel hunting where you spot squirrels running through the trees at a distance and then take up a position where you can find them trying to hide from a .22 bullet.

Still Hunting is another term sometimes used, however I've seen it used in two different ways. In the first case, it might be called blind stalking where the hunter simply slips through the woods very slowly in an attempt to spot wild game before being detected. IMO, this tactic tactic has become a lost art in today's world where feeders almost serve as dinner bells for animals looking for a meal. I remember reading how the author of a book written back in the 60's described how few hunters have the patience to become effective at still hunting. My own experience with the term has found it to be used the describe sitting in a stand that overlooks a trail or pinch point that deer frequently use as a travel route. The last term I've seen used in many years past is driving wild game using hounds, people, or both. While using hounds to hunt deer has been illegal in Texas for some time now, it's still common with those who use them to hunt hogs and cats. I've also seen videos in which humans were used to drive wild hogs past hunters who lay in wait for them.

Not sure I'll ever get the chance to spot and stalk an elk somewhere in the mountains of Colorado or Montana, but I'm sure it's quite an experience.

Good thoughts on the matter. I hope you do get a chance to spot and stalk elk somewhere someday! I love that style of hunting on whitetails and pronghorn.

When I want a doe, I often still hunt, slipping along in the mesquite, often get quite close. Does because they are often so much less weary, young bucks too. Mature bucks very, very hard to hunt this way, at least for me.

At my Central Texas place stand hunting is used because its too small to spot and stalk. Down south we are set up as a lease and its a high paid spot so spot and stalk is out of the question. Those rich dudes get pissed if they can see you from their blind. We do spot and stalk (still hunt) on the draw shotgun hunts at Lake Waco depending on the unit. Colorado was nice when my uncle still had his place up there.

In South Africa we have:

1. Spot and stalk
Term used to describe scanning a large area (often from an elevated position) in order to spot game which can then be approached and stalked.

2. Walk and stalk
Term used to describe walking slowly through the bush in an attempt to spot, locate and stalk game. OR Following fresh animal tracks until the animal is located and then stalked. Often combined with spot and stalk. I do 99% of my hunting by walk and stalk.

3. Bakkiejag
Literally translated from Afrikaans, this term means "vehicle hunting". This term is used to describe driving around until game is located and then shooting the game from the vehicle. This is legal on "high-fence" properties. Many people believe that this method of harvesting game is not hunting at all but rather "shooting". Many locals employ this method.

4. Driven hunts
term used to describe people on foot or on horseback drive game toward concealed marksmen. Again, debatable whether this is "hunting" or "shooting". Fairly popular in the Free State and Eastern Cape provinces where many springbuck and kudu are shot using this method.

5. Shooting from blinds/hides
Term used to describe shooting game from blinds/hides located at waterholes, salt licks and feeding/baiting sites. Commonly employed for shooting bushpig. Widely used by the bow community.

Great post. Thanks for sharing.

Been hunting spot and stalk in the rolling plains for 15 years now.....great glass and understanding where the terrain is taking your target animal and how to use the terrain to intercept without being seen is the key to success......avoiding being profiled is really important to be able to move quickly without being noticed.....

I love a good spot and stalk hunt. I have property out in east Texas that you simply cant do that on but anywhere out west we go that's the preferred method.

Hunting thick woods and dark timber In my opinion Still Hunting "silently stalking through the woods wind in face, cautious and silent a step every 30 to 60 seconds " is the most rewarding of all hunting tactics when successful. Of the successful hunts I've had 2, using this technique, were the most memorable. A button buck in thick laurels that I got within 25 feet with a slug and a doe I shot in the head ( the only thing I could see at 15 feet in thick cedars with my muzzle loader, I must say maintaining the discipline to move so quite and slow is not easy and getting that close is exhilarating.

I have a book on hunting white tails that was written back in the 60's. In it the author writes how some people make the mistake of believing they shouldn't make noise when stalking wild game. As he put it, all animals make some level of noise when they move about. The key is not sounding too much like a human when you move.

Dan no argument however those 2 successes were not my only attempts. Can't count the number of times, a shift in wind, a snapping twig under foot or the sound of a branch rubbing on my clothing generated an explosion of something just out of sight leaving the area.

The author of this same book does a great job explaining how human scent can be picked up by an animal on the calmest of days as a result of natural thermals. It basically bowls down to differences in the rate in which types of terrain heat up or cool down. On cool mornings, open areas heat more quickly and will create horizontal thermals at their edges where they pull air to replace rising air. The opposite happens in the evening when more wooded areas hold heat longer and will pull air from open areas that cool more quickly. So even when there appears to be no wind at all, these horizontal air movements can lead to you getting busted by a wary nose.

By far, the most frustrating air currents are the eddies that form as wind blows into and across certain types of terrain. A breeze that's blowing up one side of the end of a hollow will curve back in the opposite direction on the other side of it. The key is to stay high enough so your scent doesn't get caught up in the swirling eddies below.

“A” game until you run out of arrows, then B game time and it’s grab AT&T’s new 115gr VLD reach out and touch faith’s new phone with super 257Wby LTE wireless service.

What vital piece of equipment is missing in that photo?

I worked all week, I prefer to fall asleep in my comfy blind, I did all my stop and spook in my younger years. Now spot and stalk on plains game in Africa, count me in.

It’s in my pocket and attached to my belt loop