This is pretty simple to me....let’s see if there is a consensus.

What does “spot and talk” mean to you?

Glass up your game "Spot" then figure out how to get close enough for a shot without spooking your game "Stalk".
Did I pass?

What he said.

This but in variations that may involve sitting and glassing from a truck or UTV in some situations. Then try to get to the animal if one is spotted I like.

All of the above.

Moving from vantage point to vantage point to locate game at distance, usually but not always by glassing. Then formulate a plan using cover, terrain, wind, sometimes thermals, and intuition to stalk close enough for a better look and a good shot opportunity, if it is an animal I choose to try to take, with the goal of remaining undetected by the game.

So none of you think it means walking and walking and walking with the hope of bumping/spooking game then trying to get a shot.

That's chasing game!
Sounds more like a deer drive!

It generally means that I’m going to spook the deer.

That's "still hunting." An odd name for it since you're moving, but that's basically what it is.

So, that is on method of spot and stalk that can be used.

Spot and stalk does not mean that you have to remain stationary until you see something.

This

I've seen discussions in the past where the definitions of still hunting and stalking were called into question. I've always thought of still hunting as sitting still in a deer stand, while others define it as periodically "standing still" while moving slowly through the woods in search of wild game.

Spot and stalk is typically referred to when out west hunting. Glass large areas to find your game and try to make a stalk on that animal.
Still hunting is the way I grew up in the midwest, it entails a very slow purposeful stalk in a wooded area using trees ,brush and wind to your advantage to try to get close enough to your game to make a clean shot. I also use this method in the elk woods for bowhunting and rifle hunting. If you are used to sneaking up on deer then doing the same on elk can be very rewarding.

Most folks can't actually stalk a truly wild animal unless that animal has other things on it's mind or the person can shoot well at a distance. I have found it is way easier to drive close to an animal than to stalk one on foot.

growing up, we merely referred to it as "walk hunting" ... We didn't have fancy blinds or feeders, just brush piles or some boards nailed up in a tree. We would very slowly and quietly walk in while scouring all directions and do the same when we returned. If you use the wind and are quiet, you can easily slip up on various game. Of course you need to somewhat know the territory and where others are hunting for safety sake.

Since I was the youngest, dad would drop me off at the farthest point in the pasture with a set time that I was leaving my hunting spot along with the approximate path I was taking back to camp or the truck. I frequently killed a deer and/or pushed one to where one of the other hunters could get a shot.

To me, spot & stalk is more what others have mentioned, glassing an area, then formulating the best way to get closer to the animal ... This is more for more open type of lands, like west Texas, CO, NM, etc. where you can look over a big area, possibly thousands of yards to find what you are hunting for, then "try" to get close enough for a clean shot.

Spot and stalk is how I grew up hunting and very much still my preferred hunting method. The ability to do it well (i.e. spotting animals and then closing the distance to get a chance at an ethical shot) depends heavily on the terrain (elevation), vegetation (density of brush/timber/cover) and meteorological conditions (wind, moisture). I don't mind hunting from a blind (especially when it's cold or wet) but to spot a moving animal from a distance and then figuring out a way to get closer without alerting it, to the point where you can take a good shot at it is awesome. Again, zero judgment, I hunt from blinds or stands whenever the conditions require it and have even done a few successful drives; but it's the spot-and-stalk that gets me going!

This. By far my favorite way to hunt.

Yep. The hunter is supposed to move so slowly that he gives the perception of stillness.

It’s defined by the animal, time of year and terrain.

You aren’t glassing animals up if you are in thick Cedars, or dark timber. Same with mule deer in scrub oak, but sometimes you can glass elk up in scrub oak due to antler height.

Spot and stalk could be living by your glass and bedding deer, could be pounding ridges to cover country, and glassing out as you go.


Spot and stalk is more a finding mentality then a waiting for them to come to you.

tis method used for me hog hunt's...
The others were more Glass & stalk...
Moving from spot to spot... left reasing glasses @ house
we dont have hogs here...
still hunting though...
forgot were my still is...

When I was growing up hunting Central Texas my Dad would tell me that once I finished hunting in my blind each morning to Still Hunt back to camp. His rule was to take three slow steps, watch every step I took so as to not step on a branch or leaves and make noise, and then to stop for 5 minutes and scan around me. Then take another 3 steps and repeat.

So back in the day (50-60 years ago) this was called Still hunting. I was raised on it. I still do it today when on an elk hunt, etc.

And by the way - it took me forever to get back to camp!

Maybe my memory isn't so bad after all.

As a kid living in Mississippi when it was legal to use dogs to hunt deer, anything that didn't include using them was called still hunting. We would have deer drives in the morning using the hounds, and then still hunt in the afternoon.

So then, by definition, what words would describe sitting in one place waiting for deer to pass nearby on a heavily used trail?

Same here but not so long ago. Dad also taught me to kneel down and look between tree trunks for legs and feet, and that if you're looking for a deer, look for a rabbit.