Spot and stalk hunting is often employed in areas that are open enough in terrain that a large area can be surveyed from a single, or select number of vantage points that can be up to a mile or more away from the deer being surveyed. This method often employs the use of quality optics, such as a high-powered spotting scope, to locate and judge the quality of a distant target. The hunter usually starts surveying an area at first light that has been known to hold deer. Once a deer has been spotted, and it has been judged to be worth hunting, the hunters usually wait and watch to see where the deer will bed down for the morning. Ideally more than one deer will be spotted so that if one stalk does not work out, there are other back up stalks to fall back to.

In addition to pinpointing the spot of a bedded deer, the hunters will also make note of the lay of the terrain, so that a route can be planned to get within shooting range of the animal without being detected. Also, it is a good idea to keep track of where other animals, that may have been present in the herd, have bedded down. The stalking hunter will not want to bump other animals out of their beds because it may alert the target animal, causing him to leave the area prematurely. Additionally, multiple stalking routes should be planned in case the wind direction is not conducive to the primary route.

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Once the location of the targets has been pinpointed, and it appears that the deer have bedded down for the morning, the hunters can begin stalking their locations. Closing to within a few hundred yards can be done quickly, providing that the wind is favorable, the hunters can stay out of sight by using the lay of the land, and the walking conditions are not too loud. The hunter should use the terrain to try and get as close as possible, while staying down wind, before "peeking" to see if the animal is still there. The closer you get to the position of the animal, the slower the hunter should move. The last section of the stalk would resemble a still hunt, moving very slowly and observing all of the surrounding terrain to ensure that the target animal, or satellite animals, are not bumped from their beds, thus ruining the stalk. In fact, depending upon the terrain, the last few yards (or possibly more than 100 yards) may be covered in a belly crawl.

The important consideration is to try to get within an effective shooting distance without alerting the animal to your presence. This is an exciting, challenging and rewarding way to hunt, but it can take a lot of time for all of the pieces to come together just right, without an element of the hunt going the wrong direction. Many things can go wrong; the hunter may spend several days just trying to find an animal worth pursuing, or maybe the wind will shift halfway through the stalk, or a deer that was not accounted for may bust you. Everything from a deer deciding to change its bedding position, to your partner stepping on a loose piece of rock that rolls down a hill, can potentially go wrong with this type of hunting, but the payoff from that one successful hunt can make all of the near misses from earlier stalks worthwhile.