Let me first say that I didn't think this would be a subject that got this much attention. I suppose a lot of hunters have a strong connection to their fathers when it comes to deer hunting. I asked this question with my answer already in mind. I would let my father shoot first if he had the right shooting angle. So far I have taken the largest buck off of our farm so I would love for him to have the chance at something larger than what he has taken. As far as why we would want to sit together has little to do with taking a big buck. As I am now finishing my college career we are once again having time to get back to the way things were before life got so busy. Hunting isn't just about tagging a big buck. For us it is more about spending some time together doing what we love to do the most.
You are absolutely correct that hunting isn't just about tagging a big buck. You can take it one step further and say that life has way MORE important issues than hunting also. A relationship between fathers, sons, siblings can and should be enriched at all times, not just while hunting or watching football together. That is why I feel that if your intention truly is to hunt and hopefully be successful, then you should probably hunt from different stands. Case in point this past season. Me and my uncle were hunting two different stands only a few hundred yards from each other. We both shot very decent bucks for our area within minutes of each other. Now if we had been hunting together from one stand, I am absolutely certain that two bucks would not have been downed that morning. We may have gotten one, but after the congratulating and talking and running up to the dead buck, the second surely would never have shown himself. So in our case we had TWO happy hunters, not just one. Plenty of time to bond and recap the exciting day once we got the bucks out of the woods and were sitting at the dinner table and hopefully for years to come!