I'll add a refinement to the nail if I may?

Older, i.e not age but long serving, may remember Baz, who used to be admin on here. He posted a tutorial on how to do stippling. It may be archived for all I know. But the trick is to use a short rigid Nail, hammered all the through a length (about 12'', 300mm is ideal) of broomhandle then blunt the end of the nail-but keeping the pointed shape. Now make believe you're a drummer in a rock band (Charlie watts, Keith Moon, Jon Bonham- your choice) and use the broomhandle stippler to beat out a rhythm on your stock!

As always practise on a scrap bit of wood but this works really well and you can achieve great accuracy and speed. I've stippled many stocks with this technique and it works well. Just remember you're not nailing anything but simply tapping out a rhythm

The other thing I do is to mark out the outline of the area you want to stipple, then mask off the rest of the stock with carefully applied duct tape- use several layers. This will prevent any stray taps from marking the stock. Finish off by putting a border around the stippled panel with a triangular swiss file.