I always take it off. I use the quikee quiver caddys and have a whole bunch of them. I like it off out of the way. I can lay the bow across my lap or hold it in position for a long time without moving. For followup shots it is firmly mounted to the tree and I am very picky about it's position, it must be out of the way for shooting and easily accessible. The second shot scenario is lower in priority than being out of the way for that first shot. For all the deer I have killed with a bow I have only had one followup shot on a spined deer. A far as all the deer I missed over the years, I have never got a second shot and it wasn't because I couldn't get an arrow nocked. It's just what works for me.