Both bucks I killed this year were while facing the tree. You can do so much more moving with a big tree hiding you-makes the draw much easier. If the deer are going back and forth, it is a little bit of a pain to get your bow from side to side of the tree, but worth it. I like to place my stand so that the deer I expect to come from my left. However, that rarely works that way, and they always seem to be behind my tree. Not a problem if you take it slow.