It has taken me a lot of hours to get to where I can sit still in a saddle. Actually, it's taken me a lot of hours to get to where I can sit still period! Sitting still while being aware of what's going on 360° around you is tough.
I have always gravitated towards smaller trees. On a small tree, your front view isnt blocked, and I find it very easy to turn my head and twist slightly at the waist to view directly behind me with little movement.
I can see how a big tree would make me lean towards a treestand. A big tree blocks a lot of your view from a saddle, and I have never been a "hide behind the trunk" guy. With a treestand, you put that blind spot behind you. You can't see the deer, but they can't see you either.
I personally find it easier to hunt and shoot 360° with a saddle setup. I'm fairly good at putting myself in the middle of deer. Problem with that is they could come from anywhere. I killed more deer from the 2 o'clock to 6 o'clock position this year than I did from the 6 o'clock to 12 o'clock position. I busted a coyote that snuck directly behind me, and was able to smoothly turn and shoot from my setup. Doubt I would have been able to make that move without being busted in a stand.
I say all that just to say I agree with your priorities, but have been able to make it work with a saddle in a way I don't think I could from a stand. Genuinely curious as to how you plan on eliminating blind spots with a treestand. Seems impossible to me, but I'd love to hear a fresh perspective.
You physically can't see 360° at once. That's the trade off we pay for pretty dope binocular vision and excellent depth perception. But you can cover about 190° without moving your head. The fringes are only good at picking up movement, but that's what's most important in my book. Turn your head, and now you can see 360° with a very slight movement.
Trees pose an issue. We cant see through them, so we have to look around them. Looking around something in front of you is pretty simple. Bob your head a few inches left and right. Looking around something that's behind you seems a bit tougher to me. You have to turn and bob. This is uncomfortable and requires more movement for me. You can't sustain it. So you move more and twist more. The whole time there is supposedly a deer just outside of your field of view, and you're squirming. Versus if the blind spot is in front of you, you can comfortably wait until whatever is in that blind spot steps out into view.
For me, it's much easier to be aware of my peripherals in a saddle than a treestand. No matter how I hunt, it's always in the back of my mind that a deer could be slipping past where I'm not looking. I try to always keep my head on a swivel, and am constantly looking side to side and twisting slightly to see behind me. I'm counting on the fact that I'm out of a deer's line of sight, they're moving and I'm still, and that I'm really not making that much movement. It seems to work.
You cant see everything all the time. To me a saddle facilitates the movement necessary to scan the woods. Of course, that movement may get you busted. But I'd rather be moving because I'm actively looking for deer than moving because I'm getting stiff and my butt is sore.
I do understand the clique thing. I'm just waiting for the "saddlehunterlife" stickers to start showing up on the "daddy'smoney" trucks. Sometimes the "thing" saddlehunting has become makes me want to go back to sitting on a stool.
Hunt however works. I'm not trying to keep you in a saddle or out of a treestand. I just think it's strange that you're switching for those particular reasons. I understand the movement issue more than the blind spot one.
I dunno. Thinking about this stuff sho' beats working though.
