# Canting your bow....?



## Briar (Apr 22, 2004)

When you shoot do you cant your bow? I am finding i shoot much better with my bow closer to vertical than canted. Is there a reason for this?


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## Bender (Dec 6, 2006)

Given a good state of tune, it's a consistency thing. Many find shooting with a straight vertical bow actually winds up being more repeatable. It may require more effort or thought, but you can see whether or not the bow is straight up and down. Canting the bow to the same degree, shot after shot, proves to be less consistent for many people.


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## Briar (Apr 22, 2004)

Makes total sense. Thank you. Im glad i tried it.


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## MCROW (Oct 9, 2015)

I know some guys cant their bows because they were glasses and it's easier for some to do it that way.


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## airwolf (Jul 28, 2005)

I noticed many guys who cant the bow are snap shooters and not all that consistent especially beyond say 15 yards


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## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

Briar said:


> When you shoot do you cant your bow? I am finding i shoot much better with my bow closer to vertical than canted. Is there a reason for this?


I can't my bow in order for ME to see the target better for the way I shoot. Geometrically, *in my opinion* you eliminate any left or right bias in your aiming by keeping it straight up and down. I have learned to shoot adequately by canting and years of practice by doing so... so my "computer" i think *figures this out for me* and applies whatever cerebral windage is necessary... :grin:


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## stringstack (Jun 10, 2016)

I shot the bow vertical when starting out and was able to shoot pretty good for a beginner (which I still consider myself to be). However, I played around with canting the bow and for me it allows me to get into the shot more and I'm much more consistent shooting with my bow canted. 

I also shoot instinctive so even if I can't a little more or a little less shot to shot it really does not matter because my brain will compensate. Also, canting the bow locks the arrow directly below my eye, helps prevent the arrow from falling off the shelf, and feels much more natural and comfortable for me. 

This idea that the guys that cant their bows are not any accurate past 15 yards and tend to be snap shooters is just not true and has been proven to not be true by the past legends and some current archers shooting 3D and field. 

With that being said, I can shoot reverse cant, vertical, and completely horizontal as well. 

If you want to be more than just a target archer that shoots the same shot from the same static position every time than you will have to learn how to shoot accurately from each position, something I personally am still working on.

I think it's a pretty safe bet and rule that most string walkers, point of aim, and GAP shooters all shoot vertical whereas the majority of instinctive archers shoot with a canted bow even if their bow is cut past center because it allows you to get into the shot more and because you do not need to be exactly precise canting the bow the same amount with each shot while shooting instinctive.


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

I'm what you would call an instinctive shooter and I shoot a vertical bow 

I am a hunter 

It is untrue that you have to cant your bow to hunt with it 

You bend at the waist


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## Easykeeper (Jan 2, 2003)

I shoot with a slight cant, I find it more comfortable and adaptable to hunting situations. Even when standing straight up and shooting at formal targets my bow is canted a few degrees. I usually shoot with a bow quiver on my bow so that's probably part of it but it takes tension in my bow forearm to get it vertical.

It all comes down to consistency, like Bender said. Humans are better at determining vertical than some arbitrary cant. For me though, a slight cant works better.


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## TGbow (Jun 24, 2016)

Whichever method works for you ,that's what I would go with. I started out chanting, just feels natural to me. One of my brothers shoots almost vertical. It works for him.


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## kegan (Aug 28, 2006)

I think a vertical bow offers better clearance, better consistency, and make tree stand shots easier. Because of my anchor and glasses I shoot my longbows with a cant though. Have to make compromises somewhere at times.


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## bldtrailer (Feb 2, 2010)

Can't shoot without it (you're able to use both eyes and get perfect hand arm shoulder back alinement):usa2::archery:
try this close your eyes and point (bow arm )to the side now open your eyes without moving hand or arm MOST people will have a natural cant point now just open hand place bow in at same angle EVERYTHING should line up naturally


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## 5 Arrow (Nov 20, 2015)

I shoot the bow with a cant for a couple of reasons. 1. My bow arm is naturally aligned for solid bone to bone contact with wrist slightly rotated from the vertical. 2.) The wrists natural non vertical position aligns the bow grip against the palm above the palmers crease. 3.) A canted bow allows for a better field of vision. 4.) Canted bow rotates the arrow more directly under the master eye. 5. Canting the bow creates a component of gravitational force that rotates the bow away from the arrow on release, which reduces interference problems. 6. Because it is natural and involves no muscle involvement my cant is extremely consistent.
Some downsides.
For RH shooter canting rotates the bow and shoots low right. Not any big deal. Canting the bow while shooting competition say NFAA 300 round is a distraction to me if I feel that I am invading the guy next to me shooting lane. Especially when the lanes are narrow.


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

This place is great 

A slight can't is fine but the pics being posted are not showing archers in alignment at all 

Yohon shoots with a slight cant 



This is Kegans cant and alignment 



Ray shoots with a slight cant 



This is possible the best barebow archer shooting today Demmer 



These archers are in alignment 

If your hunching over and canting you are not in alignment


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## bldtrailer (Feb 2, 2010)

well said 5 Arrow


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## Azzurri (Mar 10, 2014)

Bender covers most of the reasons why not to cant at short distance. Repeatability and good form are important. 

I would throw in that at distance the arrow would want to follow the cant. If the bow tips L or R (on accident or purpose) the arrows generally want to follow the tip. That won't show up short but if you are tipping the bow shooting 40+ the arrows start to fade in that direction. It's not limited to trad, I've seen compound and recurve archers who tip the bow fight the issue.

The only time I sometimes cant is with a longbow.


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## bldtrailer (Feb 2, 2010)

If your bow is truly tuned it should NOT matter if you cant or not(or upside down) it is personal preference . paper punchers like vertical, as do many gap shooters , snap and "instinctive" like canted . Just have fun as long as your hitting where looking and consistent. Fred Bear snap/instinctive cant, the Wensel bother twins one gap and one instinctive. GFred Absell cant,
Howard Hill canted http://luky.arni.cz/vfdata/Howard_Hill/HowardHill3.jpg
Just have FUN, be safe and hit your mark, NOT someone else's. enjoy the choices in life (how boring it would be if everyone did everything the same way)


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## HonkAddict (Oct 18, 2011)

I guess I you could say I shoot a "traditional Hill style longbow". So I shoot like Hill. Leaning forward a little and over a little and my bow has to be canted to keep the arrow on the shelf. Lines everything up. My bowyer has been shooting a longbow for probably 60 years, so I'd hope being a former expedition shooter be knows what he's doing lol. The thing with sticks is there's a lot of different ways to shoot. I see some guys anchor up at their eye and it drives me crazy lol. But it must work for them so I'll troll elsewhere! 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## bldtrailer (Feb 2, 2010)

Please note my above images are not at full draw, but are during the draw cycle (sorry if it was miss leading)


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## swingline327 (May 14, 2015)

I think both methods are equally accurate and effective, especially if tuned properly. For me it feels more natural to have the bow nearly vertical. That being said, I think it would be better for a beginner to shoot with the bow vertically to learn proper form, back tension, and alignment. When all that comes natural, learning to shoot in different positions for hunting would be beneficial.


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## die_dunkelheit (Jul 29, 2016)

bldtrailer said:


> ... enjoy the choices in life (how boring it would be if everyone did everything the same way)


This, 10,000 times this... 

“Proper” form should not be the reason you cant or don't cant. The concept of proper form is from antiquity, the reality is that the proper form for you and for me and anyone else will differ, sometimes slightly and sometimes by a lot. I've taught a few friends of mine to shoot and every time I start that process with someone I tell them that a lot of it is finding a way to mesh all of it together with their body structure, and thus to disregard “proper” form, except back tension of course.

I cant because it is how my wrist and forearm naturally rest. The wrist does not come to rest either vertical or horizontal on any axis, but somewhere in between just like the fingers do not rest exactly straight or as a fist. The position that your wrist and forearm rests at probably has a lot to do with whether you use a perceivable cant or not. Not that the bow should cant at the same degree that your wrist/forearm rest at, but I've noticed that people who rest them at higher angles tend to shoot with a higher degree of cant and vice versa. 

I shoot instinctively and in two very different ways depending on the situation. My normal form is how I usually shoot at paper, 3D, or if I have the time/option when moving slow on a stalk. My second method is less like a form and more like snapping, which I've used when hungry and that animal showed itself for 1 second and still became dinner. Snap shooting like this is more strenuous for me so after 25-30 shots my bow arm gets tired and that causes accuracy to suffer, not the case with my normal form. 
My normal form is nothing like a traditional form. My feet are in a fairly open stance with the rear foot pointed back pretty far and slightly behind the other (this lines my shoulders up with my upper bow arm kind of like the B.E.S.T. method). I draw kind of like South Cox with the bow held out and draw using 3-under and anchor with the second knuckle of my thumb in the soft spot behind my ear and my nose hits the back of the fletching. I do cant the bow slightly but then I also cant my upper body and slightly bend the knee of my rear leg a little further than the front one. With no sights and wood arrows I shoot nocks every time I go out, is my form incorrect? No. Is canting incorrect? No, but that doesn't mean that it is correct for everyone.


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

bldtrailer said:


> Please note my above images are not at full draw, but are during the draw cycle (sorry if it was miss leading)


I jumped the gun on my buddy BLDTRAiLER 

Sorry buddy 

The guys I pictured all have very sold form 

Notice I did not put a picture of me


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## Cwilder (Jun 4, 2006)

I shoot with a slight cant as well


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## Bowmania (Jan 3, 2003)

My bow window is about 2 inches wide. I have to cant a bit to see the target clearly.

Bowmania


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## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

JParanee said:


> I'm what you would call an instinctive shooter and I shoot a vertical bow
> 
> I am a hunter
> 
> ...


 Where have you heard that you have to cant the bow to hunt... or have I missed something along the way... :grin:


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## stringstack (Jun 10, 2016)

Also, as long as your bow is tuned to your arrows it will not effect your trajectory at any distance compared to shooting vertical. 

I have been shooting only bareshafts lately at 40-50 yards to work on my release and they will fly dead straight out of the bow with a cant or no cant if everything is in tune and your release is perfect. 

One SIGNIFICANT benefit of canting the bow is that allows you to bring the arrow directly under the eye and you are able to see the arrow point in your peripheral vision to align it up with the target much better. 

Although I shoot instinctive I along with most other instinctive archers still rely on the tip of the arrow for right/left alignment just like you would any sight. The only difference is that I focus most of my vision on the target itself and am not thinking nor seeing any gap.


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## bldtrailer (Feb 2, 2010)

stringstack >>>--->
bareshafts lately at 40-50 yards>>>---> now that is tuned ! impressive ( I bare shaft to 25:jaw::jaw: wow)


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## stringstack (Jun 10, 2016)

bldtrailer said:


> stringstack >>>--->
> bareshafts lately at 40-50 yards>>>---> now that is tuned ! impressive ( I bare shaft to 25:jaw::jaw: wow)


I have OCD. It takes me about a week to tune a new set of arrows to my bow and get it to the point where it is as quiet as I want it while being able to bare shaft them out to 50 yards.

I will say though that if you can, try shooting bare shafts out beyond 40 yards. It will improve your release and consistently pulling back to the same point every time like you would not believe.


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