Upright VS Cant

[Stagmitis]

Which method do find more versatile for hunting and is one more accurate than the other?

[James Wrenn]

I cant my bow some but as the distance grows on a shot I seem to shoot better with a more vertical bow.At my hunting distances it really does not matter to me.I think you need to be able to shoot with your bow in as many positions as possible when hunting.It can't hurt and just might help one day. jmo

[MDBowhunter]

I "cant", but I don't think that just because you "cant" your bow, you will be more accurate.

I think it is a personal thing and how it relates to whats comfortable to you when taking into account hand placement, anchor and sight picture.

I would say that if it feels natural to "cant" then "cant" (and vice versa). More than likely you will be more accurate if you are comfortable.

[Pinelander]

When the intended target is further than 25-30 yards...
I can shoot more accurately by not canting, this includes instinctive as well as gapping, etc.

[pondscum2]

depends on which bow i am shooting. have a Mahaska w/a VERY narrow shelf, only a carbon will stay on the shelf w/out some cant to the bow. ps2

[Stagmitis]

Do you have any idea why that is Piney?

[the other DWS]

I don't have a choice. The way my arm and elbow are built if I don't cant the bow a bit, I have a big eggplant colored welted up forearm unless I wear a huge long armguard. Whacking your forearm raises hob with accuracy, sight concentration, and also arrow velocity. My elbows are hyperextended in and it's hard to rotate it out of the stringpath without canting the bow a little--like a 1 o'clock 7 o'clock orientation

[Longbow Bowhunter]

For some reason I cannot shoot accurate straight up, so I cant the bow

[Torsten]

Stagmitis,
I am convinced for hunting you need to incline the bow according to the condtions/ space you are shooting in:

My angle can be from almost fully horizontal to almost fully vertical.

I shoot sitting, on my knees and standing with the bow canted. Particulary when on my knees the accuracy is very easy to handle. Make sure to have both knees on the ground, otherwise it will be very difficult to change your shooting angle when bunny passes flying by...

Canting the bow helps me a lot to forget looking at the arrow and improves the instictive shot.

[mysticguido]

I have no problem with my bow being vertical I can see fine and I think I shoot better that way. :2cents:

[Desert Archer]

Hank,

You have mentioned your "side of the face" anchor on several posts. I had never thought much about it but I guess my anchor is kind of on the side of my face too. I actually have a two point anchor, with the ring finger in the corner of my mouth but I pull the corner of my mouth back (skin is elastic you know) until my index finger contacts the front of my cheekbone, under the right eye. Like you I cant the bow just a little (one o'clock or so).

If I stopped when my finger reached the corner of my mouth my drawing arm wouldn't be straight with the arrow and my draw would be about an inch shorter - way down to 31.5" (LOL).

Dave

[BLACK WOLF]

I find canting my bow to be more natural in hunting conditions due to my body's position of crouching and sneaking.

That being said...I aslo cant my bow between 1:30 and 2 o'clock even when I'm target shooting.

Ray

[Papabull]

I shoot a vertical bow. I've found that for my style of hunting and the areas in which I hunt, the shots are more likely to be clear with a vertical bow than one that is canted, so the odds favor me with a vertical bow. Saplings and hardwoods of the eastern forests have more vertical growth than horizontal growth, so naturally the shooting windows are most often horizontal, as well. Still, learning to shoot in a canted position rounds things out. Learning to shoot from a variety of positions inevitably comes in handy.

Additionally, I've come to be comfortable with the vertical bow for the consistency and accuracy it tends to promote for me. It's easier for me to get the bow vertical than it is for me to repeat the same angle of cant shot afer shot. It also keeps the arrow in a consistent point of reference. It's in front of my face, so I decided long ago that I might as well analyze whether it's relationship to the target. Of course, it turned out there was and that it was extremely valuable to know and an excellent tool to add to the archery toolbelt.

[Pinelander]

Stag, I have an easier time getting "lined up" when vertical... cannot seem to gauge left-right relationship very well when head is somewhat tilted along with the cant. This is nothing new to me... I recall in the early 90's when I was spending a lot of time at the archery club and shooting Field rounds for fun. I always held the bow vertical at anything past 30 yards. Might have been off some high-low, but very seldom left-right. But of course, all of this is based on my shooting style at the time... not using point-of-aim or gapping, just a rather "vague" relationship of arrow/riser/target picture. Is this what some refer to as "instinctive"?

Not much of an analytical view, I know... but everything just lines-up better for me vertically the further out it gets. It's pretty much a piece of cake at closer yardages whether it be canted or vertical. When it comes to dropping whitetails at close range, I don't think it really matters that much. So what's your take on this?

[Stagmitis]

Piney,

Whether instinctive or Gap, its interesting to watch shooters reduce the degree of cant towards vertical as they move further away from the target.

Just my opinion but I think the only logical reason is that the brain is begging to KEEP the arrow in the most visible plane of perifery. Conversely moving closer to the target dictates more cant for the same reasons.

I cant help bu wonder though why an instinctive shooter would decrease or increase cant when they are completely unaware of their arrow)? :sbrug:

Oops...Different topic! :

[Beagle]

I shoot anywhere from a 1:00-1:30 cant most of the time. When I was shooting an old Bear Minuteman back in the late 80's, I shot it vertical but used sights and also used a homemade(rubber grommet)string peep. Now, I just feel more comfortable canting without sights or reference points. Don't shoot much past 22-23 yrds, so don't know how I would change it farther out. First deer I ever shot at with the old Minuteman was 28 yrds. I used the 20 yard pin. You know the outcome:waaah:

[DAS]

This is one of those things I've experimented with for years. I agree that a canted bow feels a bit more comfortable, but I can shoot more accurately vertical. One reason is that I see the fuzzy image of the string lined up with the edge of the sight window. That gives me very good left / right alignment. On a close shot I could still cant the bow to avoid an obstacle.

[DAS]

Ray,
Good to see you back :)

David

[Grey Ghost]

As I read the various replies it started me thinking about why I started off canting back in the 50's and then when I started back in the 90's I didnt. Then it struck me. When I shot arrows that werent spined for my bow, they were more accurated canted. Today with correctly spined arrows, it doesnt make any difference. Anyone else shoot over spined arrows canted?

gg :confused:

[Cato]

I'm with the group that cants slightly on closer shots, and holds more vertically on longer shots. My vision isn't the best; if I cant the bow slightly I seem to be able to get the sight picture easier. On longer shots, very slight variations show up more; I get better results right and left on longer targets when holding vertically, and squinting my non dominant eye.

For those long shots, I've thought lately about adding a small level to my sight window, just for checking the verticle alignment to see if it would train me to hold more perfectly verticle.

Cato

[xtimberman]

When drawing a metal risered bow, I don't have to cant, because I can see the spot I'm shooting at - but when drawing my wood risered longbow to shoot at a spot <20 yards away, I have to cant to the 1 o'clock position to view the spot. The cut out for the arrow shelf is below the gap marks for those close distances and when held vertically, the riser blocks the view of the point of impact. Beyond 20 yards, I can shoot that bow held vertically and I always try to get in position to do so.

xtm

[Atlantis]

Okay, canting the bow should move point of impact upwards and to the right for a right handed shooter, so why do you guys cant more on shorter shots?

I think zero cant is the most repeatable, hence best for a target form...

However, for hunting I'm with Torsten...I like to be able to shoot from both knees or from my trusty catcher's stance and shooting a "68 LB I have no choice but to cant...it's surprisingly easy to adjust to a cant at short distances, however...I wouldn't shoot with an exteme cant over 25 yards...

Sometimes I'll use a slight cant to get better arrow flight if my fletching isn't tuned correctly to the LB I'm using...

[Cato]

Since I'm modified gapping off of the shaft, the shaft itself becomes my axis of rotation when I cant. As I cant, the shaft does not move right, relative to my target. Instead, the heel of my bow hand moves away and left. At least that is what I think is going on. So one shots inside 25 yds I don't notice much difference when I cant slightly.

Cato

[Atlantis]

Thanks Cato...interesting...that makes sense to me...

[Beagle]

My shaft is also my axis of rotation. I always try to keep the shaft directly under my eye. If I don't I will always hit left.

[Jim Pritchard]

Ray:
Yes...welcome back!
Are you going to be chasing elk with Stos broadheads again this year?
Did you sell your DAS? They're not very traditional you know????!!!!
Jim

[Harpman]

Ray isnt back..those posts were made in March of last year...I thought that Ray was back also, until I checked out the posting dates...Harpman

[Trillium]

Well, when I am all hunched over, squatting down deep, my head stuck out like a chicken while wearing my old fedora and plaid shirt and "burning my hole," why, of course I cant my bow.

But when I want to shoot well, my bow, and body, are vertical.