Establishing "your" cant. How long did it take?

[GMMAT]

How long did it take for you to establish your cant (amount you cant your bow) and to become completely consistant with it?

[reddogge]

I started shooting in 1956 and just about have it nailed down.  Sorry, I couldn't resist that one.

[bowmaster12]

for me it is the first thing that i got down, it was just what came natrual its just right tha ti dont have to think about it.  I cant at my hads natrual angle arms relaxed at the side lif tarm up if its natrual it should be the same ever time

[Terry Green]

GMMAT,

You should have a 'backyard shot'...that keeps everything the same...even your cant.  There is no 'set angle'....and it is easy to do if you will quit 'thinking about it' and just draw the bow and cant what comes natural. It will come to you without you having to find it.

Once you get your backyard shot down pat, and your accuracy is up to snuff beyond the range you plan you  shooting game at, you can then practice sever cant, horizontal cant, straight up, and reverse cant.  

The absolute beauty of the Trad Bow is you can control it, and not let it control you.  It does not have to be held at a certian angle to make a shot....but it sure is best to have your backyard go to shot set in stone 1st.

BTW...if you will do a search for the word 'cant' in the subject for this forum...you will get all the info you need on canting.

[Don Stokes]

I can't not cant!

[Daddy Bear]

When I was small, my Grandfather had me stand with my arms hung down by my side with my fingers straight and open palms flat against my pant outer seams with my arms locked and my elbows tucked tight against my sides. After holding that straight arm position for a few seconds, he had me relax my arms and shoulders. When relaxed, my shoulders dropped, the knife edge of my hands rotated away from my legs, and my elbows fell away from my sides with a natural bend. While maintaining this natural shoulder, arm, and hand position, he then had me raise my bow arm/hand to shoulder height and then had me swing my bow arm/hand to my side as if holding a bow in a shooting position. I found that my elbow had a slight natural bend and that my bow hand had a slight natural cant that used bone support without any added muscle tension.

In this one lesson, he taught me how to find my natural cant which I've since used shooting longbows for the last 40years.

later,
DB

[sweet old bill]

I read the book become the arrow and he suggested that a kant should be in the 1 am to 2 am position...so I started at the 1 position and now it just come up natural as part of the shooting sequence...

[reddogge]

This is interesting.  When I was teaching my three grandsons to shoot a couple of week ago the arrows kept falling off of the shelf so I just told them to tilt the bow to the right.  They did and no more falling off and the shooting improved.  I didn't have to tell them how much they just did it pretty naturally.

[Leo L.]

Terry and the others nailed it. It's something that your body does naturally, and can't think about it.