how much cant???

[Drone Dog]

i was down at the range today and a guy came over to tell me that i do not cant the bow enough. i was shooting decent for me but thought ok, this guy probably knows more than me so why no try it. well it threw me off and i started hitting my arm with the string and it sounded funny...
anyway, how much should i cant? i am shooting left handed and probably hold the bow between 11:30 and 12, probably closer to straight up. it feels fine and i do not usually have a left and right aiming issue. i am either low or high. should i give it more cant? is there sort of a standard i should go for. i figured as long as i cant it enough to see past the bow i am ok.
Thanks
Dog

[42WLA]

It is an intimately personal thing. Pretty silly advice to give somebody, really. Do what comes naturally with your grip. If your hitting where you want don't change anything.

[McDave]

It is unimportant how much you cant the bow on the range.  It is useful to be able to cant the bow different amounts when you hunt, so you can deal with brush, etc, that might prevent a straight up and down shot.  The most important thing is to maintain good form, rotating your string wrist to match the cant of the bow, so you don't torque the string.  Some people can cant the bow all the way from straight up and down to sideways, which might be useful if you're shooting from under a low hanging tree or something.  It's a skill worth practicing, just like shooting sitting down, kneeling, or at different angles other than square to the target, since we probably won't get a chance to set ourselves up exactly the way we would like when we're hunting.

I missed my one chance at a deer this year because I was sitting on a stool underneath a live oak tree, and when the deer got into position he was square in front of me.  If I had shifted my shoulders around to get in a better shooting position, he would have been gone (which he was anyway after I shot over his back).  So guess what I'm going to practice!

First things first, of course.  Learn to shoot good groups with perfect form, and then you can start practicing the other stuff.  In my opinion, perfect instinctive form means shooting at your "natural" cant, whatever that is, and I wouldn't listen to anyone else.  I guess I could have saved time if I had started with that, huh!

[Drone Dog]

Thanks. i wondered if this was like golf... the highest handicaps give the most advice...
Dog

[five-oh]

You should cant the bow as much as it takes.  For some folks that's a lot, and some guys shoot it straight up and down.  Like other people have said already, it just depends on what works for each individual.

[Terry Green]

Your 'got to' shot is up to YOU...cant how ever much you feel you need to.  

However, once you get that 'go to' shot down, you can practice various cant angles to execute the variations the game and terrain dictate.  

There is no 'written in stone' when it comes to shooting a bow except that you get out of it as much as you put into it.

No, its not the highest handicaps give the most advice....just beware of my way is the highway guys.

[Matt E]

Drone dog,   When I use to shoot for score, I found that by tuning my bow so as to have the arrow rise straight off the rest center of the shelf and plate. I could cant my bow 45 degrees. By doing so it took one less thing to calculate making my shots more consistant.I have noticed at tournaments that a high number of bows were out of tune regardless of what degree of cant was used and as Drone dog mentioned they were most free with their advice.     My statement is meant for the hunting bows not sighted ones,or bows with shelfs cut passed center.

[aromakr]

Matt E.
What would be different with a bow cut past center?
Bob

[Matt E]

When a bow is cut passed center it requires either shimming out, a thick arrow or some sort of rest to get the parodox up and down rather than left to right on a canted bow. I like to tune the bow so as to have equal pressure on the plate and shelf. By doing this I can see the arrow jump into my line of sight when shot and I can see the fletching turning which assures me instantly that I have made a good shot.
How one tunes and shoots a bow is a personal thing. This isn't the only way to achieve accuracy but on still targets and moving shots it has benefited me.

[John 4]

On a flat ground shot I normaly cant at about 11:00,,,but if need be I'll hold the bow flat/level with the ground.
Because I once busted a limb on a rock when I was shooting off my knees,I'm now to paranoid to hold the bow upright if I'm in that position again,so I cant it as flat as I can.
Like anything,practice it enough and it becomes second nature.
There's no set rules as far as I'm concerned,,,if it feels good,do it

[rockz]

In Byron Fergusons book, he suggests a method of finding the right cant for you.
He places a big plus sign with a long vertical line in the target and starts shooting.

Shoot the first shot with the bow straight up and down and see where it hits.
If this hits the vertical line that is right for you and your setup.

It most likely will hit left.
Now shoot some more arrows, canting your bow a little more at a time and see where the arrow hits.

As you increasingly cant your bow it should start walking the arrow to the right to the vertical line.

Try it and see what happens.

[longbowguy]

What rockz said. - lbg

[rnharris]

if you shoot good strait up and down that is a plus i find that in a tree stand shooting behind you to the left or right of the tree is a strait up and down proposition Ralph

the cant will come naturally with time

[Terry Green]

Cant never could

Get out there and jazz it up....

[Matt E]

Glad I read this again. I made a mistake in my previous post,I meant 22 1/2 degrees not 45 degrees.

[Tom A]

It’s great to be able to cant when you have to. I have to do it sometimes at 3d shoots that setup obstacles in the way and crazy drain pipe shots. But hunting on the ground with my Niff T seat my normal slight cant works fine. And that’s with a 66" bow.