Should your bow be vertical when shooting?

[Gnat]

This is just a general question about good form.

I realize anything is okay if you are good, but in general, for someone who is learning and trying get good form down--should I strive to have my bow be vertical when I'm shooting, or is some angle okay(shooting RH, top tip is slightly right of vertical, so that arrow sets in the corner of the rest...kinda like the young lady in the Tomahawk Bows ad on top of the previous page)? If I'm shooting better with a slight angle, should I keep trying it that way?

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Scott J. Williams]

Gnat,
     There is no "pat" answer, most people who use a reference system, such as gap, split vision, etc...often times prefer a bow that is vertical.  Having said that, even some of them will cant a bow to an extent.

      The things related to form, have very little if nothing to do with the degree by which a shooter cants his/her bow.

       It has to deal a few of these things that should not change regardles of what type of bow is being shot.  1) consistant grip on the bow. 2) a slight push on the bow toward the target. 3) the elbow of the drawing hand should maintain a straight and level alingment with the arrow, and if viewed from the above, the arrow, the drawing arm should be in perfect alingment.  4) a rock steady follow through with no arm dropping until after the arrow hits the spot. 5) a continuous line of energy, with the drawing elbow with tension away from the target, and the bow hand pushing slightly toward the target.

       I may have missed a thing or two, but these are the things that should be focused on as far a form goes.  Regarding the angle of your bow, find the most comfortable one and stick with it. Oh, by the way!  I have seen a lot of great archers, that when you watched them shoot, you would say that their form really was bad.  The thing that made it work for them was the fact that they did the same thing on every shot. I guess if the arrow goes where it is supposed to on a regular basis, you gotta be doin something right!

Good Shooting my friend.

[AllenR]

I agree with what Scott posted.

Two times that you want to hold your bow vertically is when you are shooting an Olympic recurve with sights and when you are bare shaft tuning.

I think that the string walkers and face walkers also tend to hold vertically, but I'm not too familiar with these systems so I may be wrong.

There are probably other reasons for a vertical hold that others can post.

Allen

[Terry Green]

You can cant it how ever you want or not at all and hold it straight up....you can lay it over horizontal...or even reverse cant.

How you cant is not related to form...your form should follow your cant.

I see questions arise about 'where' to cant, 'how much to cant', 'can you cant the same way twice'?  Target archers need to drive tacks and execute the same exact shot over and over....BUT!  Bowhunters, expecially those that spend a lot of time on the ground need to be a bit more versital IMO. They should be able to manufacture and deliever shots from the terrain and environment Mother nature throws at them. I hope to show that you can cant the bow how ever you want to, and that it doesn't have to be the same angle every time.  

Bowhunter's have also been acused of 'dumbing down' the sport of archery by non-huntiung target archers.....but I say with a little effort and imagination, we can jazz it up pretty good.

These are extreme deviations of my normal shot....Its a bear target, but I'm practicing my low and tight hog shot.  The black shafts got lost in the internet conversion....but the target impacts are 2 inches higher than the fletches due to the camera angle.

Dial up.....
   Extreme Cant Angles I  
 
   Extreme Cant Angles II  
 
   Extreme Cant Angles III

 
Broadband.....
   Extreme Cant Angles

  Over the Pond......

[NDTerminator]

I started out shooting barebow vertical, a carry over from when I shoot my compounds with sight/release.

As my form developed, I gradually developed a slight cant, just enough to open up the sight picture.  I found that I shoot all my bows that are set up for barebow better this way.

When I shoot with more than say, 10 degrees of cant, I have to progessively raise my bow hand to put the arrow on target, and have more issues with clothes interference.

I think vertical is easier to be consistent with, but I make the trade off for a better sight picture.

That's just my experience, lots of guys shoot with way more cant than I w/o having any problems...

[cvarcher]

Gnat, Terry showed you just what a good instinctive archer can do with canting the bow whether flat horizontal, slight reverse ,or completely upside down.The arrow shelf and arrow are right at your hand so a 360degree rotation doesnt make much differance. I can do that with my feet horizontal flat as well. If you can shoot better at various distances and positions holding the bow vertical then do it that way.If you cant then cant!

[BLACK WOLF]

Ditto to all the advice above  

Ray  

[Daddy Bear]

Terry,

I'm sure you enjoyed making the videos, but you didn't look happy. Not to say you were snarling or menacing, but you sure looked annoyed. At one point I thought I heard you growl:)

Daddy Bear

[laddy]

I have found to get the same sight picture from bow to bow that my cant will vary depending on the depth of the sight window.  Recurve - my average is more vertical than with my pignuts which have very shallow sight windows which I lay over even more than my Schulz bows.  Shooting down out of a tree stand it is good to be able to cant in a variety of angles.

[cvarcher]

fall of 2007 found me up in a tree stand with a shot at a deer at about 12 yards away.I was about 15 feet up.There was a dogwood canopy of branches from chest height on up blocking the deer and me. I had to crouch low and lay the bow completely flat 180 to get under it.And it worked.

[Whump]

Whump Sez:I     don't care if he did look mad that boy can shoot!   Hunt safe

[Mushroom]

Wow Terry!  That was impressive  

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by Daddy Bear:
Terry,

I'm sure you enjoyed making the videos, but you didn't look happy. Not to say you were snarling or menacing, but you sure looked annoyed. At one point I thought I heard you growl:)

Daddy Bear

That's my 'Game Face'...aint ya heard of that? and I growl back sometimes.     :D  

Just figure out what cant angle is your is comfortable for your 'go to' shot.  Once you get your shot down....then you can go from there and practice from other angles.

[HATCHCHASER]

I'd like to toss a grasshopper in that pond and see what dines on it!
Good shooting

[mike g]

Close rang I can't my longbow, 40 yds out I hold more Vertical...

[BobT]

Wow Terry!
That's some great shooting. I need to try the reverse cant, I had never given it a thought until now.

Thanks!
Bob

[stmpthmpr]

You can shoot standing on your head in a foot of water if you do it again and again and again until it is instinctive.

My advice to anyone who is concerned with form is to stop being concerned with form. And if you cant get your mind off form, Ill bet you are standing at a target.

I think we all question our own form at different times as we progress. Stump shooting (if you got 'em in your neck of the woods) is the the best practice. Shooting under and around brush, through trees, different distances, varied conditions, sitting, kneeling, laying down, is where its at.

For me, it's a lifestyle. Over time, your brain will account for any condition or distance you might want or need to shoot and you will hit what your looking at. Challenging yourself is great too. If you ever get a chance to stalk a caribou on open tundra, you'll want to be able to shoot laying flat on your back!!

Never say "can't"... just cant and shoot!!!

[twotimer]

consistency,consistency,consistency,git-er-done,but git-er-done the same way all the time.      

[Daddy Bear]

Originally posted by Terry Green:
 

Originally posted by Daddy Bear:
Terry,

I'm sure you enjoyed making the videos, but you didn't look happy. Not to say you were snarling or menacing, but you sure looked annoyed. At one point I thought I heard you growl:)

Daddy Bear

That's my 'Game Face'...aint ya heard of that? and I growl back sometimes.      :D  

Just figure out what cant angle is your is comfortable for your 'go to' shot.  Once you get your shot down....then you can go from there and practice from other angles. [/b]

Terry,

This is a short video I just put together for a scout group on using the reverse cant for hunting. No extreme angles, just basic technique to shoot around the weak side of an obstacle. I'm not in your league, but my smile might be a bit nicer:)

 

later,
Daddy Bear

[BLACK WOLF]

LOL...I loved that video, Daddy Bear. Not only did you look to be shooting well...but you also looked to be having a blast...which to me should be one of the main goals.

Were you purposely trying to grin real big to make the video nicer?  

Ray