Canting the bow, canting head, how do you do?

[riivioristo]

Hi!

If I have understood right one should cant his head the same amont as he is canting his bow when shooting instinctively ? Now I just happened NOT to cant my head while practising yesterday and by golly did my groups thighten ! Somehow my sight picture feels better (I try to shoot just picking a spot, so sight picture is wrong word here?) So how do you shoot - canting your head to same angle as bow/string or not?

[Mark C.]

I don't cant my head as far as I cant my bow. If I do.... I feel some strain on the back of my neck.

IMHO...i think the most important thing for me, is keeping the arrow directly under my eye.

[Eugene Slagle]

I agree with Mark C. in that it is more important to have the arrow under the eye.

I too keep my head relatively straight compared to the ammount of cant I have with my bow.

[GreyGoose]

I've just returned to traditional shooting after a break of 35 years.  Canting has been a bear for me the past couple of months, and I've minimized it to the extent needed to keep an arrow on the shelf. I would be more comfortable canting more, but when I do, I shoot wide to the left (while canting right).  My dumb question is, will canting my head right with the bow fix that?  I must have known something instinctively about this when I was a kid (I could run, then, too, but that's another story), but time and shooting a compound straight up have erased that from my muscular memory.

[BowsanAiros]

Shooting up straight your neck/head should be in alignment with your body. There should be no stain,
you shouldn't twist your neck in any way .It should feel comfortable.
That being said, depending on how much you cant, your neck/head shouldn't change
positions either, it should be the same as standing up straight. You'll end up straining the cords of your
neck or worse later on.
When you cant, balance really comes into play. Placing your feet in a different position will get the
balance you need. And back in alignment with the target.
 
But then again do what helps you be consistent and accurate.

[McDave]

GreyGoose, all other things being equal, for a RH shooter, your shots should generally move to the right when you cant the bow to the right.  Since your shots are moving to the left when you cant right, it means you're changing something in your form when you cant the bow.  The most likely thing is that you're continuing to hold your string hand in a vertical position as you cant the bow, thereby putting torque on the string, which will result in a left miss.  The back of your string hand should always be parallel with the string.  Or, you could be torqueing the bow handle with your bow hand, but I think this is less likely than torqueing the string.

[alaninoz]

I keep both my bow and my head pretty much upright. If I start canting the string tends to rip my nose off.

[riivioristo]

:D  Alan, I know what you are talking about - maybe there should be a warning sign attached to bows - shooting with this device can cause immediate pain to your nose   :D  

Ihave pretty much covered my issues with my bowhand, but the string hand end seems to be more difficult. Eugene mentioned to keep your arrow under your eye - raised a tought if I should move my anchor a bit from corner of my mouth to cheekbone..hmmm

Thanks for your replyes , need to grab my bow and go testing right now - wonderful thing this shooting with traditional bow, that it seems to be so cool thing to do even if you are struggling a bit...

[BuckyT]

Originally posted by Eugene Slagle:
I agree with Mark C. in that it is more important to have the arrow under the eye.

I too keep my head relatively straight compared to the ammount of cant I have with my bow.

Same here.

[macksdad]

I try to cant my head close to the same angle as my bow. However My bow is probably canted a little farther than my head. If I don't cant my head my accuracy is definitly effected.

[GreyGoose]

Thanks for all of the replies - taken together, I've got a better idea of why what's working pretty well for me(shooting straight up) is working, and why canting is not.  McDave, I'm pretty sure you're right about my string hand not being properly aligned when I cant.  I think there's something else going on with my left, hand, too, trying to compensate for the rotation of the tip of the arrow to the right as the bow is canted. I suspect if I want to address that, it's probably better to do so after I'm sure I've got the string hand doing right.  Finally, to Bows, I agree, balance is everything - I start with my feet, cuz my old man taught me that you can't build a good house on a poor foundation.

[easyup]

Grey,
Check out this from Terry, it's a tutorial on cant.
 http://www.tradgang.com/videos/tg/terry-2.wmv
I would like to get to anywhere close to this level of proficiency as I have had less than ideal positions with less than ideal outcomes in heavy brush.

[b44mag]

all i have to type is
TERRY YOUR A BAD MICKY FICKY FOSHO
           
i hope some day i can shoot half as good as that

[cjgregory]

I watched that video.  Terri's head was the same in relationship to his bow every time.

[cjgregory]