Who shoots with a cant, and who shoots with bow vertical? I have been trying both, and sometimes I think I am more accurate with bow vertical. Which way do you shoot and why? Is there a situation where one is preferred?

You should be able to do both as the conditions dictate. Tune the bow with it held vertically, then shoot it any way you want to.

I prefer to shoot with a vertical bow every time I can. When I can't, overhanging branches etc., I shoot with a canted bow.

That's the joy of stick bows,you can shoot them anyway you want. Cant do that with cp's. JF

I shoot longbow canted. It brings the arrow more under my dominant eye. I can shoot vertical or even reverse cant. You should shoot whatever way works best for you.

Ran -

A new or learning shooter should always use a vertical bow. It's easier to reproduce and therefore makes shoulder geometry more stable.

After that, it becomes a personal call. The only real issue is that, you really have to get the shoulder geometry down first. Otherwise, too severe a cant or just doing it "wrong" can really mess things up.

Personally (which really has no bearing on you...), I find canting a trad bow more comfortable, but shoot better with a more vertical bow (usually). Even when I used to hunt (from the ground) I've never been big into letting the situation dictate the shot.

Viper out.

Canted. How much? Much of the time I point my bow hand index finger at the target. Why does this pertain to bow cant? Point your bow hand index finger at the target. Insert the bow. In my hand that is a natural cant of about forty five degrees. Nice and comfortable.

Who cant decide....sorry.....it was coming......I seem to prefer vertical or canted about 5 degrees

I cant mine just a little to give me a better sight picture

I normally cant the bow a small amount because it feels more natural, and shot that way until I had my form down pretty good. Then in trying to be as versatile a hunter as possible and practicing all possible scenerios, I learned to shoot with all degrees of cant up to horizontal, and have used that practice to kill deer on occasion where there was no WAY to hold the bow anywhere near vertical.

Since this topic has never been covered before on this site, I am one who cants slightly. Whatever works best for you.

As a gap shooter, when I try to keep the bow vertical, my accuracy deteriorates. I've found that a slight cant positions the nock end of the arrow more in line, under my dominant eye, thus, I'm a good deal more accurate.

I asked Dale Dye this very question a few years ago and he replied " You don't cant a gun when you shoot it, why would you cant a bow" I thought it made sense.

I don't have near the experience that some of the archers here. but, I always canted the bow with not the greatest repeated accuracy at longer ranges, holding the bow vertical sure made a difference for me. A re-curve to me seems to work better vertical, a long bow seems to work vertical and slightly canted. I don't know what the difference is, but I believe Howard Hill said when asked why he shoots long bows, that he wasn't good enough to shoot a re-curve. Everyone here has a good reason for why they hold the bow that way. Mr. Viper has the reason why you should hold it a certain way...wing

I find that canting the bow comes from bending from the stomach. Therefore the alignment mentioned by Viper is essentially the same vertical or canted. Personally the farther away I am the less I cant.

stykman, it is nearly impossible to find a topic that hasn't been covered (some to death) on this site over the past 20 years. I brought one thread on canting the bow back up for folks to see.

Little bit of cant

I'm also a gap shooter and like the more open sight picture a slightly canted bow gives me. I also find it just feels like a more natural way to hold the bow.

I started gap shooting and find I need to cant 10 or 15 degrees otherwise I hit left of center shooting longbow. Could be poor choice of arrow spine. Rich

I use a very slight cant. Jawge

I cant my bows a little, just feels more natural to me.

blue -

"I asked Dale Dye this very question a few years ago and he replied " You don't cant a gun when you shoot it, why would you cant a bow" I thought it made sense."

That's not exactly true. Some of the best competitive riflemen do cant the weapon in some, if not all positions. At least one even has his sights offset to compensate. But the reasons are different than with a bow. I use a positive cant in sitting rapid fire (anatomy) and a reverse cant in offhand (stability).

Viper out.

Don't do it...keep that bow vertical if possible and the rest will follow if the need arises in a hunting situation

I'm a canter, normally just feels right. Although I practice vertical and parallel with the ground, for when you caught off guard.

I've canted from the beginning it just feels right.

Slight cant here.

I'm with Viper on learning. Alignment is important and once you have that down spine should not enter into the equation whether canted or vertical.

I'm pushing one hundred bow kills and around 2/3's of the 29 and have yet to change bow position for a kill. In fact, shooting with a cant is a deterrent when sitting in a tree stand and having to shoot towards the tree.

With that said, I shoot with a small cant dictated by the small window of my longbow.

Bowmania

Straight up. It's how I started and never saw any need to change. I've canted a few times and never seem to do any better and maybe not as good so I just keep her straight up. Viper was kind enough to help me when I was floundering and he said straight up was best so I just listened. Thanks Viper.

everything is in line when you cant the bow hand wrist arm shoulder ,release

I subconsciously cant more the closer the target is. I don't know how common it is but I realized I do this. Long flight shots are near vertical.

What does it matter are you going to stop shooting if you cant your bow or vise versa probably not. Most guy that shoot competition shoot a vertical bow not everyone but alot. I cant slightly or I go vertical sometimes I catch myself when I get lazy meaning I personally don't want to cant the bow when I'm target or 3d shooting now if I'm hunting that's a different story. I can tell you for me if I have a form issue I go to a vertical bow.

Several years ago dedicated myself to John Schulzs methodology entirely including draw from ground up as well as cant about 45 degrees. Use my bow hand knuckles for 2nd sight aiming. The cant cut my draw from 31+" to between 29-30". Accuracy & speed improved quite a bit especially on moving targets. Definitely NOT at first however.

Vertical is not real good for aquiring good target picture in hunting situations.It just does not seem practicle.Try drawing vertical on the ground and see how your prey will react .The conveniance of being able to shoot from multiple positions can make the difference in getting a good killing shot away or not. Watch natives who shoot to put food in their bellies they all seem to be canting.Must be a good way.Vertical for target work is ok and more desireable especially when sights are concerned but I will never use hunting unless the topography dictates what position I need to shoot from.Just do what you need to get the job done.vert or not it don't matter.Just have fun. OSR

Just a little cant for me, unless I'm kneeling, then a little more. I've noticed the last few years, as my shoulders are going south, I cant a little more. And lean into the shot a little more. Hard times getting old.

I'll can't the bow if needed. If nothing is in the way I shoot vertical.

Yes

I just like the thread title as I am currently teaching Hamlet and we just read the "To be or not to be ..." speech the other day. As to shooting, I cant with most of my bows. The only exception would be a Genesis when I am instructing.

This topic sort makes me self conscious about canting. Almost upright for me for old recurves. More cant sometimes for very short targets.

I find that shooting vertically gives me much more consistent results and much better arrow flight. I think a lot has to do with the string hand angle and a smoother release. I can really stack them together shooting vertically. BUT, it really feels good to shoot with a cant when I get good extension and smooth release. I think bending at the waist is the key so that the upper geometry of both arms and shoulders stay the same, but that is hard to do for me. Otherwise two things happen. One is that your string hand and arm remain in the vertical when the bow is canted, making you torque the strings, resulting in poor release and arrow flight. The other is that your draw length will get shorter, making your arrows effectively stiffer than when vertical, resulting in a different point of impact and also poor arrow flight. I have been working a lot of form lately and checking its effect on draw length and release. I find that it can make as much as 1" difference on my draw....so still don't know where I will end up.

I think you can used to a vertical bow with a little practice as well. I never canted a bow until the late 1980's, I always shot a vertical bow and never found an issue in the woods. It's how I learned, and any learned trait will become a natural action if it's comfortable. Now, with that stated, I find myself liking a little bit of cant to the bow for better vision, and if need be I can shoot it near horizontal.

In over fifty years of hunting I never found a need to shoot a bow horizontal anyway. And I have shot moving game while using the vertical hold...my first buck comes to mind. I think vision is the biggest reason most of us tend to cant the bow, and maybe it's more comfortable to some as well.

Back when I was hunting from tree stands I found that my bow cant limited my range of motion. To the left, the bottom limb tip contacted the seat or tree, to the right, the upper tip hit the tree.

I'm no where near being a vertical bow shooter, especially since I started wearing glasses and cant even more. It just doesn't work for me as it blocks my vision too much. I practiced the position all the time but I never got comfortable to the point where I would actually shoot at a deer that way. Shooting vertically would be a huge advantage from a tree stand.

I dealt with the limitation with stand placement and just accepting some areas around my stand were no shot zones.

"Vertical is not real good for aquiring good target picture in hunting situations.It just does not seem practicle."

Shhhhhh...don't tell that to all the dead animals in my freezer. :)

My recurve is vertical.....my longbow is slightly canted....my selfbow is canted a lot more (when I remember), because my arrow flies way left for some reason with the selfbow. Marsha

I,ve always always shot a bow canted. Years ago I shot on the U.S. Army precision pistol team, which is a one handed style and was taught by some of the best shooters in the world that the larger muscles in a mans forearms makes the hand naturally cant. Most of the shooters on the team shot canted, finding that forcing the hand vertically caused unwanted tension. Women with lesser muscle mass find it easier to shoot a handgun vertical. If you hold your arm up and look how you hand positions natural it proves the point.

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