How important is it to keep your bow level when shooting? The answer is that it is very important if you care about the arrow hitting where the pin is. These days most sights come with the option of a level that can prove to be a valuable tool; there are also a few tricks to help draw and keep a bow level.
Of course not all cant is bad, that is if you are shooting without a sight. Many traditional shooters and even those shooting a compound without a sight find that a little or even a lot of cant is a more natural way to shoot when aiming instinctively. When I shoot a recurve I tend to have my bow canted 35-40 degrees and it feels perfectly natural.
What causes a bow to be off of level? There are several causes: some people naturally hold at and angle (cant), shooting on a slope tends to cause the shooter to lean with the hill, medium to strong winds, bows that are not balanced properly, etc. The key is to know when there is a chance of being off center (which is basically always, though the above listed situations magnify it) and how to prevent and correct lean.
I took the Destroyer 350 out into the field to find out just exactly how much of a cant produced noticeable results in the accuracy of my arrows. I purposefully canted my bow varying degrees and shot from several distances to see where my arrows hit compared to the aiming spot. At 20 yards with a cant of up to 3 degrees or so there wasn’t much difference in impact, but when the cant hit 5 degrees the arrows were noticeably off of center, though mostly in-line vertically. Moving further back increased the amount of inaccuracy significantly, even when the bow was tilted less.
The following image shows the typical results of an approximately 3 degree cant at 40 yards:
Three and a half inches to the left and an overall lower grouping vertically is a fairly significant amount. I shot groups similar to this very consistently several times before I was satisfied with the results. In a 3D shoot where every line counts, this is certainly a large enough distance to affect a final score. When hunting in the field this could also be the difference between a kill shot and a very long trailing job that may end up in a lost deer.
The best way to prevent lean/tilt/cant is to use a level and to use it on every single shot. Even when it feels that you may be on level ground, there may be a slight slope and that is all it takes to mess with your center of gravity and cause the bow to be off of center. When shooting on steep hillsides many shooters find that purposefully leaning into the hill while pulling the bow back will help the body and bow come to center much easier. Another method is to hold the bow up, level it before drawing and attempt to keep it level through the draw. I personally find that trying to level my bow at full draw is much more difficult than using one of the aforementioned techniques to get the bow to level at the draw.
Whatever the case or cause, having a bow that is off of level will cause some inaccuracy. How much is determined by the severity of the cant and the distance to the target. Take steps to prevent any lean and learn to keep that bow level!
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting how much difference that can make! I’ll be paying more attention to my level in the future.
There have been times when I swore I was level, even though the site level indicated otherwise…the sight level can’t be wrong, HA! Good article and great info to read before fall hunting!
Gravity is a funny thing and it can really mess with you! There are times I look at my level and think “no way that’s right!” but the bubble does not lie. Thanks for the input.
Nice test, I should try this myself. Your worst arrow is 3.5 inches to the left, but the average looks less than 3 inches off. I made a simple model that predicts 1.9 inches, but that depends on bow speed and the exact cant. Also the photo of the sight shows a right cant, but I believe you used a left cant. What’s your bow speed and which way was the bow canted?
My model supports your statement that distance is important. Should we go so far as to say that at 20 yards the archer’s focus should be almost entirely on aiming but at long distances part of that focus should be on making sure the bow remains completely level through the shot? That would mean using the level at full draw. At least the long-distance pins are close to the level.
The actual shooting was done with a left cant. This particular shooting was done with an arrow speed of roughly 309 fps. I 100% believe that you should use the level on all shots. Once you get used to using the level it becomes more of a subconscious task and happens very quickly, allowing plenty of attention to be paid to aiming. I’ve put more emphasis on using a level on all my setups, regardless of shooting conditions or types. Even when shooting spots, it is just as critical at 18 meters as at 90 meters because any tiny bit off of center can cost you points!
I know this is being picky, but it just is one of my pet peves. Level is a horizontal measurement and plumb is a verticle measurement. You keep referring to leveling the bow. I assume you mean to plumb the riser not level the window. A level is also a tool. I am sure all of this is well know by you and others, but we ought to keep our termonology correct. It gets kind of confusing reading at times when you mean something other that what you say. Just a FYI.
Good article however. I’ve been a strong advocatge of using a bubble on a sight for a long time. Another trick when standing on a hillside is to look at the surrounding trees. Particularly pines and aspen. They will grow in a verticle position most of the time and you can align the bow with the trees and be assured you are pretty well plumb.
Kevin, perhaps I should state “keep the level level!” There, that would clear things up! Point well taken. Your pointer on trees is excellent as well, just be wary of areas of high winds that can affect the straightness of the trees!
How can you be perfectly certain that the bow sight level is actually “level.” Most are glued in place with a spot of hot melt or epoxy, not exactly precise measurements! Also a little extra film dip on the riser or paint on the sight mount and you’re off a few degrees again.
There are a few ways to do it, and I’ll be covering them in detail in a future article. However, for a quick idea, my favorite method is to take a level that is long enough and zip tie it to the outside of my limbs. Then I can put the bow in a vise and adjust it until the level is centered properly. Once this is done, you can check the sight level and see if it matches. Sometimes, as you noted, the problem is that the level was glued in properly and other times it’s because the sight isn’t mounted perfectly. Many sights have adjustments to remedy the issue.
can anyone give me a tip on how to keep my peep sight from twisting. It is the round type without the ability to put a rubber strip on it.
Dave,
I need a little more information before handing out advice. Is the peep simply out of position, but stays there consistently? Or is the peep continuously changing positions? If it is changing constantly, most likely the cause is string stretch. Many manufacturer’s strings and cheaper after market strings are not pre-stretched and will continue to stretch for quite a long time, thus causing the peep to rotate. If the peep is out of position, but not moving, it’s a somewhat simple fix to align it properly through minor string twisting or swapping a few string strands from one side of the peep to the other. This does however require a bow press.