Cock feather in/out/up/down/90* etc. What?

[Junkers88]

Ok it took me a little while to actually find out what the purpose of the cock is, now I know it's an "index" feather intended to quickly show if you have your arrow properly nocked on the string. Well that sounds great but I'm reading all kinds of things of folks shooting cock feather out, straight up (I actually do this), in towards the shelf, canted so it slides between the strike plate and hair rest, etc... Now I'm speaking specifically traditional shooting off the shelf here. No elevated or falling rests.

So I shoot index feather up on a three fletched arrow because then I only have one feather contacting the shelf upon release (it's the one at my 4 o'clock and it just slides between the rest and plate).

I'm just bored a little and curious what configuration you folks shoot and why.


Richard.

[SwampRabbit]

That first sentence made me chuckle a little...

I shoot 3 feathers with the index out. At the end of the day, what you are primarily tuning for is quill contact and not so much feather contact. In works if your spine is such that the arrow is already bent out from the riser as that tail end passes through.

[Bisch]

I fletch mine with the cock feather out, and the lower hen feather lined up in the corner of my shelf/sideplate. I shoot 2-blade broadheads, and like them oriented horizontal on the end of my arrow when at full draw. When one does not line just right, I just turn the nock until one of the other two feathers lines up in the corner, and almost always one of the 3 positions will make my broadhead line up close enough. Since my arrows are tuned well, it does not matter to me which feather is in the corner, as long as one of them is.

Since I now shoot the FMJ shafts that come with the little sanding stone for tuning, I usually have all of them set up correctly with the cock feather out and lower hen in the corner. When I shot the GT shafts, there was usually different configurations in my quiver. When I nocked an arrow, i would just look at the broadhead instead of the cock feather to make sure I had it right.

Bisch

[jerp]

I shoot with the cock feather out. That puts the inside hen feather in the crease between riser and shelf which may not matter, but more importantly it puts the cock feather in position to touch the tip of my nose at full draw which is one of my anchor points.

[duck'n]

Cock feather in/out/up/down/90* etc. What?

You just started shooting cock feather in for no real reason...just because. I have always shot cock feather out but honestly I don't see any difference in consistency or arrow flight. Maybe I am not a good enough shot to see the difference!!!

[Caddo]

Cock feather out, I use it for alignment by touching my nose to it.

LD

[El Paisano]

With RW feathers, and 3 fletch, I use cock feather IN.
With LW feathers, 3 fletch, cock feather OUT.
I also fletch some with 4 fletch 60-120 and it doesn't matter.
All that said, I use either Mercury nocks or Bohning Classics with index and use that by feel rather than look at the arrows. I handle my arrows by the nocks and glue the nocks on according to the feather arrangement.

[arrowsmack324]

With RW feathers, and 3 fletch, I use cock feather IN.
With LW feathers, 3 fletch, cock feather OUT.
I also fletch some with 4 fletch 60-120 and it doesn't matter.
All that said, I use either Mercury nocks or Bohning Classics with index and use that by feel rather than look at the arrows. I handle my arrows by the nocks and glue the nocks on according to the feather arrangement.

This, I index of my nock also. It saves money not having to buy barred feathers.

[Junkers88]

You just started shooting cock feather in for no real reason...just because.

If that was directed at me then no, you are incorrect.


Richard.

[duck'n]

If that was directed at me then no, you are incorrect.





Richard.

No I apologize...I didn't read my post before posting I meant, I just started shooting cock feather in. Sorry about that!

[Randy Madden]

Cock feather in. Just works better for me.

[boleman154]

Cock feather in. Just works better for me.

It worked for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Phillip Fields]

Cock feather out for me. I've tried cock feather in, but get better flight cock feather out.

[RickBarbee]

I shoot cock fletch in.

I my opinion, it is the orientation that gives the best fletching clearance at pass.

I use it for both vanes, and feathers.

Not only does it assist me in shooting vanes from the shelf, but when using feathers I never get any wear from the shelf on them, which means the aren't making contact at all.

Rick

[Junkers88]

No I apologize...I didn't read my post before posting I meant, I just started shooting cock feather in. Sorry about that!

Haha! No worries brother. Text is in itself a one dimensional thing and it's hard to read any emotion or inflection in it. My apologies if I came off as an @$$ there.

Richard.