i was shoot ing the other day and thought heck i wonder what would happen if i shot this way. so i did and could tell no difference. then i thought well with a 4 fletch arrow you can nock either way and it doesn't matter. so here was my little test i had 5 arrows in the quiver (all carbon GT 35/55 blems) i would take an arrow nock it with out looking at the cock feather and shoot the group was my normal group no bigger no smaller, then i would shoot one arrow cock feather in and one out till i shot all 5 arrows still no difference in the group size. what im getting at is does it really matter which way you shoot them?


thanks
john

I shoot cock feather in.  I think if the arrow's spined right, it clears no problem.  More important to me is making sure I have clearance where the feathers hit the shelf.  If a feather is contacting against the shelf, I get a bad bounce or "kick" off the shelf.

I shoot three of the came color feather, and I don't even think about cock/hen...whatever. Unless I'm shooting vanes (which I don't do) I don't see a difference in flight characteristics.

To my way of thinking, especially in the hunting situation, I don't even want to think about cock feather in or out. Put the arrow on the string and let 'er go. Keep it simple.

My 2 cents.
J

Most often it does not matter a lick. But now and then a bow and arrow combination has too much contact between the fletching and riser of the bow. This results from the shaft flexing a bit too much on its way past the riser of the bow. If it is a bad problem you need to retune your tackle and maybe get a stronger spined shaft or use a lignter head. If it is not too bad you may be able turn the cock feather around or twist the nock to a new position and get better clearance.

The next time you buy shafts, though, buy stiffer ones.

QuoteOriginally posted by John T. Cooper:
 what im getting at is does it really matter which way you shoot them?


thanks
john

If you are using feathers, and not vanes, it makes no difference. Feathers are extremely forgiving and "spring" back into shape as very few vanes will. Unless the arrow itself is slapping against the riser or something equally bad.... That's my three cent's worth.

jarrod
thats what i was trying to come up with just grab an arrow and shoot. no thinking about right or wrong .....keeping it simple

john

i dont shoot as well with the cock feather in because i use the cock feather as an anchor point at the tip of my nose i dont seem to get the same consistancy in my shoting without the cock feather out due to this.
d

John, I like to watch my arrow fly and I find it's easier to see uniform feathers--the fact that they are bright yellow doesn't hurt either    :cool:

Try it out shoot dozens of arrows and see what happens. It might make a difference, but one might need to be a shooting machine to see the difference.

Good luck with it.
J

I tried this very thing last week while I was shooting. I shoot a longbow with a very narrow shelf and thought that maybe shooting cock feather in would make a diffference in the arrows flight.
After shooting a few groups both ways I found that the cock feather in had a tighter group. Might just be my imagination but I was going to start a thread just like this to get everyones opinion, when I came across this one.  

After reading this post yesterday I got home and tried a few cock feather in and didn't see a bit of difference.  This was from a Treadway long bow.  I was shooting 8 arrow strings with 4 each way and they all grouped together.

2-Big and madness522, I'm glad to hear it worked for you guys. That's cool.
J

same here2-Big and madness522, I'm glad to hear it worked for you guys. That's cool.  
J

same here

john

Never noticed a difference in it,,I shoot it out but if its in I don't see a difference.

Hee hee I just got back from a shoot this morning and I was trying another guys bow with my arrows.  His bow was a good bit lighter than mine and I was shooting cock vane in and there WAS a difference.  Cock vane out made no difference the arrows hit where I wanted them to but the cock vane in they all shot left of where I wanted them to.

I think the moral to the story is if your arrows are spined perfectly or very close it doesn't make a difference.  Else it could indicate a spine issue.

I think vanes will make a big difference in the shot. I shoot feathers,,

Oh GREAT! One more thing to try so I can mess myself up even more!  Just kidding.

I try mosdt of what I read about and try to keep the things that work.  If this works, I'll use it.  In fact if it works real well, I'll claim I invented it. (I would add a big smiley emoticon but I'm not smart enough to figure out how)