Cock feather-in??

[Holmes]

Greetings,

I'm shooting a Martin Hunter off the shelf with sealskin, leather sideplate, and my arrows are fletched with 4" parabolic feathers.

I was reading the tips on Kelly's Arrows web site and was interested in his premise that nocking your arrows cock feather-in (three fletch), gave better flight as there was no contact with the shelf. This also allows for a lower nocking point.

I haven't yet experimented with this theory but was interested in your thoughts or experience on this topic.

Thank you.

-Holmes

[swampy]

I,ve shot and still shoot cock in(it,s still cold here ya know LOL)

On arrows that are tuned to the bow it doesn,t really matter but I,ve found some that were borderline and they would not shoot well unless I shot them cock in.(I,ve got some wood arrows that are off a bit I use for small game)

I,ve also shot a 4" easton vane off the shelf cock in with a BH up front and it shot well out to 20 yrds.

I,d say try it for yourself both ways and see what works for you.I get guys "correcting" me often about shootin that way but hey it works for me so I don,t care LOL

Good luck! Shoot straight and have FUN!!

[Cato]

Here is how Ken Beck at Black Widow explained it to me. For years, they recommended setting up a trough between the rug rest and the plate for the 4:30 feather to run through. But what they eventually found out through high speed photography was that for a fingers shooter, the combination of the arrow rollinng off the string upon release and the paradox caused the arrow to move slightly away from the shelf upon release. What was happening was that the 4:30 feather was then dragging over or along the outside edge of the shelf material, and never came close to running through the valley. So, Black Widow began to make their shelf more narrow, and also began to experiment with turning in a feather to 3:30 or even 3:00. By doing so, when shot, that feather traveled parallel to the shelf material and had less chance of dragging over it, ergo better clearance.

I'm pretty sure they were not the first to understand this, it just took them a while.

Again, this is my laymens understanding.

[Holmes]

Ya know, Swampy, I was just takin' a slug 'o Joe when I started readin' yer reply.... and damn near blew coffee out my nose :o

Seriously, I think I'll stick to my normal routine right now because this bow is new to me and I'm tryin' to see if she likes 1916s or 2016s better. The less new variables introduced at this time the better.

Once I get things flyin' nice I'm going to play with the cock feather-in/cock feather-out.

Cato, thanks for the comments. I've read a bit about what you describe but being new, much of it was over my head. Your response clarifies things a bit for me.

As my shooting improves I may have to try some of those high zoot tuneable nocks.... they're traditional, right? :)

Thanks guys.

-Holmes

[Bob Gordon]

Holmes...Sprinkle some baby powder on your shelf and the lower part of the sight window, then you can see where the fletch is striking the bow. redue after each shot. Turn your nocks so you get the least streaks in the powder and then you will have the best clearance for your feathers. Cock feather in will give you a pretty hard hit on the edge of the sight window as paradox isn't eneugh with proper spined shafts to clear it very well. The baby powder smell will bring back a few memories of diaper changing days!!...LOL....warf

[Holmes]

Greetings Warf,

I've read of that technique and I believe its time for me to try it.

I'm using Easton aluminums with tapered ends. Is there a method where one can glue the nocks on to test shoot and then rotate them a bit? Perhaps use hot melt glue instead of the more aggressive adhesives?

Baby powder is at the ready!

-Holmes

[Bob Gordon]

Holmes...Use a drop or two of contact cement, then you can move the nock around when your shooting without having to head for the house each time you want to change it. Don't use very much glue....warf

[Thumper]

Just for testing I stick/screw them on in place without glue, works great for several shots, enough to find proper placement.

[jgbennett6]

for one of ym bows i find it shoots best with the cock arrow in at about 2:00 not sure why but i shoots smooth that way, just a matter of trial and error.

[DAS]

Bob, that's a great idea about the powder. I've got a 5 lb tub of unscented talc so I can avoid that baby butt thing!
I found that with an elevated rest, I do pretty well with the cock feather either straight up or straight down. It doesn't seem to matter, so I don't have to worry about orientation, just nock and shoot.

[Cato]

Yeah only old guys know about that baby powder trick. I think Bob has lapped some of us. :)

[pondscum2]

last batch of woodies i whipped up, 4 of them would only fly fletched & turned cock in. dunno why, but...????? :sbrug: ps2

[steve morley]

Italian field rules state you must have cock feather in.

[swampy]

LOL Steve thats kinda funny.Not sure why that would be a rule.

Ps2,I,ve got soem woods that are the same way.Cock out flies like poop cock in flies like a dart ....go figure.

It really shouldn,t matter if the arrow is flexin around the riser but hey what do I know LOL