Cock feather in

[UrsusNil]

I've been shooting my new Bear Super Kodiak, and I have it tuned as well as I can get it. My form isn't perfect, but I usually know when to discount a shot because I messed up. Just for the heck of it I tried positioning the cock feather in and wow, what a difference it made! It seems that the arrows in that position are more forgiving than having the hen feathers to the bow. Try it out, it might be that "tweak" that gets your arrows flying better.

Totally off topic, but I'll throw it in because you guys appreciate this stuff. As I was shooting and learning this big revelation there was a seven point with some does hanging out at the edge of my yard. I walked up to him several times bow in hand, within 10-12 yards, and told him his hormones are going to get him killed. I live in a suburban area, so almost any deer I shoot in my yard will die in someone else's, so shooting him is out of the question. But it was so tempting!

[Pine]

Yeah, cock feather in can change the spine reaction about 5#.
I like cock feather up, but with the arrow on my bow, the odd colored feather still looks to be out but its outside and down.
I understand about shooting in an area like you described, you don't know what direction or how far a deer will go.
Good luck to you for your hunting.

[Captain*Kirk]

It can make a difference, especially if shooting off the shelf. Worth trying if you just can't quite get there.

[UrsusNil]

Yeah, cock feather in can change the spine reaction about 5#.
I like cock feather up, but with the arrow on my bow, the odd colored feather still looks to be out but its outside and down.
I understand about shooting in an area like you described, you don't know what direction or how far a deer will go.
Good luck to you for your hunting.

So shooting cock feather in will reduce my arrow spine by 5#?
My bow is 45#, draw is 26", shooting cedar 50-55#, 160 grain head, cut to 27.5"

[Jim Casto Jr]

So shooting cock feather in will reduce my arrow spine by 5#?
My bow is 45#, draw is 26", shooting cedar 50-55#, 160 grain head, cut to 27.5"

No, it won't change the dynamic or static spine of your arrows.  What it will do is eliminate contact from an untuned arrow and allow it to shoot better.

[McDave]

So shooting cock feather in will reduce my arrow spine by 5#?
My bow is 45#, draw is 26", shooting cedar 50-55#, 160 grain head, cut to 27.5"

No, it won't change the dynamic or static spine of your arrows.  What it will do is eliminate contact from an untuned arrow and allow it to shoot better.

Excellent post, Jim. I always wondered why turning the cock feather in improved arrow flight in some circumstances. It makes sense that those circumstances would be when the arrow is not tuned to the bow.

[Jim Casto Jr]

Dave,

A properly tuned arrow will clear the rest, riser and/or shelf and never touch them…. unless … the shelf is very wide.  Unfortunately, that’s case sometimes and you just can’t get the arrow to clear without some contact. In those cases, you can rotate the fletching until you get clearance.  It doesn’t always have to be cock feather in.

As a side note, it’s been my observation over the many years I’ve been doing this, most “traditional” archers shoot arrows that are waaaaaay too stiff.

You may find this video interesting.  It shows what a properly tuned arrow does as it leaves the bow. 

[Captain*Kirk]

Dave,

A properly tuned arrow will clear the rest, riser and/or shelf and never touch them…. unless … the shelf is very wide.  Unfortunately, that’s case sometimes and you just can’t get the arrow to clear without some contact. In those cases, you can rotate the fletching until you get clearance.  It doesn’t always have to be cock feather in.

As a side note, it’s been my observation over the many years I’ve been doing this, most “traditional” archers shoot arrows that are waaaaaay too stiff.

You may find this video interesting.  It shows what a properly tuned arrow does as it leaves the bow. 

Jim,
It's a bit more difficult to adjust feather clearance with cedar shafts and glue-on nocks. Any recommendations for this situation?

[Jim Casto Jr]

Well... maybe. 

For my hunting arrows, I prefer them to be a little stiff.  Because of that, years ago, when I shot cedar's I'd get some contact issues at times.  I'd use electrical tape on a few nocks on a few arrows and fletched them.  I could shoot a few times and rotate the nock if need be until I found the sweet-spot.  Once I did that, I'd go ahead and fletch the rest of them accordingly.

[the rifleman]

Jim is correct.  Feather contact can occur when the arrow is too stiff to flex around the riser or the shelf is too wide.  I will add that too high of a feather profile can also cause this-- i found this out when burning higher profile feathers.  Bareshaft- perfect-- fletched w too high feathers looked stiff.  Reducing feather height or orienting to cock feather in solved the problem.

[Captain*Kirk]

Well... maybe. 

For my hunting arrows, I prefer them to be a little stiff.  Because of that, years ago, when I shot cedar's I'd get some contact issues at times.  I'd use electrical tape on a few nocks on a few arrows and fletched them.  I could shoot a few times and rotate the nock if need be until I found the sweet-spot.  Once I did that, I'd go ahead and fletch the rest of them accordingly.

That helps...thanks! Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.

[slowbowjoe]

"Any recommendations for this situation?"

Just nock the arrow with the cock feather in. Done.

[UrsusNil]

Interesting. Jim, you mentioned that most shooters use arrows that are underspined. Is it more related to using a bow that is not center cut? I would think a center cut bow would allow a wide range of arrow spines.

Just for kicks, I entered the arrows that seem to fly best out of that bow into the 3R spine calculator, and they came out right on the money. Maybe the fletching height is having an impact on it, or I don't have the fine tuning down.

As tempting as it is, I'm not going to mess with tuning until the end of hunting season. My broadheads are flying well enough right now. But I'll have them shooting even better before Denton Hill!

[Jim Casto Jr]

Interesting. Jim, you mentioned that most shooters use arrows that are underspined....

No.  What I said was the opposite. "As a side note, it’s been my observation over the many years I’ve been doing this, most “traditional” archers shoot arrows that are waaaaaay too stiff." 

It's been my observation that most spine charts suggest arrows that are waaaaay too stiff also. 

Yes, a bow that is cut past center will give you much more flexibility.