Cock Feather In

[treenate]

I read this on page 104 of the June/July "Traditional Bowhunter" magazine.  The article is by  Dennis Kamstra.  There is a brief mention of turning the cock feather in to help accuracy.  I tried it tonight and was able to shrink my groups by about 100%.  I went from 8" groups at 20 yards to 4" groups.  The arrows fly much straighter and truer than ever before.  I wonder if the feather acts like a primitive plunger?  Anyway it sure irons out any problems I have with my release.  It might be worth a try if anyone out there is having a hard time getting an arrow to straighten out in it's flight.       The arrows seem quieter as well.

[treenate]

Here is an interesting website that relates.
 http://www.arrowsbykelly.com/Other_Tips.html

[Daddy Bear]

I've shot cock feather-in since being a kid and taught to do so by my Grandfather. I'm sure he got it from someone like Kelly. I shoot a longbow off the shelf and shooting cock-in does allows me to reduce my nock height and it does give me better clearance.

Just as a side note on safety. Anyone shooting POC shafts should be correctly orienting the grain runout (rift) when installing the nock and fletching. This runout will be oriented for either cock-in or cock-out. You cannot flip the arrows back and forth once oriented as the intent is for the sharp leading edge of a break to go away from your bow hand. If you flip it over upside down, the sharp leading edge of a break will drive through your hand. Breaks are rare but they do happen. I've had two in the last 34years both of which I was saved by proper grain orientation.

Daddy Bear

[2-BIG]

My wife and I just both started shooting with the cock feather in and our broadhead accuracy and arrow flight really tightened up.
Now I'm a little worried though cause we both shoot POC shafts and I really don't need to shoot myself in the hand.

[timthefuelman]

I was told that this would screw everything up. Now you made me try it and all is well. I'll try it again tomorrow when I have more time. You have me wondering.....

[pobs]

never heard this before but I suppose it;s worth a try

[Papa Bull]

Cock feather in or cock feather out doesn't matter all that much except that cock feather in usually results in the cleanest release from the shelf and the least fletching contact when shooting off the shelf.  The feather does NOT act like a plunger because the arrow doesn't come off the bow straight like we imagine it does.  The cock feather is actually no where near the shelf as it clears if it's tuned properly.   Here is a video link showing an arrow releasing in slow motion.  If you've never seen this before, it should be pretty educational because it shows us what really happens when we release the arrow.  It's too fast for the naked eye to capture it, but this tells us the rest of the story.

  http://www.wernerbeiter.com/videos/Demo_4.wmv  

Here are the rest of the Beiter Videos:

  http://www.wernerbeiter.com/en/informations/videoclips/the_way_to_the_center.php

I started shooting cock in some time ago.  I have much less wear (virtually none) on the feathers.

[Shakes.602]

That sounds Weird, "No Fletching Wear"