whats the reason why some ppl shoot cock feather in? is there any advantages/ disadvantages?
The advantage is you don't have two feathers brushing against your riser (at opposing angles at that!) and instead only have one at 90 degrees which should, in a perfect world, impart the same amount of side force shot after shot. Disadvantage is that the cock feather tends to get pretty frazzled early on in the game.
Some competitive shooters swear by the "cock feather 3 o'clock position". All I can say is try it and see if it works for you.
Adding up all the factors involved in tuning an arrow, spine, center shot, nock height, brace height, type of rest and side plate material, etc., for some folks they get cleaner arrow clearance with the cock feather in. Your mileage may vary.
Clearance issues. My bob lee like the arrow cock feather in. That's just the way it shoots. No standard for any set way to nock an arrow. Have to do what the bow likes
It will help if the spine weight is weak .
Can correct up to 10# .
I shoot cock feather in and out. Advantage is no need to check my arrow when I nock, disadvantage, none I've seen so far.
I find cock feather in provides better clearance, especially with a small, narrow shelf. Cock feather up works well also.
Another reason why is because if you shoot cock feather in you will have one feather raised up on the other side of the shaft at about 45 degrees from being straight on top of the shaft.
Since some guys use the feather as a reference point they might prefer to have that specific feather higher up instead of 45 degrees lower where it would be if you shot cock feather out.
That being said I personally prefer cock feather out for the reference point and because it puts less wear and tear on your feathers.
John Schulz suggested the nocking point should be 1/16" above level for his bows. If you have a hen feather going straight down, it is possible that there would be a hop created by the hen feather riding hard on the shelf when the nocking point is as low as possible.
Jack Howard did a lot of testing on his bows using his shooting machine back in the early 60's. He was a great proponent of cock feather in. He had high speed film and results showing much quicker stabilization of the arrow coming out of the bow. His theory was that the two feathers on the outside caught more air quicker allowing the arrow to recover sooner.
See what works better for you. For whatever reason, my present bow seems to prefer cock feather in.
I've tried it many times, but my bows always shoot better cock feather out.
Watch this video @1:15. Cock feather out means that the lower hen feather is contacting the outside of the shelf. Sometimes this causes bad flight. It's easy to see how turning the cock feather in would stop this. On carbons (and aluminums before they are glued) it's easy enough to just turn the nocks to prevent the hen feather form hitting the shelf. When I made wooden arrows I could configure the jig to fletch them for clearance where the cock feather was essentially at the 7 o'clock position which put a hen fletch at 3 o'clock which was the same as cock fletch in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzWrcpzuAp8
I shoot cock feather in but not at the 3 o clock position for a right handed bow though. Cock feather in at 4 or 5 o clock absolutely gives me the best feather clearance and wear. If you watch a properly spined arrow in slow motion coming off the riser it's riding way off the center of the shelf. The string does not stop at brace height but follows along for some distance so the arrow does not start to spin till after released from the bow string. The rear of the arrow is propelled towards the outside of the shelf giving the cock feather plenty of clearance when it's at 4 or 5 o clock position.
1/16th above center? that sounds very low?
Kevin Lawyer nailed it.
I get better flight with cock feather in, especially with new fletching.
For some very good information about fletching styles, cock feather in included, have a look at arrowskp.com, tuning tips. Highly recommended.
Cock feather in just works for me.