There are so many different aspects to arrows. The most obvious, of course, is what material they have been made from, with the most popular choices being wood, aluminum, and carbon.
We all know that an arrow has different colored fletching – known as the cock fletching – to help us distinguish it from the other fletchings on the arrow.
But which way does the odd-colored arrow fletching face? The answer is that it should always face away from the riser (or arrow rest).
It all comes down to ensuring that your arrows can fly smoothly off the bow so that you can get better consistency and accuracy.
Let’s look at which direction the cock fletching is meant to face when you nock your arrow!
Does The Odd Colored Fletching Go Up Or Down?
You won’t need to point your cock fletching either up or down. Instead, it needs to be facing away from your bow’s riser.
The cock fletching must be facing a specific direction every time you shoot so it can smoothly leave the bow without hampering your aim.
This is because the other two fletchings will sit flush with the riser. The cock fletching would be in the way if you were to nock the arrow in the opposite direction.
Let’s pretend that you’ve nocked the arrow in the wrong direction for a moment.
You will notice that the fletching will hit the riser or arrow rest when you lose it from your bow.
This will, of course, could cause the arrow to veer off in a slightly different direction than the one you need to be going in.
It will make it practically impossible to get consistent results every time.
Depending on where your arrow goes, it could pose a danger to those around you.
read.. Lighted Nocks: Worth the Expense?
So it will be essential to remember to nock your arrow in the correct position every time so that the cock fletching is facing you.
Where Should The Odd Color Vane On The Arrow Be Pointing?
As we have covered above, the cock fletching – the odd color vane – should always be pointing away from the riser!
This will be regardless of which bow you are using, as the fletchings need to be in the correct position every time on each bow.
This is so that the cock fletching doesn’t catch on the riser or arrow rest as you shoot it.
You will notice that it is a different color so that you can correctly identify which fletching needs to be facing you.
This will allow nocking your arrow into the correct position every time.
Once you have shot with your arrows a couple of times, you will start to notice that you position the arrow correctly on the string without thinking about it.
Does Fletching Direction Matter? Yes, the direction of your fletching does matter.
This is because if you place the arrow onto your string the wrong way, the cock fletching will catch on the riser with each shot you make.
You should notice that it has been placed the right way round if the two fletchings of the same color neatly fly past the riser without touching it.
Does Nock Position Matter?
Similar to the position of the fletchings and cock fletching, the positioning of the nock does matter.
If accidentally placed the nock at the wrong position (wrong twist) on your arrow when you repair it, this would mean all of your fletchings are now in the wrong place.
This would force you to take the nock off so that you can re-glue it in place, or you will need to remove your fletchings and glue them correctly.
To make things much easier for yourself, you should make sure that you use an arrow jig every time you need to glue fletchings or nocks to your arrows.
This will help to ensure that you get everything in the right place.
If your nock isn’t in the correct position, you will risk your fletchings hitting the riser or other parts of your bow when shooting.
When you have all the elements of your arrow in the correct place, you won’t have to worry about how this will affect your shooting.
You can then focus on other parts of your technique to ensure you are doing the same thing every single time. After all – we are looking for consistency in your shooting.
Suppose you still notice that consistency seems to be missing with your shooting. In that case, you can think about other elements of your technique, such as your anchor point.
Before you go …
Shooting an arrow involves many different steps, and if one is done incorrectly, it can throw the whole process off.
The odd-colored vane should always point away from the riser.
If not, it could cause your fletchings to touch the riser or other parts of your bow.
Consistency is key when shooting, so make sure everything is in its correct place before you start!
