I just got a couple of packs of Nock Out Lighted Nocks from Clean-Shot Archery and the timing is perfect. It seems every year when the days start to get hot, I start thinking about Whitetails. I begin to prepare for fall and what will hopefully be a productive season. Turkey season is over, 3D season is underway, the bow is shooting great with field points, but I’m thinking about broadheads and lighted nocks.
One thing I always purchase during the summer is a pack or two of lighted nocks. I shoot them at targets on and off all summer long, but never commit to them during the season. I think lighted nocks are cool. I love that they almost completely eliminate the guessing as to what kind of hit you have just made. They can pay for themselves in arrow recovery and they totally change how your videos look if you are one of those guys. The problem up till now was that I had no confidence in them.
One of my problems with lighted nocks is that I shoot an Easton G nock. The G nock is a tiny little nock. There isn’t a lot of material there due to the size of the nock, but I rely on them to be strong and precise. If the nock isn’t precise it will surely become obvious when shooting a fixed blade broadhead and a weak nock is just plain dangerous. If your nock splits, you run the risk of effectively dry-firing your bow. The lighted nocks I have tried previously all had something about them that turned me off. Improper fit on the string or in the arrow, unreliable performance, lack of durability and inconsistent or weak nocks were a few of those turn offs. I know some of these issues are probably much less apparent in a large S nock, but I don’t shoot an S nock.
Another problem I have had with lighted nocks is they changed the spine of the arrow. Penetration, in my opinion, has more to do with arrow flight than with draw weight. All other things being equal, an arrow that flies straight out of a 60lb. bow will out penetrate an arrow flying sideways out of a 70lb. bow. This is why tuning your bow is so important. Most archers know adding weight to the front of their arrows makes the arrow act weaker and adding length to an arrow makes the arrow act weaker, but what a lot of archers don’t seem to be aware of is that weight at the back of their arrow has the opposite effect. Something as simple as going to a smaller vane can make your arrow act weaker and adding the weight of a lighted nock will make your arrow stiffer. You can blame it on my OCD, but I am not willing to sacrifice arrow flight for glitter.
Nock Out Lighted Nocks are different. The first thing that sets them apart from the others is that they are a universal fit nock. They fit the five most popular nock sizes: G, X, H and S/GT. What? How? Every three pack of Nock Outs also comes with bushings to adapt them to X, H, S/GT and for G no bushing is required. The second immediate stand out is the stainless steel locking activation collar. With the cost of a three pack of lighted nocks being around thirty bucks, summer practice gets expensive. When practicing with the Nock Out, all you have to do is rotate the collar 45 degrees and the light stays off. No need to waste your batteries during summer practice sessions. Now previously, I have always experienced failure prior to actually killing a battery, so I have a Nock Out that we have been shooting in the active position for weeks. With well over two hundred shots on this nock, it is performing flawlessly. This nock is also easy to shut off. No more knife tip or biting the nock to shut it off, just simply pull straight back gently until you hear the click. Nock Out nocks are also waterproof. Which means a little blood won’t cost you ten to twelve dollars. The batteries are not replaceable, but they claim an expected battery life of 24 hours, so you should get plenty of use out of one nock.
The most important thing to me is probably the arrow flight. In the process of making a universal nock, Nock Out uses an external battery housing which adds about a half inch to the overall length of the arrow. This weakens the arrow slightly. Remember what I said about adding weight to the back of the arrow? The added weight of the lighted nock stiffens the arrow. I didn’t notice a change in my point of impact, so I went back and shot through the paper. The added length balances out the added weight and the spine of the arrow never changes. I don’t know if this design was luck or genius, but it works with every set-up I tried it on. If your bow is properly tuned, it seems it will stay tuned with the Nock Out.
I think I have finally got a lighted nock that I will hunt with. I can’t wait for the season. Check out Clean-Shot Archery’s website
http://www.Clean-Shot.com for more information. They also offer other innovative products and I know for sure that there is a bowfishing nock in the works. Be sure to be on the lookout for them. Nock Out Lighted Nocks should be available everywhere, but if you are having trouble finding them, Clean-Shot sells them right on their website.
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