So, anyone have troubles with lighted nocks seeming to be brittle and not last very long? I just started using them last year. I bought some Nocturnals, I'd say I had 100 or 150 shots on them. I've read of several people having them break on the shot, caused a dry fire for some of them. I just figured they were group shooting and damaged them and didn't catch it. This year when I shot my elk, at the shot I saw my arrow take a big nock right kick out of the bow. I was confident in the bow tune, had bare and fletched hitting together at 20 and then fined tuned so fixed and field points hit together at 40. When I recovered my arrow behind where the elk had been standing, the whole outer portion of the nock was gone. All that remained was the light bulb and main body that inserts into the arrow. The arrow was in a dirt bank and the BH tip showed no damage like it hit a rock, so doesn't appear the nock was damaged from a hard impact. It had clicked onto the string just fine and I had noticed nothing appearing to be wrong with it. It was the first arrow in my quiver and I had nocked it the night before and that morning too. I'm pretty convinced that the nock broke during the shot as it was coming out of the bow. I've since checked my tune and everything seems great, bare, fixed, and FP all hitting together. Very lucky the arrow hit the elk well and I didn't end up with a blown up bow. I will find and post the pic of the nock down below. I'm pretty nervous about trusting them now. Anyone else have a similar experience?
I had issues with lighted nocks, specifically the Nocturnals, when I was playing with .166 ID arrows. It just seemed like those tiny little nocks for them didn't hold up very well. I never had a dry fire or one come apart at the shot, but every deer I shot with one snapped the nock off flush with the end of the arrow. Not useful if you need to find your arrow in the dark and it gave me concern that one will eventually snap at the shot. I've since moved to .204 arrows and still use the nocturnals. No issues since.
never had a Nocturnal break. However, I'm using the new Halos in my GT Velocities right now ... I have 9 Halo's I use specifically for practice, they have been shot multiple of dozens of times, when practicing with them I leave them on, they will die out after many days and I still use them for practice ... the String fit on the Vec 99 string/serving from Catfish is much better than Nocturnals, the Nocturnals move around when clicked on the string/serving, the Halos do not, but are not overly tight either .. the ones on the hunting arrows, get shot once to check it,then wont be shot again until I use 'em on a deer .. micro arrows and micro nocks, maybe the little nocks are not as strong cause of their smaller dia. ??
I had a lit nock that I left on an arrow after using it on a deer, retired it from hunting. Thru regular shooting of arrows I had a nocturnal break and it was a dry fire, had the bow checked out, 10 shots later the limbs broke. Do not recommend lit nocks for many shots.
I use nocturnal and have had great success. But please let me quantify. I get my rig tuned and sighted in then throw a lighter nock twice. Then the next time it is used it's going through a deer(hopefully). I usually don't get another use out of it, as it's retired after. Pro shooters replace nocks quite often as the tension affects flight. I am far from professional and my form is far more suspect than equipment. But as for OP. I have not seen that. Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
In the world of lighted nocks, Nockturnals are far and away the ones you hear about people having the most issues with. Possibly because they are the most widely-used, or possibly because they truly have the most issues. I've been shooting Lumenoks for many years and have yet to have any sort of quality issue with them. The only "knock" on them is that they take a little bit of work to get the fit just right in your arrow. If you want to just slam them in and go hunting, it's not the nock for you. But if you don't mind spending a few minutes to square & clean the end of your arrow and then use some sandpaper to fit the nock to your arrow shaft, they are pretty dang bulletproof. And I think they are the only ones with replaceable batteries.
I use GT XT arrows for hunting, so they are .246 ID arrows and not micros. But I can't ever find GT nocks around here so they are the universal fit ones that I have to use the bushing with for fit to the arrow. Nock fit to my serving is really good, they snap on and don't have any movement in/out, but I can rotate the arrow sideways and the string twists within the nock rather than it being so tight that the string rotates too. Ideal nock fit. I also tied nock sets and the d-loop using the Nocturnals for fit, so there wouldn't be any pinch at full draw from the d-loop. They were shot a few times for the novelty of checking them out for the first time, shot when I tuned the bow, and shot to sight in. I always aim at different spots when tuning and sighting in with more than one arrow to avoid damaging an arrow, so I'm highly confident that it wasn't damaged by another arrow from shooting groups. @Justin , your having no issues with Lumenocks for many years certainly makes me think they are more resilient than what I have. I square all my arrows when I put together a set anyway, and simply like to tinker with archery stuff, so getting them to make good contact wouldn't bother me at all. There turn off method looks like it leaves something to be desired though. Do you use their turn off tool or just do it by hand? I read that it can be done by hand without the tool, wondering how true that is.
If you adjust the nocks properly you should be able to easily turn them on and off with your hand - no tools needed.
You guys inspired me to talk to nocturnal about their nocks and how blood got in a few of them. Let's see if I get a few free ones Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
I still have dried blood in mine from buck I shot this year, but no issues with the exploding. Will keep an eye out on this. Interesting. Thx for the topic.
Pretty common with Nocturnals. I wouldn’t use them other than when I would hunt, they get stressed and de-laminate from the lighted internal portion. It not a if it will happen with them it’s a when. Personally I like Lumanocks better, especially since all I shoot is X nock sized nicks. Lumanocks use an Actual BEA R nock which is fantastic nock at come standard on serval of their arrows. And even with the Lumanocks …I only shoot them at game. I don’t practice with them.
I got a set of Luminocks to try. They fit into my arrow really well, snug but not too tight. Nock fit to center serving was good too, about the same fit as the Nocturnals. It also fit my nock set and d-loop about the same, a tiny bit of movement at brace so it shouldn't pinch at full draw. Connection was a bit sketchy, so I squared the end of the arrow a bit and then cleaned with a q-tip and 91% alcohol. Connection was very reliable after that. Can push in on the nock and it turns on, hold the arrow by the nock and wiggle a bit and it turns back off. Went outside and took a shot at close range, 10 yards, wasn't sure if they'd hit the same. Nock lit fine and hit POA. Moved back to 20 yards. Looks pretty good I'd say. Haven't confirmed at longer distance yet but looks like they fly the same as the Nocturnals for me.
This is interesting. I shoot Nocturnals and have never had one break on the shot. I used to shoot Lumenoks years ago and had them break on the shot multiple times. I often wondered if they failed because I shot a heavier arrow with a bow set at 70#. Maybe it’s because I practiced with them which weakened them over time. Whatever caused it I stopped shooting then. I’m no expert, but there is no way a lighted nock can be built as durable as a standard nock. Also, I don’t believe any of them are manufactured to stand up to the beating a nock gets from dozens of shots. I never practice with lighted nocks. I only use them for hunting. There is a weight difference, but at hunting yardages that weight difference is irrelevant.
It's always crazy how people can have such different experiences with the same products. I've been shooting Lumenoks for probably 6 or 7 years now, and I shoot them almost year-round, and have never had one break on me.
