Nock Out lighted nocks

[McDave]

I recently bought a 3 pack of Nock Out lighted nocks on sale.  This is the first time I’ve ever tried lighted nocks.  This is sort of exploratory to see if I might be interested in hunting with them someday, but for right now, they are just fun to use stump shooting, and they do make it easier to find the judo if I shoot it into the weeds.

They worked fine until one stopped working after 20-30 shots.  I was puzzled, because it would still light up if I pushed the nock in, and would turn off if I pulled the nock out, but wouldn't turn on if I shot the bow.  After much pushing in and pulling out, it seemed to loosen up a little, but still wouldn't turn on when I shot the bow.  Finally it occurred to me that the bow actually was turning it on when I shot it, but then it was turning itself off again a split second later as the nock got pulled back out when it left the string.  So all my pushing and pulling was just making things worse because the looser it got, the easier it was for the string to pull the nock out and turn it off.

I shoot 3 under, so I can't shoot with a totally loose nock.  The nock seems to be sealed, and I don't have any idea how I could fix something like that.  If anyone has any ideas, then please let me know.  If the other two break as quickly as this one did, then I guess I’ll know why they were on sale. I hate to send the one that broke back yet, because if the rest of them break too, I’d just as soon send them all back together.

It was fun using the lighted nocks to stump shoot, but $4 for 30 shots isn't a very good deal, unless you're at a fairground, I guess.

[Huntrdfk]

I tried them this year too. I had issues with them not working, and nocks actually breaking on impact. I had one break and cause a dry fire. I love the concept of being able to pull on the nock to turn it off, but they were not reliable enough for me to hunt with.  I tried Nockturnals after and am happy with them, I can live with having to have a tool with me to turn them off.

David

[McDave]

Yes, as simple as the push/pull on/off system is, it seems inevitable to me that it will eventually loosen up to the point where the string will turn the nock off as it leaves the bow.  Maybe if you used it only for hunting, a life expectancy of 20-30 shots would be okay, but for stump shooting, you need to get a lot more shots out of it than that.  Of course, if you shoot split fingers and like a loose nock, it would probably last a lot longer.

[varmint101]

Beats the strobe nockturnals I tried. Stupid things wouldn’t go on the string without going off.

[Orion]

Re the nocturnals, I think that's going to be a problem with any lighted nock that uses a plunger in the string slot which is pushed in by the string at release to activate the light.  If the nock is too tight on the string, it's going to activate the light while the bow is drawn. This would be exacerbated by a split finger grip that may pull the nock back into the string somewhat on the draw. No way for it to deactivate the light at release though. 

I'm not familiar with the nock out mechanism.  Apparently with it, the entire end of the nock moves (forward to activate, reward to deactivate), enabling the string to deactivate the light as the nock leaves the string if the nock is too tight.

Me thinks that regardless of the activation mechanism used, the tighter fitting nock required by 3-under shooters is just likely to be more prone to malfunction.   

[varmint101]

Orion, to narrow it down, it was only the nockturnal universal strobe ones I had a problem with. Didn’t have anything to do with how you shoot or what bow string. It is a design flaw on the ones I got. Plunger simply sticks out too far. The regular GT made solid green nockturnals from a couple years ago worked just perfectly.


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[drewsbow]

I love Nockturnals never had any issues and have been using them for years . They have a small button in the groove that gets pushed in so they stay tight in the arrow . I have never tried the strobe ones though.

[old_goat2]

I haven't had any trouble with them, but I don't stump shoot with them, I take a few shots into foam to confirm they don't change my tune. They are a lightweight mechanical device, they will break if you hit real hard stuff! I use them for hunting and really like them for that and with this brand, you can pretty much cover all your arrow diameters with one pack versus having to buy a particular size for every arrow and even some brands requiring a particular size made for that brand like Goldtip is. The nock goes through a lot more forces on impact than a lot of people realize!

[old_goat2]

McDave, are you sure the lock out collar is fully rotated to the unlocked direction, in case the nock isn't depressing fully?

[McDave]

Yes, the collar is rotated into the shooting position.  They light up fine for the first 20-30 shots, and then evidently it gets too easy to pull the nock back into the off position, and the string turns it off as it leaves the bow.  The second one out of three broke this morning.  As you state, they probably weren’t designed for stump shooting.  If there was a way to turn them on manually so they would stay on, that would be fine for stump shooting, but if I turn them on manually, the string still turns them off when I shoot the bow.  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

[Fattony77]

Dave, I've not tried the Nock Outs, but I had thought about it. Pretty sure I won't be trying them now. I like the design of the Nockturnals for hunting, but for target/stump shooting, I either leave the light on, or shoot a different arrow. The Lumenocks work well for target/stump shooting because they're easy to turn off & on, but I don't consider their mechanism reliable enough for hunting.

As for your current situation, maybe a little bit of duct tape (or the like) would help to keep it on while shooting...? Doubt that would help with the ones that are already broken, though.