Lighted Nocks

[Interseptor]

How many seasons do lighted nocks usually last?

[Bill Carlsen]

Various nocks have a certain number of hours that they will stay lit. It depends on how much you actually use them.  I use mine only when I hunt so I am guessing they will last many years. I have some old lumenoks that are 5 or 6 years old.

[BOWMARKS]

Originally posted by Bill Carlsen:
Various nocks have a certain number of hours that they will stay lit. It depends on how much you actually use them.  I use mine only when I hunt so I am guessing they will last many years. I have some old lumenoks that are 5 or 6 years old.

Also on the "X" lumenock the battery can be replaced.

[MCNSC]

Doug,
I bought one to try out. It lasted approximately 12 shots    :rolleyes:  Rusty shot a doe late Friday evening, I know he was sure of his shot placement because of the lighted knock.
I guess I should give them another try.

[graybarkhunter]

my nockturnals say 20 hours on the package. not sure how many seasons that would be .. probably a while unless the a shot deer carries the arrow off and tracking needs to be delayed bc of shot placement. on the other hand, if its a pass thru or the deer drops it close running away then it can be turned off soon after you get down out of the tree..

[Forrest Halley]

To me it's like this if you want it to work best: burn the old ones up in practice and verify the new ones work and use them for game. Doesn't really matter how long they last to me. It's an expendable item. Seems like a useful item to have in the quiver for early and late shots.

[katman]

As mentioned some have replaceable batteries.

[Bill Carlsen]

I would add that the lumenoks I  have used over the years are very fickle about whether they will work or no (the "X" size for Axis/Beman MFX). This year I have Nockturnal nocks. Like them a lot better.

[RUSTY1]

Originally posted by Bill Carlsen:
This year I have Nockturnal nocks. Like them a lot better.

That's what I was using also Bill. Haven't tried any others. I will say that with all the contriversy that gets stirred up about these things I for one am sold. They in no way helped me kill that doe but what it did do is validate the shot I made. I could have given up on the search after me and Mike couldn't find her the first time. It was because of the use of the nock I knew I had made the shot and prompted me to go back out and was able to find her!!

[David McLendon]

I set my carbon arrows up during bareshafting for lighted nocks. I use the Carbon Express version and only use them when hunting, during regular practice I replace them with the Beman Vibranock which is the same weight. Used only on hunting shots they last a long time.

[J. Cook]

I prefer the knocturnals now and shot a buck last year about 1/2 hour before last light ...hit was far back so I didn't push (oh, and arrow was still in the animal as it was hard quartering away).  Went out the next morning and it was glowing as bright as when I shot it.  That was a good 14 hours and that arrow had been shot and then turned off numerous times in practice sessions.

[Toecutter]

Got three nockturnals for this year just burning a hole in my quiver. In practice they have been 100%reliable, so im excited to try them out for real. 4 days to go!!!!!

Nathan

[Bill Carlsen]

I had a shot at nice doe about 5 in the afternoon 2 days ago. She had seen me but didn't know what I was. Stared at me  for about 15 minutes. Finally she gave me a braodside shot but because she was already suspicious of me she ducked the arrow (brush kept me from shooting lower...I was on the ground....at first she was only 5 yards from me). In any event the arrow missed her high. By dark I still had not found the arrow. However, right at sundown I saw a green glow in the pond on the opposite side from where the deer was when I shot. The nocturnal nocks use the lights in fishing bobbers so I assume they are waterproof. Just finding the arrow that nock has already paid for itself.

[MCNSC]

Not to hijack this thread but have you all noticed any difference in tune with the heavier lighted knocks ?

[Slickhead]

not sure
put I prefer the nocturnals
Last year using luminocks in a light drizzle and looked down as it was getting dish and nocks were on.
The water had supplied curent to light them.
I didnt care for that

[FarmerMarley]

I'm using the nockturnals also and am gonna keep em on all my hunting arrows.

Here is my experience so far: for practice they are not gonna last long at all if you are turning them on and off. The switch needs to be turned off using a pointed tip, such as a very small flathead screwdriver that I luckily have on my leatherman multi-tool. After about 10 times turning off the switch was no longer reliable and I could not turn it off! So the nock stayed lit and ended up lasting way more than the 20-30 hours it says on the package!! That thing was glowing for more than a week before fading out!

My conclusion is this: use them  NEW for hunting arrows not for practice and you will be happy. Try some for practice and tuning your arrow setup but don't expect them to last long that way. And don't use the ones you have been practicing with for hunting or they might come on accidentally before the shot.

Another thing to be careful of: the string fit on mine (x-nocks) is a lot tighter than my normal x-nocks. Also be very careful if you use a nock-tool for removing or installing them, sometimes they get stuck because they are a different shape than the normal nocks! I had one stuck in my "nock-out" tool just sitting there glowing and I couldn't get it out without breaking it!!! What a frustrating way to lose and expensive nock! Now I install them all by hand.

I shot a hog last week with them on my arrow and there is something beautiful and reassuring about seeing that glowing pointer on the animal as it takes off running like a bat out of hell! When the glowing dot stops moving you will be glad as heck too!

[Knapper]

I have only had one to go bad and the battery was not the problem the switch in the bottom of the nock quit functioning.  Battery life seems to be just about what they claimed it to be.  I have even fitted them on wooden shafts with great success but you need a lathe with a chuck so that you can center bore the shaft fairly accurately.

[Forrest Halley]

Originally posted by David McLendon:
I set my carbon arrows up during bareshafting for lighted nocks. I use the Carbon Express version and only use them when hunting, during regular practice I replace them with the Beman Vibranock which is the same weight. Used only on hunting shots they last a long time.

Useful piece of information that I had not considered. Thank you sir. I use lumenocks and vibrakes, but haven't used the lumenocks in a while so I didn't even consider the possible weight difference. Now it's not even a worry. It was only slightly noticeable change compared with regular nocks.

[Bill Carlsen]

You are going to like them, Terry.

[Hawkeye]

One thing you may want to watch about the Nockturnals... on the first one I tried, at least, the plastic appeared to be much softer than any other nock I have tried.

I had one set up as my #1 arrow for a recent hunt, and liked what I was seeing from it.  The second evening of my hunt, though, I drove to out to a parking spot, walked through the timber with my gear, and finally sat down in an impromptu natural ground blind.

When I took the #1 arrow from my bow quiver and slipped it on to the string, I looked down and saw the Nockturnal was badly bent, or warped, or SOMETHING!  It looked like the tip of the nock was almost 1/4" out of line with the rear of the shaft!  It almost reminded me of a dislocated finger in appearance, or something of the sort.

I bent it back manually with little effort, but did not trust it for hunting until I looked it over more closely. Put it back in the quiver and returned to my Easton G-nock arrow.

Back in camp, I saw that it still looked slightly "askew," so I set it aside for the duration of the trip.

When I returned home, I finally got around to looking at it again.  I tweaked it a second, and then a final third time, and it appeared perfectly straight.  I shot it at my target and around the yard with a judo point, and it flew perfectly.  But... it would no longer light!  I had tried it a half dozen times before my hunt, and it worked perfectly, both on and off.

I don't know what I did that caused the bend, and do not know if that incident caused damage to the light (or perhaps turned it on, unnoticed).

Just thought it would be worth mentioning to my friends here as a precaution.  I have another one to try, but will be watching closely for function and durability.  It may take a little while before the product has my confidence as before, though.        

I imagine the fault is mine, but it sure could have made for a sad hunt...