Nocks breaking way too often

[Flinttim]

OK, guys here's the deal. I'm having way too many nocks break. So far no bow damage but if I blow up an $800 bow I won't be a happy camper. What's your experience lately ? I have some old arrows with some Mercurys that are likely from the 1960s and they are still pliable.The ones I'm breaking now are Bear Paw nocks and they are white.Maybe 4 yrs old. I broke another yesterday and immediately went thru the other 11 in the dozen and gently squeezed each one with pliers. They all cracked.Some vendors list their nocks by brand name as in Marco, Mercury Bohnning etc but some don't give the trade name. What are the best nocks , as in those that don't seem to get brittle with age . If you have to replace nocks every few years it makes no sense from a $$$ view.I hear some downgrade the translucent nocks but I have some I know are 15 yrs old and they are still pliable. Is it color of nock ? Is it the maker of the nock ? Just what is going on.

[WESTBROOK]

All I ever use is Bohning Classics, they never break...less I have a good day and shoot them off. I also only use Fletch-tite or Duco to put them on with.

The Bear Paw may react to the glue your using..never know.

[Dick in Seattle]

Not sure this is helpful but...  I had nocks break yesterday for the first time.  Situation was caused by using too thick a string for the nocks.  I wanted to shoot a particular bow and the only sting of the right length I had on hand was stranded for (apparently) a 60 to 80# bow.  (Been a looong time since I could shoot anything like that.)  Anyway, I strung it up and tried shooting but broke a couple of nocks on my skinny light arrows because it was too thick and didn't seat nicely in the nock, so I stopped until I can get a proper string.

Sounds like your problem is different, (aging plastic) but I thought I'd throw this out there in case it sparks a thought for someone who checks out this thread.

[Pat B]

I quit using plastic nocks years ago for the same reason. I now make self nocks or reinforced self nocks and never had one break.

[Flying Dutchman]

For woodies, all I use are Bearpaw nocks, white... never had any issues with them. Very very tuff...  But I heard they had some bad batches in the past. Maybe you were just unlucky in getting a bad batch..
I am not a Bearpaw fan at all, but their nocks are good, as their deerskin glove is...

[Flinttim]

How long have you been using the Bear paws ? I bought these about 3 yrs ago and they are very brittle now.And they are white

[pghrich]

Bohning signiture white, tuff as nails, only time i break them is when i hit something really hard. Rich pyle

[Sirius Black]

I think Bearpaw nocks are made by Gold Tip. They have had nock issues before.

[JimB]

When Gold Tip had the problem,I switched to Bohning Signature nocks and they have been great.

[Grey Taylor]

A few years ago there was a thread here about Bearpaw nocks breaking. At that time it came out that Bearpaw recommended a particular glue for the nocks. All the folks having breakage issues were using a different popular glue.
Unfortunately, I don't remember the exact details and a quick look at current dealers doesn't show anything. But I do remember that I decided not to use the nocks due to the issues and the glue compatibility.

Guy

(edit) I found the post I was thinking of. Partway down the first page there is also a link to another, previous, thread. My memory is fading, the previous issue was primarily the nocks coming off, not breaking.
 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=130436

[KSdan]

We had real problems with white GT nocks breaking a few years ago.  There were numerous threads about it.  GT did acknowledge the issue- though I still had two dry fires due to them.  Thank goodness I was shooting my Black Widow- one tough bow.  Sounds like you may be having a similar experience.  I too went to Bohning at the time. I would guess though that any reputable company could unfortunately have a problem batch as well. We live in an imperfect world. Scrap your current nocks and go to something else.  Considering the millions of arrows shot through bows in a week- you do not hear of this problem often.

[Biathlonman]

I'm partial to AAE Z-nocks.  No issues the last couple of years with them.

[BigJim]

The nocks you speak of are glue on and gold tip does not make them for Bear Paw.

Gold Tip has long resolved the nock issue but I don't know of what is the deal with the Bear Paw's.

bigjim

[Flying Dutchman]

I am using white  Bearpaw glue-on nocks for five years.... I use them on my woodies. Never had an issue with them... Even when I hit a nock with another arrow they stay in one pce most of the time... .. But there might have been some bad batches ...

[nashoba]

I'll second the string being to tight for the nocks. The same thing happened to me about fifteen years ago my bohning nocks kept breaking , fortunately I didn't have any bow damage. It wasn't until I switched to a thinner serving material that I figured out what the problem was and have not had an issue since.

[Flinttim]

I have to conclude it's the glue causing the brittleness. All the nocks in question were Bear Paws  that I bought 3-4 yrs ago. A one time purchase, none since that initial order. The ones I still have in the bin in my shop are still very pliable when squeezed with pliers, but those on shafts are brittle. Both arrows and supplies sit in the darkest corner of my shop and the only light they get is artificial and even then they are in the dark corner. It must be the Duco interacting with the plastic somehow. That's the only variable.I've been fletching with E6000 for a while now and will try it on a few to see how it works and interacts.BTW for those who do not know the Bear Paws have a release agent of some sort on them from the molding process. You need to clean them out before gluing.

[Flinttim]

Flying Dutchman, what glue are you using on the Bear Paw nocks ?

[Flying Dutchman]

Originally posted by Flinttim:
Flying Dutchman, what glue are you using on the Bear Paw nocks ?

Saunders NPV