Lighted Nocks

What makes a lighted nock different from a standard nock

A lighted nock does the same job as any nock: it holds the arrow on the string and lets go at the shot. The difference is what's inside. A small battery, an LED and a switch sit in a clear nock body, and the switch turns the light on as the arrow leaves the string.

That light gives you three things a plain nock can't:

• The flight path, which you can follow from the stand or the range
• The hit, so you see where the arrow struck instead of guessing
• The arrow afterward, glowing in leaves, grass or a target

Bowhunter calls seeing the exact shot placement the most important benefit, and lists a few more: finding the arrow to read the sign on it, following an arrow that stays in the animal, and pushing a lit arrow into the ground to mark a spot. In practice, it's also a tuning tool. The same article says that if the glowing nock's path doesn't look like a laser, the arrow needs tuning.

Shaft sizes, the click test and the other basics every nock shares are on the nocks page. This page sticks to what's special about the lit ones.

What to look at when you pick lighted arrow nocks

The table sorts lighted nocks by the longest stated battery life. It also shows the shaft size each one fits, how it switches on, its color and the pack count, all as the makers or the Amazon listings state them.

Match the fit size, including the bushing

The "Fits shaft ID" column comes first, same as any nock. A lighted nock that doesn't fit the shaft's inside diameter won't hold, and a loose lighted nock can't switch on reliably either.

Two ways makers handle sizing:

• One size per nock: the nock fits a single shaft ID, like .204 or .244. One lighted-nock maker's size chart pairs each ID with a letter: X for .204, S for .244
• One nock with sleeves: a universal body ships with adapter bushings. One maker's universal nock comes with sleeves for .204, .233, .244 and .246 shafts.

With a bushing system, a mismatch is easy to make. Pick the sleeve for your shaft before you push anything in, because getting the wrong one back out is a job. (I keep the leftover sleeves in a pill bottle in the bow case. It rattles like I'm carrying medication for a very small horse.)

Know how it switches on

The "Activation" column says how the light turns on. The common designs switch on at the shot, with nothing for you to do. Under the hood, makers do it differently:

• String-driven switch: the string pushes a small piston or plunger in the nock, closing a contact. One maker calls its switch piston-driven and linear.
• Launch force: the jolt of the shot shifts the nock forward and completes the circuit, with no magnets or switches to set.
• Force threshold: a circuit board lights the LED once forward force passes a set point.

Why it matters to you: a string-driven nock depends on solid string contact, and a force-activated one depends on a firm, square seat in the shaft. Either way, the nock has to fit snugly and sit flush. One cutaway is worth a thousand words here, so there's one below.

Plan how you'll turn it off

Lighted nocks are the only part of an arrow you have to remember to switch off, like a porch light. How you do it depends on the design:

• Side opening: one maker's nock turns off with its own tool, a small screwdriver or most broadhead tips through a hole in the side
• Pull back: other designs turn off when you pull the nock back out of the shaft, sometimes until you feel a soft click
• Tap: one design shuts off when you drop or tap the nock end on a hard surface, which is meant to prevent accidental shut-off in the field
• Practice mode: one design has a collar you turn a quarter turn to keep the light off for range sessions

Here's my rule: practice turning them off at the kitchen table, not in the dark at the truck. If your method uses a broadhead tip, it's a broadhead in your hand near your face. Do it slowly, blade pointed away, with the arrow resting on something solid.

Battery life is hours of light, not hours of hunting

The "Battery life" column is how long the maker or the listing says the light stays on once it's lit. Stated figures vary a lot by design: one maker lists 20-plus hours, a design with a replaceable battery is listed at up to 40 hours, and one nock built for repeated use is listed at up to 7.

Two notes on reading that number:

• Replaceable or sealed: Bowhunter explains that replaceable batteries last a long time but add a few grains, while sealed nocks are slightly lighter
• On-off cycles: a nock that runs 20 hours will run much less if you forget it on in the quiver overnight

Danny's take, which he wanted on the record: "Any light that runs on a battery is a light that's going to be dead when you need it." Danny is the camp's electrician and owns more headlamps than socks, so he speaks from a large sample. The nock doesn't care about his feelings, but the point stands. Check each nock lights before the season, and keep a spare pack in the bow case.

Color is about what you can see

The "Color" column lists the LED color. There's no magic color. Pick the one your eyes find fastest against your woods: brown leaves, green grass, snow. Some nocks come in strobing versions; one maker's strobe alternates between two colors about 400 times a minute.

If you shoot a group, pick one color for the quiver. Then a different color is an arrow that isn't yours. Bowhunter's author even switched to darker vanes and wraps once the nocks handled visibility, which tells you how bright they've gotten. In many cases you can see them in daylight.

Weight is the spec nobody lists, so plan for it

The table doesn't have a weight column because makers don't list it consistently. But lighted nocks are heavier than standard ones. Bowhunter puts the difference at 8 to 15 grains, depending on the maker. Individual nocks are listed anywhere from about 18 to 31 grains.

Quick math: on a 450-grain hunting arrow, 15 extra grains is about 3 percent more total weight. Small. But it's all at the back of the arrow, and that's the part that matters. Front of center (FOC) is how far the balance point sits ahead of the arrow's middle. Bowhunter says the extra nock weight can drop FOC by slightly more than 1 percent, and calls the effect negligible if you already run heavier brass or stainless inserts. FOC and arrow weight in more detail are on the hunting arrows page.

Do lighted nocks affect accuracy?

Sometimes, a little, and it's easy to check. The short version:

1. Put a lighted nock on every arrow you'll hunt with, not just one.
2. Sight in with those arrows. Don't sight in with standard nocks and swap.
3. Shoot your field points and broadheads to the same spot, as you would anyway.
4. Watch the glowing nock in flight. A clean straight line means a tuned arrow; a wobble means tuning.

Fixed-blade broadheads and longer shots are where a few grains at the back show up first. At typical whitetail distances most archers see little difference. I'd rather know than hope. Five arrows at the range on a Tuesday is cheaper than a question mark in November.

One more thing: if half the quiver wears lighted nocks and half wears plain ones, you're shooting two different arrows. Pick one lighted model and put it on all of them.

Lighted nocks for crossbow bolts are their own thing

Crossbow lighted nocks are built for bolts, not arrows. They're sized for bolt shafts and shaped for the string and rail. The "For" column marks which rows are crossbow nocks, and the "Crossbow nock end" column shows the shape when the maker or the listing states it.

The end shape decides whether the bolt is safe in your crossbow. One crossbow maker's safety page tells owners to use only bolts with moon or half-moon nocks in its bows. Another crossbow maker's nock guide names flat, moon and capture nocks as the common shapes, and warns that with the wrong nock the string can slide over or under the bolt, which acts like a dry fire. The manual decides. More on bolt-specific lighted nocks is on the crossbow lighted nocks page.

Lighted nock rules and records

Lighted nocks used to be off-limits in several western states. That has mostly changed: Deer & Deer Hunting reports that Oregon approved them in 2016 and Montana ended its ban in 2017. The Pope and Young Club changed its bylaws in 2014 to accept animals taken with lighted nocks into its record program.

Some states still write limits into the rule, such as a nock that only lights and does nothing else. Rules on lighted nocks and other electronics change. Check your state wildlife agency before the season.

Inspect them like any nock, then a little more

A lighted nock takes the same hit from the string as any other nock, and a cracked one can fail at release and dry-fire the bow. Retire any lighted nock with a crack, a chip or a loose seat before it goes back in the quiver.

Archery 360 suggests holding clear nocks up to a light and looking for irregularities in the plastic. Lighted nocks are clear by design, so that check is easy. Add two more of your own:

• Light check: switch each one on and off before a hunt
• Seat check: make sure it sits flush and square in the shaft after every recovery

A nock that took a hit may still light and still be cracked. The light working doesn't mean the nock is fine.

Who should skip lighted nocks

Skip them if you shoot only targets at a short backyard range and always see where your arrow lands. A standard nock is lighter and costs less. Skip them too if your state's rules don't allow them where you hunt. And if your current arrows are tuned and you don't want to re-check your sight, wait until the off-season to switch, not the week before opening day.

Everyone else: one color, the right size, the same model on every arrow, and a spare pack. Then turn them off. Seriously. Turn them off.