Lighted Nock

[traditionalhunter]

Anyone here have any experience with a product called Tracer Arrow (lighted nock)?

http://www.tracerarrow.com/

Have been looking at their website and at first I thought it was pretty gimmicky but upon further thought it actually might be useful especially during early or late day shots when light is very low "“

I am guessing that you cannot simply exchange your existing nocks for these as the tracer nocks would be heavier and change your FOC and your would also have to re-sight your bow.

Any insights would be helpful

[benhuntin]

Use flourescent glow in the dark paint on your nocks.

[Macdaddy]

I use the Luminok lighted nock. It works well and adds 20 gr to the back end of the arrow. which may or may not be acceptable for you.

I have yet to loose one on a deer but I have one incase it' s getting twards Deer 30. out to 30 yrds I can' t see much of a diff. If it' s getting twards the time that I would need it I don' t think I would send a shot out past 25-30 anyways.

The Luminok is about $10 at the shop that I buy stuff at.

[Macdaddy]

check out the web site for lumenok

http://www.burtcoyote.com/

[Lowly Darton]

Macdaddy gave you the website of the one I' m using. For the heck of it, I included another site. http://www.archersflame.com/index.htm
To offset the added weight, I went with feathers vs. vanes. They fly beautifully & can' t believe how bright they are. Great way to find that " last shot of the day" arrow.
If shooting alone = no problem, but be prepared, if others are around = you' ll have ' em all asking questions after the first shot. They do get everybodies attention.
As for the TracerArrow type, any idea how much they weigh?
John

[Narc]

I have been looking into the luminok, and for what it is worth I spoke to Eric Price with Burt Coyote. Eric was full of knowledge and gaurantees your satisfaction. He conducted more test for some questions I had and personally called me twice. As far as there sales and personal knowledge the rank at the top. Once I get my order in I' ll reply back!
Good Hunting!

[traditionalhunter]

So does one have to re-sight their bow after installing these things or do they fly similar to an arrow with a normal nock installed.

I don"™t know "“ for me they might be of value in terms of game retrieval at least this is why I am most interested. If its "“30 like it so often is in Canada and I shot a deer just as night is falling I"™d like to fid the deer ASAP and get back to my home "“ seems like a deer with a flashing arrow might be easier to find then one without. Of course this would all be contingent upon the arrow not passing clean through the animal.

[Lowly Darton]

I think I' m done testing on these things. God, I hope I am.
I' m shooting an old Darton at about 73lbs. pushing a 28" 2216 at about 246fps. with vanes.
If I use a Lumenock with vanes, it seems to hit about 2" lower at 20, 3-4" lower at 30 & maybe 5+?" lower at 40. (I' m not that great of a shot to clarify any better)
If I use a Lumenock with feathers, which will help your FOC, it hits maybe an inch lower at 20, 2" at 30 & maybe 4" lower at 40. (feathers slow an arrow down faster)
If I use a 2314 with the lumenock & vanes it hits in exactly the same place as my standard 2216' s. (Which is what I' ll be using)
Damn, that was the long way around to answer your question. But, simply put - Yes, they will require resighting-in unless you remember the slight impact diff.
For myself, I' ll limit ' em to the " last shot of the day" arrow. I' d use ' em exclusively but for the FOC weight offset. I' ll keep 1 or 2 in my quiver at all times.
PS: Agreed, they should help you find your deer - it' ll be the one with the red light stick' n out of ' em( or else you just found Rudolph!!!) At the least, it' ll help you find the arrow & the start of the blood trail on a pass-thru.
John

[logs]

tradit, I have the brand name Tracer nocks on four of my arrows now. I have only used them in practice and have not used them hunting.
I originally e-mailed the place but ended up talking to the owner on the phone. I purchased one hunter nock and after trying it bought a three pack for my hunting arrows.
There is little impact difference with the Tracer nock and my standard set up. Part of the reason may be that Im on the heavy end with full lenght shafts and 125 grn heads. The nocks are a small percentage of the total package.
Im sure that if someone as above did a tight controlled test they' d see a difference.
Most of my Whitetail harvest have been under 25 yards and I have been bow hunting for since 1969. So if Im keeping my arrows on a 2" circle during site set up at 20 and 30 yards, the weight of the nock isn' t going to effect my shooting.
Now I will be using them for Elk hunting in ID this Sept. Before I go I will practice with them from 0 to 50 yards. My point being that it' s all going to depend on what range you shoot at normally as to how much difference it will make in your sighting set up.
Since the light is initiated by a magnet, you can remove the magnet from your riser and practice all you want with the units in place without effecting battery life.
And if you' re real creative you could insert or match the weight of the nock and practice with matched arrows.
I like the lighting effect. In the last minutes of legal shooting hours in heavy cover it should make it easier to follow the arrow in flight, see the exact point of impact and recover the arrow after passing through which almost all of my hit do on Whitetails and Bear.