Bowhunting tracking nock
 

Sheltering in place and social distancing and testing the prototype Tracking nock .

video link below .

Years ago there was another tracking attachment for arrows but it was lower on the shaft and had a fishhook on it to attach to the animal when the arrow passed through it. Not legal in PA, either one.

So, what happens if there is a non-lethal hit? It seems to me that the animal is carrying the nock around and would be subject to infection at the entrance site.

One of the reasons they are not legal in PA is because the Commissioners were concerned that some hunters would take less than good shots and then use the radio direction finder to make up for lack of ethics and good skills. Not saying this is the case with the OP, I have seen posted here what he can do with a bow but I agree with my agencies decision on this issue.

My 2 concerns on this are 1. Like Oldtimr said, the legality of it and 2. the weight. I know from experience that without using these to practice with you can't just install them and go hunting. If the weight is too much your arrow will be tail heavy and high higher than a standard nock. That is the reason I use Nockturnal lighted nocks. They are only 2 gr heavier than my standard nocks and there is no noticeable difference even at extended ranges.

Yes that is still in business but old school tech and expensive.

The wound from the broadhead is perhaps a far greater concern than a subsequent infection. Over time its expected it would work its way out during healing.

Yes if it is not legal in your state I would caution against using it. These will come with practice units used to sight in Ive found almost no point of impact changes out to 30 yards and only slight pin adjustments at further distances. Arrow flight was not impacted at all. Increased weigh will boost momentum and increased penetration.

I always thought that some one should invent a nock that both lights up and gives off a audible BEEP or something after say 30-mins an hour after being fired!
I always felt this would be a great way to recover game if a poor hit was made and or find a arrow that went thru or into the unknowns due to what ever reason!

and like anything, would only be something used while hunting, where its legal!

since it doesn't contain a tracking device, it might also be legal in more places! thus making more sales!

weight and price would be a large part of any sales too!

Not a bad idea , however many hunters of my vintage or from their jobs are hard of hearing, especially foe high pitched sounds. I have problems with high pitched sounds, but I can hear birds pecking on trees, squirrels in the leaves and deer walking in the leaves.

This product not only has 2 led's and the brightest visual footprint on the market, It emits a trackable signal and the tracking deice give not only the direct the animal is, but the signal strength relating to how far as well as an audible (and increasing in pawer as you get closer) noise while you are tracking.

Its life is about 18 hours depending on the temps. You dont want a devise that will live track an animal for days and days and if your animal is not dead after 18 hours, its not doing to die.

well I will dis agree II have seen many animals that lived past the 28 hours your saying and then die later on from things, as infections can take time to set in, other things will cause an animal to be unable to eat or survive and thus die later on from poor hits
so saying any time frame is just wrong, things can happen after 28 hours that are 100% related to the shot placement on them!

And that ok for us to agree to disagree. Ive been bowhunting for nearly 50 years and have been doing tracking for others for about as long. Ive seen a lot on many hundreds of tracking jobs. I also do deer culling with a bow for my municipality and last year alone took 15 deer and an elk with my bow. Last year, the live weight of all my bow kills was 3,500 pounds, the year before that it was 4,430 pounds of animals taken with a bow. While what you describe is possible, its not likely or probable and certainly not so common as to try to build an argument upon. Its certainly so rare as to NOT be something a company would build a product around.

well wasn't trying to pick fight here, nor call out your experience
I too have killed a LOT of deer and other critters, over my life time, never brother to weight them, also did cull work and the totals if I would have kept track of numbers, would be rather high!

I have also tracked a lot of wounded game, and I LIVE where wildlife is all yr round, manged a ton of properties as well, so I see them yr round and how injuries effect many of them!

and see wounded game weeks or months after being shot poorly and then find them dead, SO< I again Stand by what I said, , saying after 28 hours there NOT going to die < is 100% BS
I typically find about 20+ deer dead behind my house every YR for several decades, and thats not me covering a ton of ground, but is on heavy hunted lands
and cannot tell you how many other things I have found on all the other lands I managed!

I agree its not something to develop a product based around, but it doesn;t change the fact, animals shot, don't always die in a 28 hour period,
many live a LOT longer before succumbing to there wounds!

So, we agree, its nothing to develop a product like this around.

Legality aside (between battery and the barbs), does the force needed to pull it out of the arrow reduce penetration any?

I'd also be concerned with it staying in the deer on a poor hit leading to infection.

Added weight to the tail of hte arrow iwll actually make the arrow act stiffer, so shouldn't be an issue.

again, I never said it was.
but the point of a device to track deer, would typically only be needed in deer /game that was shot poorly,NO??
and most deer/game shot well, die in a rather short distance from a hunter, many times in sight of them!
so, when your trying to make a device to aid in finding LESS than stellar hit animals, you might want to be able to track them, for more than 28 hours!
I know over MY life time, I have been a part of helping recover many deer that were found a few days after being shot

as many times the shooter looks HARD for a day or so, before asking for help
and the game some times has been found over a mile away!
'using basic tracking skills, as well as at times a tracking dog!

as its been MY experience that when you make a GOOD shot in vitals , things don';t often run that far and get found in a much shorter period of time.

NOT always, but most times!

its again,
when poor shot placements happen, , that is when things get tricky to find them,some times, and the need or HELP of a device to find them would be NICE to have!
this is why I have stated, I think many times a delay in when a device comes alive would be helpful
this way a battery can last longer and help recover harder to find game!

28 hours, is great for GOOD hit animals, but some of them that travel FAR due to poor placement hits, might take a LOT longer to find, if one tries and puts the effort into it!
just saying again, NOT picking an argument here!

No. It slips out well and this all happens at a fast fast rate. Its firm enough to hold the device in place but the act of slipping out on impact (by that point the broadhead is already exited the animal.) happens with ease.

I made a mistake when I typed 28 hours. This device transmits for 18 hours, not 28.

well that would be another reason to maybe add a delay on it
as , say as an example, you make a bad hit(they happen)
at a deer at say 3 pm, and you want to wait over night before going after and its a typical deal to WAIT before tracking a poor hit deer!

so, now you waited till sun rise and enough good light to track it can be say 7 am before light is OK to track,
that's almost your whole battery's life!
and if you PUSH a wounded deer sooner, it can run a LONG ways and then your back to waiting again for some time to pas, for it to lay down again !

as again, on a GOOD hit deer something like this really isn;t needed, its mostly for poor hits that things go wrong and time ends up being needed to find them!

and keep in mind a lot of hunters are new and not super experienced in tracking, so many will wait before pushing a deer! or push too soon and jump a deer and then wait and so on!

Battery life will be a BIG part of a device like this in selling and being worth there costs to have!

perhaps someday that could be a future product.