okay there nockhuntinghoosier, i think i understand your stance here. you feel as though you have been slammed for shooting your particular knocks. i see no problem here. i, like you, will shoot at anything the target offers. a shadow, hole, ANOTHER NOCK, the tip of a twig etc......i also will shoot bright nocks until someone in the group pulls out the black stuff......then all bets are off.

in the grandest view of things, all things being equal, i shoot with and have shot with some very good shooters. i have never had a real problem with my or their equipment being torn up or shot up due to the bright nock thing. it would be tough enough to hit the small nock at 37.5 yards on a puking turkey, if you knew the yardage to the inch.....or even nearest 16th of an inch. most shooters i know just dont shoot that well. i know my arrows get rattled in the target from time to time, but that happens.

as for using a nock to aim off of being a reason to call another shooter a cheater, i would choose my words a little more wisely than calling them a cheater, even if i felt it to be true.....i would consider the other shooters resourceful, in that they are using all things available to them to accomplish the real goal of 3-d TARGET archery, to win the shoot........it is not deer hunting, but it is realistic practice....

sit back, relax, enjoy yourself out there shooting. chances are if you shot nocks with the distance wrote on them they would be safe in any target....remember, it is just a game we all love and love to play.......if you are making a living doing this, i may reconsider, but until you are paying for your house and a new 4wd truck with your money from archery wins, relax......you will enjoy this sport much more........

I use flo yellow magnocks and 3 black vanes.
The reason I have the 3 black vanes is I brought 100 flo yellow and 100 black fletched up my arrows with 2 yellow and 1 black. When I went and started a practice session every yellow vane flew off but the black stayed in tact so I just came home and refletched to all black because I am not going to go out and buy more vanes untill I have used all these ones.
I did get in touch with the people I brought them off and they passed me to the manufracturer so when I contacted them they told me to go to the people I brought them off.

Neither company has offered to replace them or give me my money back.

So when I have run out of the black I will be looking for other brands on vanes and will hopefully get better service than I have got.

I do tell every one in my group at the start why my arrows are fletched the way they are.
Call me a cheat if you want but be prepared for a come back

I don' t see how anyone can consider it cheating wether you use bright nocks/vanes or not. By shooter rotation we all get the chance to shoot first and last. Some feel they have a competitive edge with all dark, ok hope it works for you. Some like to reference off other arrows, that might work too. Others feel an errant bright arrow draws them off target, that could happen. The truth lies in the middle. Your focus while on the stake should be the one spot on the target you wish to hit. If you fail to do so, that responsibility is yours alone. If I manage to put a nice bright nock in the center of the 11 ring, on a dificult target, I' ll invite everyone shooting with me to center on that arrow and do their best. I don' t want to lose arrows but if you can hit that small of a target i' ll celebrate your shot with you.

Enjoy shooting, however you choose to do it. I hope your means of competition brings you success.

Exactly Bluejacket, There is a saying that I like A lot.
" If you don' t want your arrow hit keep it out of the 12" oops 11

So then, are solid black arrows, ie; black shafts, vanes and nocks frowned upon?
Most of the guys I know all shoot their 3-D arrows that way.
Should I not do this? I fletch my own...I can do whatever.
I thought this was the status-quo for 3-D.

Just shoot what you like. If you try to set your equiptment up based on what someone else likes, you will always find someone who does not like it. If you set it up based on what you like, you will always be happy.

i have given this additional thought, shoot whatever you desire to shoot. thinking back, i shot with a fellow who shot with the " black" stuff......it forced me to focus even harder while shooting, it probably helped me shoot that day.

looking at modern 3-d equipment, 8xbino, any power lens for open shooters, is it really that difficult to see your dark arrows in the targets? i think not. maybe if the target were set in the dark holes, or if you are in the open and the target in the shade, but in these two situations, you probably couldnt see any arrow very well with the naked eye, and maybe not at all with a 4x scope.

i am like most people, whatever i am looking at is where i hit, if the yardage is correct, and i have shot and hit arrows in the 8 ring because they stood out a little bit, so i cant say that it helps to have the nock to aim off of, or that it hurts either.

my suggestion: shoot what you want to shoot, as long as you are breaking no rules as defined by the governing body in which you are participating. if you are getting razzed by the buddies, so what. who is to say they are right? an opinion does not mean you are at fault if it is different. it is just that, different.....so go forth and prosper with your different equipment...........

This gives me a grand idea.

Make all black FAT line catcher arrows, with black everything. Then market them as " Prick arrows for 3D

When I did my first 3D, we rotated shooters. That way we all had a chance to shoot first, or last.

They all nagged when I shot first that my big fletchings, and fat aluminum shafts were blocking them.[8D]

Never thought or heard about the color being problems for someone, but it is interesting the take on the subject.

The way I view 3D, and I just got started. It is like golf and billards/pool put together. It is a game. Rotating shooters, lets the first shooter block the ring, keeping everyone else at bay. Or if it is a big ring, something for everyone else to shoot for. Replacing nocks and torn fletchings, is part of the game. If someone tears my shaft up, payback is in order! That is what makes it fun and we have a blast trying to tear the others arrows up. By the hollering and laughing through the woods on tournament day, I' d say someone else was having the same fun as us.

I can' t wait till Sunday!!! My 2nd, 3D tournament! This time my wife is shooting too! I can' t wait for her to tear up my shafts. PAYBACK!

Shoot what you want.
Use em to aim ,don' t. Up to the shooter.
I would suggest that comments about a shooters equipment such as the ones referred to here,( about nocks) reflect upon a persons sportsmanship.
I would also suggest that constructing ones arrows specifically to preclude a competitors ability to see an arrow in the target also reflects an attitude about sportsmanship.
Both wrong.
To sum it up. Build em the way you want them to look. Marvel at how nice they look, and enjoy the shoot.
ken12

Shoot, I even have my arrows dipped in white paint, crested with Chartreuse paint and chartreuse and florescent orange vanes. Oh yeah, I use neon green nocks too. The reason? I' m in my mid 40' s and like to see my arrow in flight. Helps me see where my arrow enters the animal. (Your sight starts to suck after you turn 40) And these are the same arrows I hunt with too.

Cheat hell!!!! On a couple of the 50 yard targets that are set back into the trees, I have a hard time telling which way the animal is facing.[]

Its just a blast to get out with friends, shoot your bow at really neat targets, and give each other a ration of sh*t.[8D]