Bowsite.com

	By Patrick Meitin

The Nock's role in Accuracy

It seems to escape many bowmen that the nock, such an outwardly insignificant part of the big archery picture, can have such a direct effect on arrow accuracy and bowhunting success.  Variations at the tail-end of an arrow always affect accuracy more dramatically than those at the front, making nock alignment even more important to accuracy and repeatable impact than arrow straightness.  Those of us old enough to remember glue-on nocks – and 11-degree tapers applied to cedar arrows with “pencil-sharpener” cutting tools, or swaged nock cones as a decades-long aluminum-arrow standard -- likely have more insight in this area.  A crookedly-cut wood-arrow taper, a sloppy nock glue-up job on swaged-end aluminums, resulted in “flyers” that refused to group with other arrows in the quiver, more importantly, made reliable broadhead tuning all but impossible.

Very few bowhunters outside the hard-core traditional set use glue-on nocks today, but this doesn’t make nock alignment, and overall quality, any less important.  It may seem obvious with just a moment’s reflection, but the nock, after all, is the very last contact point between you, your bow and a released arrow.  To promote top-notch accuracy, whether target shooting or bowhunting with broadheads, bowstring-to-nock interface during the violent transfer of energy initiating launch, and bowstring separation, must remain 100 percent consistent.  Any small deviation occurring during this all-important phase of every bow shot results in slight differences in arrow impact at short ranges, those gaps widening exponentially as ranges stretch -- or when fixed-blade broadheads are part of the equation, no matter the range.  Hold that thought.

The Importance Of Nock Fit

A big part of nit-pick accuracy has always included using the same nock brand and model on every single arrow in your quiver.  Too, precise serving diameter is also important in the overall formula.  Too tight and nock separation will occur much later in the launch, negatively affecting accuracy.  Too loose and a sloppily interface between string and nock results in slight variations in arrow attitude during each launch, in addition to proving annoying, arrows slipping up and down the serving or falling off completely at inopportune times.  The nock should snap onto the serving firmly, just tight enough so you can lightly tap the serving without dislodging the arrow, but loose enough that the nock can still be slid up and down the bowstring serving by applying light side pressure to the arrow nock.  After discovering an ideal serving diameter make notes, using a micrometer if necessary, so you can recreate identical serving diameter should serving become worn after prolonged shooting and require replacement, or should an older bow require complete string and buss-cable replacement.  It should also go without saying accuracy consistency also depends on using only nocks manufactured to stringent specifications by proven makers.

Now hold that thought. 

A different approach to Nocks

One company, Carbon Express, has made nock choice easier in 2013 -- at least for those demanding only the best, most accurate hunting-arrow nocks in the industry.  The all-new Carbon Express LaunchPad Precision Arrow Nock is engineered to provide a precision launch base from today’s modern compound bows, for maximum transfer of energy and truest flight and downrange accuracy.  LaunchPad Precision Arrow Nocks were engineered after significant input from professional shooters, controlled testing and advanced high-speed camera analysis.  Designers also took the time to test all the nocks available on the market today and studied trends in current compound-bow string technology to help determine the perfect fit and requirements to create the ideal nock.  Applying this new-found knowledge, Carbon Express engineers had to then formulate special manufacturing processes that consistently replicated the most desired characteristics into each and every nock that came off the line. 

LaunchPad Precision Arrow Nocks include precision bowstring contact points in the nock valley and at the throat opening to provide better control and a more consistent transfer of energy for added launch consistency.  The precision-aligned nock stem is perfectly symmetrical, providing a balanced base to promote truer rotation and flight.  Finally, the concentric design ensures the nock centers itself in the arrow perfectly for more consistent accuracy.  The overall design also assures .001-inch, four-axis straightness (specs less than a third of the thickness of a sheet of office paper) on all LaunchPad Precision Nocks. 

What about Lighted Nocks?

Better yet, Carbon Express has taken this spectacular nock design and wrapped it around a ruggedly-dependable lighted hunting nock.  The Carbon Express LaunchPad Precision Lighted Arrow Nock Series takes LaunchPad’s ultra-precise .001-inch straightness specs and combines it with highly-visible LED and long-lasting power providing bowhunters the benefits of other lighted nock brands, but with vastly increased precision and accuracy potential.  If you have avoided lighted nocks in the past for fear of negatively affecting accuracy, your worries are over.  You can have a lighted nock and accuracy too.  If you’ve remained a big lighted-nock fan, you can now enjoy tighter arrow groups than ever.

Carbon Express also accomplishes this while keeping weight to an absolute minimum, the LaunchPad Precision Lighted Arrow Nock weighing only 18.5 grains (or about 8 grains more than the average standard, non-lighted nock).  This also makes the LaunchPad Precision Lighted Nock the lightest lighted nock on the market today.  This helps maintain F.O.C. percentages within accepted thresholds (more than 10 percent) for flatter trajectory and added arrow stability while shooting broadheads; unlike heavier models which can cause unstable flight due to excessive rear-end weight.  The minimal weight difference also means minimal impact variations between standard LaunchPad Precision Nocks that now come standard on your Carbon express arrows and their lighted counterparts, allowing seamless transitions between the practice range and the hunting field.

The Carbon Express LaunchPad Precision Lighted Arrow Nock – offered in green, blue, red and pink -- includes the precision manufacturing specs already touted, battery life up to 50 hours -- or more than 600 shots -- (in green and blue models, less in red and pink), automatic launch-activated trigger mechanism and high-visibility LED light held in an integrated housing protecting all parts during high-speed flight and especially following hard impacts.  In fact, Carbon Express engineers subjected LaunchPad Precision Lighted Nocks to rigorous endurance testing, the mechanisms withstanding hundreds of shots into high-density foam at close range without a single failure.  The design also makes the mechanism more reliable following side impacts, say, after rattling an arrow through thick brush.  The self-contained, launch-activated LED system requires no magnets or similar add-on parts, the .244-inch plug-in diameter making it compatible with any standard-diameter carbon arrow shaft on the market today.

The LaunchPad Precision Lighted Arrow Nock allows you to simply draw, shoot and enjoy guess-free arrow tracking.  All parts are perfectly centered and balanced to accentuate LaunchPad Precision Nock accuracy, making this the most accurate lighted-nock system bowhunting has yet seen, a design that helps you Shoot Better. 

The LaunchPad Precision Lighted Nock is also available in a Crossbow model, this one including precision milled-aluminum body construction with a precise, screw-in plastic sleeve that allows just two nock sizes to fit and securely lock into any standard-diameter crossbow bolt currently on the marketplace.  The Crossbow LaunchPad Precision Lighted Nock also includes .001-inch tolerances with a simple but precise design that’s incredibly durable.  It includes “half-moon” rear and an O-ring feature assuring the nocks do not turn on inadvertently. 

The Lighted Advantage

Lighted nocks have become highly popular mostly because they’re just flat-out fun to shoot, whether simply target shooting late in the evening, or bowhunting.  From a strictly practical standpoint lighted nocks also serve several important functions.  Firstly -- even in states where lighted nocks are not legal for bowhunting (carefully check regulations in your state) – the Carbon Express LaunchPad Precision Lighted Nock can prove an invaluable bow-tuning aid.  Shooting a lit nock just before dark quickly reveals the smallest tuning flaws or fletching-contact problems in the form of slight arrow kicks or porpoising – giving you instant feedback after every shot and allowing you to make appropriate adjustments.  Seeing an arrow with lit nock installed fly perfectly true gives you visual confirmation your arrows are tuned to perfection, affirmation providing confidence during that season-making shot at a trophy buck.  Better yet, when you return to your unlighted LaunchPad Precision nocks no difference in arrow impact results.

More importantly, in a strictly bowhunting context knowing exactly where your arrow has arrived after a shot at game is extremely important.  With the Carbon Express LaunchPad Precision Lighted Nock there’s no more guessing, no more worrying if what you think you saw is what actually occurred.  This gives you cock-sure insight into how to precede after a shot at game; if you can begin trailing right away, or how long you should hold off before beginning tracking.  And, no more foraging around in bushes, grass and leaves after a missed shot, leaving tell-tale human scent behind near a favorite stand site while looking for an expensive arrow.  The Carbon Express LaunchPad Precision Lighted Nock’s high-visibility LED light leads you straight to your shaft for quick recovery and minimal disturbance. 

Carbon Express was founded on a vision of continuous product growth and innovation based on the hunting heritage and a passion of the leadership to build on that heritage with flagship brands that offer world-class products based on understanding the wants and needs of retail partners and end users.  The Carbon Express LaunchPad Precision Lighted Nock is yet another step in that direction, while helping shooters of all experience levels ultimately Shoot Better.