Nock filing

     My earlier blog about tuning the nock to the string left some with questions on how to do it.  The following is what John Schulz showed me...

     He said if someone is doing speed shooting, nocking the arrows above the nocking point and sliding the arrow nock down the string to rest against the nocking point,  the technique is smoother and easier if the nock is filed with an angle to the string throat.  Like this photo depicts.

    

    You can see the filed angle of Schulz's Mercury nock versus a standard Mercury nock. He said it was a little faster to get a nock seated deeply on the string with this angle filed because of the angle that the arrow nock was meeting the string and sliding down while being nocked.  He said at his very best speed shooting, head to head with Howard, he was slightly faster than Hill because Hill's nocks were a little harder to seat on the string.   I don't speed shoot like that, so I don't file that angle in my nocks.

     But I do file out my nock to taylor fit it to my string.  I found that a Husqvarna chainsaw 6" flat mill bastard file with the rounded side edge works the best for me and is the proper size for my string and serving size.  A standard 6" mill bastard file fits John's nock perfectly. He liked a looser nock fit on his strings than I .It's a matter of finding the file that matches your string and desired nock tension and filing each arrow nock the same.  I know Dave Wallace, a great longbow shot in the tournament world also files his arrow nocks to fit his strings. It's a great practice to learn. 

 

   

    I hope these photos clarify the technique,  it's pretty simple and once you get used to it, every arrow you nock will fit your strings the same, to your desired tension...snug or loose. It's one of those little things in the Hill style that can help you to... 

      Shoot Straight