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.
Shoot Straight
This is just the kind of advanced tip I can use! Thanks again for putting this knowledge out there to preserve it Nate.
ReplyDeleteI've been custom fitting my nocks to my strings since I was younger... a LOT younger. I've never had a problem with weakening them. That seems to be contrary to the belief of many guys out there. Mainly the heavy snap on nocks guys. If you can hear the nock snap on the string it's too damn tight. That will rob power from the shot, make your bow noisier, affect arrow flight and distract your attention while putting the arrow on the string.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved the look of the Mid Nock that Hill favored. I just don't seem to be able to shoot them without dry firing almost every shot. It's the same with the speed nocks that I shot for years.
I agree Charlie! Been doing alot of close up bale shooting recently due to getting home from work,and getting farm chores done before dark.Anyway,I mixed an arrow in with my others that have Speed nocks. This one has a Bohning index snap on nock. Even though it barely snaps on,at a distance of 3 yards or shorter,you can clearly hear it's louder then the Speed nocks upon release.
DeleteThank you for the clarification. The combination of a fat string and nock without snap really takes the twang out of it.
DeleteNate, you mentioned that Schulz liked a looser nock fit than you, but how much nock tension do you aim for?
ReplyDeleteI've always used the test where you put the arrow on the string and point the bow down towards the ground. The arrow shouldn't fall off on its own, but only if you give the string a light bump. I tend to error on a slightly tighter nock fit to avoid it accidentally falling off and dry firing.
Obviously, too loose a nock fit can lead to a dry fire, but what are the downsides to it being too tight? Does it just sap speed from the arrow and cause a little more noise?
Thanks, Nate!
Studying John's arrow nock fit, they were loose enough to slide up and down the string serving if some pressure was applied, but not loose enough to come off the string if the arrow was held on the arrow shelf with the index finger. I prefer mine a smidge more snug. I can't slide the arrow up and down the string, but it goes on and off the string easily. I want the nock to stay where I nock it. A nock that is too tight will lead to the arrow perhaps not coming clean off the string, leading to increased archer's paradox and tuning issues. I believe any arrow speed loss a tight nock would create is very negligible.
DeleteToo tight will affect arrow flight- I use mainly Mercury Speed nocks that are open throated and they fit the string well right out of the package
DeleteThose push in knocks for aluminum and carbon are always too tight for me -I tried the file but wasn't too good for me left burrs (maybe a wrong file
the best I found is heat a cup of water in the microwave -dip the end of the nock in it a few seconds and slide it over a pair of small surgical scissors I have that are the right width and leaving nocked over the scissors I run under cold water a few seconds and they stay like that
Thanks for the feedback, Nate and Andy.
DeleteI use AAE Plastinocks for my woodies and Easton 6.5mm Super nocks on my carbon arrows. Why? Because that's what they were selling at my local range. They are very similar in throat size, but not quite identical. I used to like how they 'click' on and hold tight, but now that I know what I'm doing, I hate it.
I picked up a file (I couldn't find a Husquavana one, but I did find a 6" Mill Bastard File, by Bahco from LeeValley) and went to town on them both. I pull the file through about 3/4 its length 3 times, flip the arrow, and pull through 3 more times on the other side (no pushing). I then test it on the string to see how it feels and repeat a few more times until it feels right. I can get a nice consistent feel this way no matter which nock I'm shooting with now.
I don't seem to get the issue with burrs doing this, but I'll keep an eye out for it.
I'd like to try some these Mercury Speed nocks eventually, as they seem to be used by a lot of traditional archers, but I think I have a system now that works for me. At least, it works better than what I was doing before. :)
Catching up on your blog Nate and I am loving it. Just thought I would throw my method of nock fitting out there. I take a piece of sandpaper, 120 grit seems ideal, fold it over the unnerved portion of the string and then fit my nock over this. Then gripping the arrow over the fletching, work the nock back and forth, on and off a few times then test on your serving. Works pretty well for me and allows me to retain that ever so slight "snap" on the string.
ReplyDelete