Nocks are available in a variety of different colors and most simply push into the back of the arrow.įor traditional archery hunters, there are also glue-on nocks made for wood or bamboo arrows. Regular arrow nocks are made from plastic, wood, and even bone. Nocks come in two general styles - regular nocks and lighted nocks. In recent years, lighted nocks have become very popular on the modern hunting arrow, making it easier to locate your arrow after a shot, especially if you're hunting in heavy brush. Unfortunately, you can’t turn glue-on style nocks, so you'll need to make sure to fletch the shafts appropriately. It's easy enough to twist the push-in style nock into the correct orientation with pliers or a multi-tool. The notch (known as the mouth and throat) that the bowstring fits into should be oriented, so the odd fletch or cock feather is up when your arrow is 'nocked.' If the nock fit is too loose, this will also create accuracy problems or cause the arrow to fall off the string altogether, which could result in dry firing a bow. If the string sits in the throat of the nock too tightly, it will affect your accuracy. Not only do they connect the arrow to the string, but they must do so with the right amount of tension. They make attaching your arrow to the bowstring possible. Nocks make up about the last 3/4 inch of the arrow's rear end and include a slotted plastic tip. The downside to using feathers for fletching is that they become wet and distorted when deer hunting in the rain.įor this reason, most bowhunters use plastic fletching. Because of the natural curvature, these are considered the ideal feathers to use. Traditional fletches are usually made from turkey pointer feathers. An elevated arrow rest will ensure your feather fletches clear the riser.Ĭlick here for a guide to the best drop away arrow rest. This is an important feature of feathers since rigid plastic vanes can deflect off the hand or riser resulting in inaccurate shots.įor this reason, we suggest using feathers if you are not using an elevated rest. So, arrows won't be impeded when shooting recurve bows 'off the shelf' or off the top of their hand. The reason isn't purely for nostalgia, though – it is also functional.įeather's lay flat.

The Insertįeathers are the quintessential historical fletching material and are the choice for hunters using trad gear like recurves and longbows.

The type of material for your arrow shaft and the spine of the arrow will largely be determined by the type of bow you will be shooting.Ĭlick here to learn more about compound bow vs recurve. Matching up the arrow spine to your exact hunting set-up directly impacts the accuracy of your shots. Knowing which spine rating to go with is dependent on three numbers: your draw weight, the arrow shaft length, and the arrow tip weight. The arrow spine is how much an arrow flexes or bends. Regardless of the materials, the arrow spine is a vital attribute to note when considering an arrow shaft. Instead, lightweight aluminum or carbon arrows are better choices when using a compound bow with cams and cables.

Traditional archery hunters still use wood, but wood hunting arrows are not recommended for compound bows' faster speeds. Historically made of wood, the arrow shafts of modern hunting arrows are also made of fiberglass, carbon fiber, aluminum, or a combination of carbon and aluminum. The arrow shaft makes up the majority of the arrow itself.

Diagram of an archery quiver