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Firenock v 2.0
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By:
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titleist_03
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Mood:
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Excited
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Date:
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09/10/2007 20:48:50
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Music:
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None
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I’ve played around a bit with other lighted nocks on the market, but have always had a few issues with them staying on, either during flight or upon impact. My search for the ideal lighted nock has continued for over a year. I have even attempted making my own. Although cheap to make, they would often fail as well. I stumbled upon the Firenock while surfing a hunting site a few weeks back. After some debate, I decided to finally order some. The price was intimidating at first ($49.95 3 pack), but I quickly learned that the package comes with a nock tool, 3 o-rings for securing the Firenock inside the arrow shaft, and 3 matched-weight practice nocks. You can also buy a refresh pack that includes new nocks and batteries. As long as the circuitry board is intact, the nocks will continue on after the life of the battery. Other nocks that I’ve used don’t offer this.
Upon receiving the Firenocks, I opened the package and found easy to follow instructions on inserting the battery into the nock/board. One quick pass over the actuator and I had a bright lighted nock! Pass it back over the actuator, and it goes dark again. I used the supplied nock tool and inserted the first Firenock into my Goldtip arrow and all that was left to do before shooting was to place the actuator somewhere near the rest so when the arrows passed by, it would activate the board and the nock would light up. I am shooting a Trophy Ridge Drop Zone rest and originally placed the supplied two-sided tape and actuator on the inside of the riser of my bow. I figured it was close enough to work so I nocked the arrow, pulled, released, and nothing happened. I retrieved the arrow and passed it by the actuator myself and it worked great. Then, what happened when I shot? I nocked the arrow again. This time it lit up as it passed by the riser. After playing around with the height of the magnet on the riser and getting mixed results, I figured I needed to place the actuator closer to the arrows path so I crafted a small piece that would extend out away from the riser to where it was within a half inch of the arrow. Now it worked every time!
I went to check out the Firenock website again to see if anyone else has had problems getting the actuator close enough and sure enough, there were pictures of all sorts of different rest and how to place the actuator. They even sell an adaptor bracket for certain rests. Instead of using my homemade adaptor, I now have a Firenock adaptor bracket on they way.
The weekend was the first real test of the Firenocks at distances over 10 yards, since I was finally able to get out to the farm and away from the friendly confines of my basement. The nock performed flawlessly upon each release. With the added 13 grains of arrow weight, my impact point was less than an inch lower at 20 yards without the Firenock. I made the mistake of shooting at the same bullseye each time and on my forth end of arrows, I robin hooded one. Luckily it was a practice nock, which the Firenock package includes, and it wasn’t the real thing. The only negative issue I’ve had with them, outside of the actuator placement, which was my own fault for not seeing that adaptors are sold, is I had one nock that wouldn’t light up. I contacted Dorge at Firenock and he said to send it back so he could take a look at it. Turns out, the pin connector must have touched the wire connector for too long and shorted the battery out when I was installing the battery. He was kind enough to send me a new battery even though the dead one was my fault.
I have been recommending these nocks to all my hunting buddies. I have a destroyed Goldtip that is proof that they fly great. They do sell a cheaper version for someone who doesn’t want to spend the $50 on the full kit. If you are thinking about saving a little money and purchasing the cheaper one, make sure you check out what the other comes with. It has a lot of accessories that, in my opinion, make it well worth the extra money. Needless to say, I think I have finally found the lighted nock that meets my needs. I can’t wait to see it fly to a deer come this fall!
 
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