Lighted nock article in the spokesman

[fair-chase]

Of all the inflammatory rhetoric in this article, this one actually made me laugh out loud...

Landowners would welcome lighted nocks, Sutton says, and some might restore opportunities to hunt on private land where ranchers and farmers don't want to risk dangerous lost broadheads in their fields.

This is completely laughable. Never have I had a landowner ask if I used lighted nocks or even elude to that being in the top 100 of concerns for hunting their property. I'm sure that when Mr. Sutton thinks of legalized lighted nocks that the sky opens up with angels singing a chorus while deer prance in front of him waiting to be harvested by his magical lights. Sorry boys but that little light is not a miracle worker.

Honestly I could really care less about lighted nocks. This article however is ridiculously opinionated and needed to be balanced out with some real facts and not completely soaked in the emotional banter of this sniveling jack wagon.

[boneaddict]

Amen!



....and Rasbo, I feel the same way.

[buckfvr]

Jack wagon sums it up..................dont count me with that fool.

[sebek556]

only reason why I want lighted nocks is my monster has a bad habit of putting the arrow through and into the thickest chit possible and would be nice to know where the arrow is instead of spending 20-30 minutes digging through the brush to find out if the shot cost me 25-30 bucks or not  , will it make me a better archer, hell no just make it easier to find the arrow after pass through
but this guy is a idiot!

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Not to stir the pot, or anything...
 
But...

would be nice to know where the arrow is instead of spending 20-30 minutes digging through the brush to find out if the shot cost me 25-30 bucks or not 

One of the main points I suggested on a different thread on this same subject, and was told that was ridiculous, nobody thought about how much their arrow cost !

[sebek556]

retirement salary plus 3 kids, i think about the cost of the arrows when i am target shooting even, never shoot at the same spot twice if I am within 30 yards. robin hoods look cool but are two damn expensive..

[predatorpro]

retirement salary plus 3 kids, i think about the cost of the arrows when i am target shooting even, never shoot at the same spot twice if I am within 30 yards. robin hoods look cool but are two damn expensive..

i get bummed out when i cant find my casings......a whole arrow! i would look for atleast 30 minutes!

[jnevs23]

  Pretty rediculous if you ask me.  His heart is in the right place but his delivery and the shadow he casts is terrible.  Since when is asking 50 guys a sufficent sample size?  His survey indicated there MIGHT be a 2.5% wounding loss by archers.  Apparently it is ok to print an impromptu survey that might be correct? His numbers are all around confusing to me.  He claims 2.5% wounding loss yet he stats that most of the hunters had wounded deer in recent years.  So most now means 2.5%, thats less that 3 out of the 50 if I am adding it up right.  Then there is the Montana survey which states that only 50% of elk hunters were able to recover elk.  Nothing like a 20 year old study to back up an argument.  Correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't archery equipment evolved just slightly in 20-25 years?  The majority of the article focuses on deer, yet the study is refering to elk. 
  His arguement that more land owners would allow hunter access is rediculous as well.  I highly doubt the difference between having permission and not having permission is lighted nocks.  I highly doubt most landowners even know what lighted nocks are.  I would love to see a statistic showing the number of animals severly wounded by a broadhead that was lost while hunting. 
  If lighted nocks were legal I would likely use them but if turned this article into any english teacher I've had it would be covered in red ink

[dscubame]

It's the old story of left-brainers imposing obscure rules on the creative right-brainers.

[JimmyHoffa]

how bout be happy with what you have,geez in another year the bows will be shooting at muzzle loader speeds..Its really getting ridiculous as to what, or maybe I should say how easy some want hunting with a bow to be..flame away but I'm thinking the whole bow hunting idea was to be a little more demanding on the hunter..To be more in tune with nature....Maybe I'm missing something

I'm guessing you wouldn't be interested in one of those new Electra muzzleloaders...   Use a 9V battery now instead of a cap---faster ignition than even modern firearms.
I am of the opinion that there are only maybe a quarter of the people doing archery/muzzy because of the allure of the equipment and a more restrictive/challenging(?) way of hunting.  The state created hunting seasons that have more of an appeal for some based on the season than the weapon of choice.  If you could pick season and use any weapon in it, would you care to guess what the archer/muzzy/modern breakdowns would be?  So if people are really wishing they could be using a rifle but hunting in the other seasons, then I would guess that these people have no problem using bows/muzzies that are approaching the effectiveness of rifles.  But then again the rifle world has plenty of people pushing technology farther and farther with its equipment---look at how many now want to shoot 1000 yards and beyond.

[boneaddict]

Or you could be like me and hunt with a trad bow in modern rifle season because the permits you want to draw happen to be offered to modern, and not archery. (excluding multiseason permit of course)

[GoldTip]

The guy interviewed in this article did more to make Bowhunters look bad than he did to help his cause in my opinion.  If I were an innocent non-hunting reader of this article I would be more prone to say bowhunting should stop, than I would be to phone the F&G dept and ask them to allow us to use lighted nocks.  This was a foolish way for this guy to go about trying to get backing or support for lighted nocks.  And who really gives a rip what Jim Shockey thinks about whether or not we get to use lighted nocks or not?  The guy has become famous for using one of the most advanced muzzleloaders on the market.  He's killed some huge animals yes, but I would call him anything but a bowhunting authority.

[ribka]

how bout be happy with what you have,geez in another year the bows will be shooting at muzzle loader speeds..Its really getting ridiculous as to what, or maybe I should say how easy some want hunting with a bow to be..flame away but I'm thinking the whole bow hunting idea was to be a little more demanding on the hunter..To be more in tune with nature....Maybe I'm missing something

Have to agree but then again I think 60 plus yd shots with a bow are irresponsible. Do not care if your bow shoots 350 fps plus; at over 60 yds too much can go wrong if the projectile you shoot is less than 1126 fps when shooting at an animal.


How is a lighted nock going to help if you ass or gut  shoot a deer, elk bear at 80 yds with a bow? Many hunters now can punch paper at 70 yds with training wheels and releases but possess  absolutely no tracking, woodsman's  skills.

[jbhtiger]

Several points stand out in my mind after reading this.  First, the journalism is irresponsible.  Citing an nonscientific, unverifiable, non reviewed survey is worthless filler.  Second, you can travel anywhere, seek to discuss any topic, and find someone who is adamant against the official view and willing to give you off-the-cuff quotes.  Third, the article reminds me to be aware of the hours of daylight remaining before I release the arrow.

Our goal should be to minimize wounding loss.  The lighted nock is only marginally related to that.

If it is the goal, then mandating bow education, trying to instill stronger ethics, should be higher priorities.  Imagine a list of most effective mechanisms for reducing wounding loss.  Most sense is made by implementing the items that would have the largest impact.  My hunch is that lighted nocks are low on the list.

Goldtip called this one right, IMO:

The guy interviewed in this article did more to make Bowhunters look bad than he did to help his cause in my opinion.  If I were an innocent non-hunting reader of this article I would be more prone to say bowhunting should stop,

Hunting is fairly political.  Most nonhunters have no problem with it, others do (some hunters have problems with environmentalists, other's don't).  Highlighting wounding loss is counterproductive.  Giving a megaphone (or assigning a journalist) to every passionate crusader isn't smart.  That makes the community look bad.  One advantage of having bow organization representation is that it provides a disciplined message machine. 

[boneaddict]

Has anyone shared their thoughts with the Spokesman about this or how REAL hunters feel?