A couple of issues; sight and nocks

Kernowlad

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My shooting started a bit badly yesterday; on the first round every single nock fell out of the arrow (three)! These have been solid all Summer shooting in the garden.
Because I was low on options I ran to the car and just glued them back in with fletching glue (carbon arrows); I am aware this isn’t very useful if I need to replace them again.
My son also lost a nock (also carbon).

The other issue was on a poorly lit but fairly close target; the others could see it fine (pin sights and a longbow); I couldn’t see it AT ALL through my scope (Cartel on a Shibuya sight); so I had to guess which didn’t work out too well. Any tips for low light shots?! And preventative measures to retain nocks?!

Thanks all!
 
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KidCurry

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Loose nocks I used to rub with bow string wax which gave them a bit of grip. Failing that I used to give the insert part a bit of a squeeze with a pair of pliers just enough to give them some grip. You don't say what nocks/arrows you are using but I might look at changing the nock brand.
Regarding dark targets, the only option for me was to use a larger peep size as small ones cut out a lot of light.
 

Geophys2

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If you could see the target easily while not looking through the sights, then it must mean that not enough light is getting through to your eye when using the sight, so as KidCurry says, you need a bigger peep.

When I'm coaching compounders for field archery I always make sure they have the biggest peep size insert they can, some even find it best to have no insert screwed in to the peep. With the large aperture you then use it like a rear sight aperture on a target rifle and simply place the scope centrally in the rear aperture, it is surprisingly easy to centre one circle in the other as long as you have a decent amount of gap around the front sight, in your case the scope. I spent 30 years as a member or coach to the GB rifle team so have a lot of experience with aperture sights.
 

Kernowlad

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Ideal; I’ll look at a bigger peep. Not sure what size I have but it’s definitely small.
And good tips on the nocks; thanks!
 

mbaker74

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Are you using the same make of pins and nocks? I have seen issues when using e.g Easton pins with MAC nocks, but keeping all the same usually means they fit perfectly.
 

AndyW

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For loose nocks push them into the shaft through a piece of one of the flimsier shopping bags then just rip/trim the excess off.
 

Shirt

Well-known member
Agree with AndyW on nock fit. Cling film or cheap carrier bag works well, most stuff like dental floss or PTFE tape is actually a bit too thick.

Dark targets: I wouldn't personally go down the route of making the peep bigger, all that will do is reduce the clarity you see through the lens. The two things that a peep does is enable you to centre the scope, and also by being a relatively small aperture narrows your field of view and so makes the target clearer through the lens. If you go to a bigger peep, you lose this second benefit (and if you really go massive on peep size, probably degrade the first as well)

Instead, just take the lens out. I don't know which Cartel scope you have, but if it's got a fibre on a post you'll still have an aiming device. If not, you'll have to just guess where centre is. I'd recommend getting a scope with a fibre on a post (something like this works well, or the Axcel scopes are popular in the 3D world). You could get a Shibuya to match your sight, but that's a 29mm scope which is a bit marginal for 3D where you might not be able to see enough to pick a spot.
 

KidCurry

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Dark targets: I wouldn't personally go down the route of making the peep bigger, all that will do is reduce the clarity you see through the lens.
Hummm, I think this is not correct.
My understanding of 'exit pupil' may be incorrect but here it is anyway :) The eye max pupil dia. is about 7mm. So an optical system with an exit pupil of 7mm will transfer the maximum amount of light to the eye. To calculate a system exit pupil you divide the optical aperture dia. with the magnification. ie 60mm scope with a x8.6 magnification will give an exit pupil of 7mm, so all the light reaches the eye. So a compound sight lens of 29mm and a magnification of approx. 4x = 29/4 = 7.25 exit pupil. So to get all the available light to the eye the peep needs to be 7.25mm dia.
The problem is you are not looking through a 7mm hole with a peep. You could be as small as 1mm or less. This massively reduces the light reaching the eye.
Get a flat piece of tin foil. Punch a 1mm hole in it and look at a light bulb. Now punch a 2mm hole in it and look at the bulb. Is the second brighter?
 

AndyS

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If you're shooting "unlimited" under the NFAS rules, I think you should be allowed to use a sight light to illuminate the fibre.
The wife now shoots some 3D, and she found that one helped her for dark targets (combined with a larger scope and peep). The first one she tried only had two brightness settings, usually too dim or too bright, so she's now gone to a variable brightness light, and apparently that works really well.
 

Kernowlad

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I could see my fibre/scope fine but not the actual target which was obscured behind some bracken. I've had this happen a few times in low light woodland. On a range or with fairly well lit targets, everything is crystal clear once my ageing eyeballs focus properly.

I have realised my post sounds a bit negative - we actually had a load of fun, both shot well despite the handful of issues and got to get some proper sight markings in (I altered my DL and peep height slightly in lockdown and knocked my marks out!).

I also had one arrow go completely through the boss and embed itself in the wooden framework behind. The boss was secured to the frame with totally rounded off screws so I had to saw a small section from the frame to remove it! Thank goodness for my handy Leatherman!
 

AndyW

Well-known member
Kernowlad,
That is the joy of field. The course layer knows some are using sights so will put a target in a dark place. Quite often very well lit peg going into a very dark target area (but you know this). Best thing you can do is to learn a bit of instinctive compound. When shoots run over especially in winter it's sometimes very dark, overcast with a heavy canopy. It's nice to have the security to know that you can hit stuff without the sights. It's a learning curve.
 
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