Nock and String Fitment

[cofen380]

Well I wasn’t expecting this nock fitment thing to be so frustrating, but here I am. I just got a 16 strand Stone Mountain string on my recurve and the gold tip nocks on my hunter pro arrows are way too loose.

I’m confused on what my nock options actually are. From my understanding, there are .88 and .98 nocks, and I’m assuming I need the .88, but I’m only finding .88 nocks in a size meant for 4mm arrows. My GT’s are .246 inside diameter, not 4mm.

There isn’t anywhere nearby where I can just try out a bunch of nocks, and I’d rather not blow $15 on nocks that I’m not sure will fit. I’d prefer not to get into the whole reserving or adding serving thing and just have a string and nock combo that work out of the box, but maybe that’s not feasible.

Any recommendations here would be appreciated.


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[nevadabugle]

Well I wasn’t expecting this nock fitment thing to be so frustrating, but here I am. I just got a 16 strand Stone Mountain string on my recurve and the gold tip nocks on my hunter pro arrows are way too loose.

I’m confused on what my nock options actually are. From my understanding, there are .88 and .98 nocks, and I’m assuming I need the .88, but I’m only finding .88 nocks in a size meant for 4mm arrows. My GT’s are .246 inside diameter, not 4mm.

There isn’t anywhere nearby where I can just try out a bunch of nocks, and I’d rather not blow $15 on nocks that I’m not sure will fit. I’d prefer not to get into the whole reserving or adding serving thing and just have a string and nock combo that work out of the box, but maybe that’s not feasible.

Any recommendations here would be appreciated.


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You won't like my advice, but buy some thicker serving and reserve the string. A spool of serving will last you for years and if you have a couple different thicknesses you will be able to fix any number of nock issues.

Additionally I always have my serving tool with me at camp incase I have a serving failure on a hunt. It's great insurance so an unplanned serving failure can't ruin a hunt. Takes less than 10 minutes to reserve a string.

 

[cofen380]

You won't like my advice, but buy some thicker serving and reserve the string. A spool of serving will last you for years and if you have a couple different thicknesses you will be able to fix any number of nock issues.

Additionally I always have my serving tool with me at camp incase I have a serving failure on a hunt. It's great insurance so an unplanned serving failure can't ruin a hunt. Takes less than 10 minutes to reserve a string.

No I appreciate your honesty. I want a long term solution and you give some good points there. I probably just have some hesitancy since I’m unfamiliar with serving a string. What’s your go to serving material?


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[nevadabugle]

No I appreciate your honesty. I want a long term solution and you give some good points there. I probably just have some hesitancy since I’m unfamiliar with serving a string. What’s your go to serving material?


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Halo for finger shooting. Serving is easy, lots of good tutorials online.

 

[bisblue]

Serving is great and not too hard.

Black eagle instincts come with a terrible nock so I replace them with nocks that fit better since I like the arrows

 

[LostArra]

I'm a little surprised a 16 strand string would have loose nocks.

Reserving is ideal but I've wrapped the nock area with waxed dental tape to get a better fit.

 

[cofen380]

I'm a little surprised a 16 strand string would have loose nocks.

Reserving is ideal but I've wrapped the nock area with waxed dental tape to get a better fit.

Yeah I originally had a 14 strand Dacron string and the nocks fit tighter on that than the 16 strand dynaflight I have on now.


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[cofen380]

Serving is great and not too hard.

Black eagle instincts come with a terrible nock so I replace them with nocks that fit better since I like the arrows

I ordered a few different nocks off Amazon just to try them out and see if they make a difference bc they’re so cheap. If that doesn’t work I may have to reserve, but I’m trying to avoid spending another $60+ for a couple different size serving spools plus the tool I need.


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[LostArra]

If you get the tool and serving material you should probably dive into making your own strings. I make Flemish and it's not difficult especially if you see one made first hand.

At the risk of being crushed by the experts I will admit that I have boiled water and dipped a loose nock for 10-20 seconds then squeezed the sides to get a tighter fit. There is a limit to how much you can reduce it and I would not try it on a nock for a compound bow.

 

[bisblue]

Yeah I originally had a 14 strand Dacron string and the nocks fit tighter on that than the 16 strand dynaflight I have on now.


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The dacron stands are just fatter. That's the same issue I had, I think the black eagle insists as a traditional arrow have a bigger nock for dacron strings.

 

[cofen380]

If you get the tool and serving material you should probably dive into making your own strings. I make Flemish and it's not difficult especially if you see one made first hand.

At the risk of being crushed by the experts I will admit that I have boiled water and dipped a loose nock for 10-20 seconds then squeezed the sides to get a tighter fit. There is a limit to how much you can reduce it and I would not try it on a nock for a compound bow.

Hey I’m not above some rednecking when it’s called for. Trying to avoid diving too deep into the string thing since I’m just getting started. My thought was if I ever have an issue with a string, I can have a backup on hand since they’re like $18 bucks


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[Beendare]

I make my own strings with 652, then serve to fit my noks as Nevada suggested.

A guy can just wrap the section between nokking points with dental floss to build it up-it works- but that only gets you 500 shots before you have to redo.

Its easier if your noks are too tight…as then you can quadruple up some 220 sandpaper and sand them to fit.

 

[oldgoat]

Lots of good advice above, I make my own strings and have four or five different serving sizes and sometimes you just can't get the fit you want and have the strand count you want and that's when I break out the dental floss, I use the wide waxed variety, put it on like you would a tied on nock point and it will generally last the life of the string, also when you order your strings, tell your string maker your problem and they can probably fix you up!

 

[Holocene]

For a quick, inexpensive solution I'd recommend one of two things:

1. Ask your string maker to reserve to the nock you want to shoot. I don't know what nock you are shooting now, but for those GT Pro Hunters imagine it's the GT GTO nock fit into their accu bushing. That center serving should be finished to a finished diameter equal to that nock, which is .114. Ideally, the string maker has the nock on hand because final fit is more of a "feel thing" than meeting specs to the thousandth of an inch. The stringmaker can grow the center serving by adding a thicker serving material -- say going from Halo .014 to Halo .018 for example. I realize that sending a string back is somewhat annoying to you and the stringmaker, but frankly string makers should be asking folks up front what nock they want to shoot / what finished center serving diameter they are after. Not doing so is askin to selling someone tires without asking them what size they need.

2. Get new nocks. Again, the nocks on your Gold Tip Pro Hunters (if they are what came with the arrows) should be the GT GTO nock which is a .166 inch diameter nock in GT's accubushing. That's a great nock that works well with a center serving diameter size of .114 inches give or take .002 but no more or less.

If you get new nocks, some good ones to consider are:

• Easton Microlite 4mm (these are about a .107 inch throat so are rather snug compared to the GT GTO)
• Beiter Pin Nocks. You'll want to look at either the Beiter Hunter #1 (.103 groove) or Beiter 1 Small (.106 groove). These are excellent German-made nocks and available at Lancaster Archery online. You'll want to upgrade the bushing to a .246 pin bushing. These are available from Gold Tip, Altra, and Top Hat.

One of those three nocks should work. If it doesn't, pick the nock you want to shoot and reserve. The best nocks out there are Beiter, Easton, and some Gold Tip in that order.

Folks typically recommend reserving, and while that's a long-term option, you aren't set up to do that quite yet to do it well you'll want a serving jig and a few serving sizes which will cost you some money. If you are worried about a $15 pack of nocks, then get ready to spend $100-200 to get set up to serve.

One last word on nock size -- nocks come in all sizes and stringmakers make all sorts of finished diameters! Those 0.88 and 0.98 dimensions are published numbers from Easton for their "small throat" and "large throat" nocks respectively, but those numbers don't always align with true measurements on their nocks.

A great resource to plan our nock purchases and string builds is a piece by OCD Strings called "What Nock and I Shooting". Highly educational and actually inspired me to buy this set of pin gauges to measure my own nocks and order strings more accurately. Julie lists all the common nocks on her blog post, and if there's one on there you don't see ask me and I can see if I have one on hand to measure.

PS, OCD Strings also has a good blog post on ideal nock fit for those reading who are going through something similar as the OP.

Good luck!

 

[cofen380]

I make my own strings with 652, then serve to fit my noks as Nevada suggested.

A guy can just wrap the section between nokking points with dental floss to build it up-it works- but that only gets you 500 shots before you have to redo.

Its easier if your noks are too tight…as then you can quadruple up some 220 sandpaper and sand them to fit.

I’ve been hearing about the dental floss thing but wasn’t sure if it was a viable option. I’ve got some nocks on the way so I’ll see if they fit first


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[oldgoat]

I’ve been hearing about the dental floss thing but wasn’t sure if it was a viable option. I’ve got some nocks on the way so I’ll see if they fit first


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I tried finding a YouTube video on how to do the dental floss but couldn't. If you have a spare twenty dollars ish I'd suggest buying the string making video from Chad at Champion Custom Bowstrings, it's a very good video on making and serving Bowstrings and they also have some good tips and tricks section on stuff like tie on nock points and the dental floss thing is in there too, they also have plans for building your own string jig. Making Flemish strings is probably way easier than you imagine, watching this video I was able to make strings and my first one was completely usable for somebody, just not me, lol, I didn't know how my string board that I bought was set up and the string came out about 4" short, but it was a good string otherwise

 

[cofen380]

For a quick, inexpensive solution I'd recommend one of two things:

1. Ask your string maker to reserve to the nock you want to shoot. I don't know what nock you are shooting now, but for those GT Pro Hunters imagine it's the GT GTO nock fit into their accu bushing. That center serving should be finished to a finished diameter equal to that nock, which is .114. Ideally, the string maker has the nock on hand because final fit is more of a "feel thing" than meeting specs to the thousandth of an inch. The stringmaker can grow the center serving by adding a thicker serving material -- say going from Halo .014 to Halo .018 for example. I realize that sending a string back is somewhat annoying to you and the stringmaker, but frankly string makers should be asking folks up front what nock they want to shoot / what finished center serving diameter they are after. Not doing so is askin to selling someone tires without asking them what size they need.

2. Get new nocks. Again, the nocks on your Gold Tip Pro Hunters (if they are what came with the arrows) should be the GT GTO nock which is a .166 inch diameter nock in GT's accubushing. That's a great nock that works well with a center serving diameter size of .114 inches give or take .002 but no more or less.

If you get new nocks, some good ones to consider are:

• Easton Microlite 4mm (these are about a .107 inch throat so are rather snug compared to the GT GTO)
• Beiter Pin Nocks. You'll want to look at either the Beiter Hunter #1 (.103 groove) or Beiter 1 Small (.106 groove). These are excellent German-made nocks and available at Lancaster Archery online. You'll want to upgrade the bushing to a .246 pin bushing. These are available from Gold Tip, Altra, and Top Hat.

One of those three nocks should work. If it doesn't, pick the nock you want to shoot and reserve. The best nocks out there are Beiter, Easton, and some Gold Tip in that order.

Folks typically recommend reserving, and while that's a long-term option, you aren't set up to do that quite yet to do it well you'll want a serving jig and a few serving sizes which will cost you some money. If you are worried about a $15 pack of nocks, then get ready to spend $100-200 to get set up to serve.

One last word on nock size -- nocks come in all sizes and stringmakers make all sorts of finished diameters! Those 0.88 and 0.98 dimensions are published numbers from Easton for their "small throat" and "large throat" nocks respectively, but those numbers don't always align with true measurements on their nocks.

A great resource to plan our nock purchases and string builds is a piece by OCD Strings called "What Nock and I Shooting". Highly educational and actually inspired me to buy this set of pin gauges to measure my own nocks and order strings more accurately. Julie lists all the common nocks on her blog post, and if there's one on there you don't see ask me and I can see if I have one on hand to measure.

PS, OCD Strings also has a good blog post on ideal nock fit for those reading who are going through something similar as the OP.

Good luck!

For a quick, inexpensive solution I'd recommend one of two things:

1. Ask your string maker to reserve to the exact nock you want to shoot. I don't know what exact nock you are shooting now, but for those GT Pro Hunters imagine it's the GT GTO nock fit into their accu bushing. That center serving should be finished to a finished diameter equal to that nock, which is .114. Ideally, the string maker has the nock on hand because final fit is more of a "feel thing" than meeting specs to the thousandth of an inch. The stringmaker can grow the center serving by adding a thicker serving material -- say going from Halo .014 to Halo .018 for example. I realize that sending a string back is somewhat annoying to you and the stringmaker, but frankly string makers should be asking folks up front what nock they want to shoot / what finished center serving diameter they are after. Not doing so is askin to selling someone tires without asking them what size they need.

2. Get new nocks. Again, the nocks on your Gold Tip Pro Hunters (if they are what came with the arrows) should be the GT GTO nock which is a .166 inch diameter nock in GT's accubushing. That's a great nock that works well with a center serving diameter size of .114 inches give or take .002 but no more or less.

If you get new nocks, some good ones to consider are:

• Easton Microlite 4mm (these are about a .107 inch throat so are rather snug compared to the GT GTO)
• Beiter Pin Nocks. You'll want to look at either the Beiter Hunter #1 (.103 groove) or Beiter 1 Small (.106 groove). These are excellent German-made nocks and available at Lancaster Archery online. You'll want to upgrade the bushing to a .246 pin bushing. These are available from Gold Tip, Altra, and Top Hat.

One of those three nocks should work. If it doesn't, pick the nock you want to shoot and reserve. The best nocks out there are Beiter, Easton, and some Gold Tip in that order.

Folks typically recommend reserving, and while that's a long-term option, you aren't set up to do that quite yet to do it well you'll want a serving jig and a few serving sizes which will cost you some money. If you are worried about a $15 pack of nocks, then get ready to spend $100-200 to get set up to serve.

One last word on nock size -- nocks come in all sizes and stringmakers make all sorts of finished diameters! Those 0.88 and 0.98 dimensions are published numbers from Easton for their "small throat" and "large throat" nocks respectively, but those numbers don't always align with true measurements on their nocks.

A great resource to plan our nock purchases and string builds is a piece by OCD Strings called "What Nock and I Shooting". Highly educational and actually inspired me to buy this set of pin gauges to measure my own nocks and order strings more accurately. Julie lists all the common nocks on her blog post, and if there's one on there you don't see ask me and I can see if I have one on hand to measure.

PS, OCD Strings also has a good blog post on ideal nock fit for those reading who are going through something similar as the OP.

Good luck!

Man I can’t thank you enough, that’s a lot on of info that I wasn’t expecting, but I’m glad you went into detail on. I’m gonna try the nocks out that are on the way and see if they fit. I ordered 3 different ones so fingers crossed. If not though I’ll try the ones you recommended. You’re correct on the nocks I have, they’re the standard GT ones that come with the hunter pros and the same bushing as well.


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[Holocene]

Anytime. Good luck getting the nock fit you are looking for. It's worth it to take the time to figure this out, but one of the more tedious aspects of setting up a bow for sure.

 

[Pfranchise]

Honestly, getting a serving tool and learning how to re-serve your own string is an indispensable skill. No relying on your shop or string maker and no wasted time waiting.