Archery & Bowhunting · Best-of list
The best lighted nocks are the ones that fit your shaft, light when you shoot and stay lit long enough to find the arrow. This list only takes lighted nocks whose maker or Amazon listing states both battery life and how the light switches on, sorted longest battery life first. It's re-checked weekly, so the picks can change. Fit is still on you. (Walt calls them taillights. The name stuck, which annoys both of us.)
How this list is builtLighted nocks whose maker or Amazon listing states battery life and how the light switches on, longest battery life first.
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| Model | Fits shaft ID | Battery life | Color | Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ballista 8.8mm OD Lighted NocksNock More specs
| .300 in ID / 7.62 mm ID, 8.8 mm ODlisting | 72 hourslisting | Redlisting | Check price |
Ballista 6mm OD Lighted NocksNock More specs
| 4.2 mm ID / 6 mm ODlisting | 72 hourslisting | Bluelisting | Check price |
TenPoint Alpha-Blaze HPX Lighted NockNock More specs
| — | 24 hourslisting | — | Check price |
TenPoint ACU-X Snap-On Lighted NockNock More specs
| — | 24 hourslisting | greenlisting | Check price |
Nockturnal GT-NockNock More specs
| .246 (GT)maker | 20 hourslisting | Redlisting | Check price |
Nockturnal X-NockNock More specs
| .204 (X)maker | 20 hourslisting | Greenlisting | Check price |
Good for crossbow bolts with a .300 in (7.62 mm) inside diameter and 8.8 mm outside, with a listed 72 hours of battery life and on-release switching.
Skip it if you shoot arrows from a bow, or thinner bolts.
Good for micro-diameter crossbow bolts at 4.2 mm inside and 6 mm outside, with a listed 72 hours, blue light and on-release switching.
Skip it if your bolts are standard diameter, or you shoot a vertical bow.
Good for crossbow bolts, with a listed 24 hours of battery life and on-release switching, 3 to a pack.
Skip it if you need a stated fit size or light color, since the listing gives neither, or you shoot a vertical bow.
Good for crossbow bolts, if you want a green light; the listing gives 24 hours of battery life, on-release switching and 3 to a pack.
Skip it if you need a stated fit size, which the listing doesn't give, or you shoot arrows.
Good for arrow shafts with a .204 inside diameter, the X size, with on-release switching per the maker, green light and a listed 20 hours.
Skip it if your shafts take a different nock size, or you shoot bolts.
Good for arrow shafts with a .246 inside diameter, the GT size, with on-release switching per the maker, red light and a listed 20 hours.
Skip it if your shafts take a smaller nock size, or you shoot bolts.
A lighted nock replaces the plastic nock on the back of an arrow or bolt. When you shoot, a small switch closes and an LED inside lights up. You watch the arrow fly, you see where it hits, and you have a glowing marker to walk to.
Three things decide whether a lighted nock works for you: it has to fit your shaft, it has to switch on reliably when you shoot, and it has to stay lit long enough. This list is built on the last two. Every nock here has a stated battery life and a stated way of switching on. Fit is the first thing to check after that, and the table shows each one's size.
Right now the list holds four crossbow nocks and two arrow nocks. That split matters more than anything else on this page, because a crossbow nock won't go on your arrow and an arrow nock doesn't belong on a bolt.
These labels say what each nock is, by its specs. They don't make one the winner.
The Ballista lighted nock for Piercer bolts is the larger of the two Ballista crossbow nocks here. Its listing gives the fit as a .300 inch (7.62 mm) inside diameter with an 8.8 mm outside diameter. It lists 72 hours of battery life, tied for the longest on this list, and it switches on automatically on release. The light is red and it comes 3 to a pack. The trade-off is plain: it's sized for one family of bolts. If your bolts aren't that size, it isn't your nock.
The second Ballista is for thinner bolts. Its listing gives a 4.2 mm inside diameter and a 6 mm outside diameter, and the title names Ballista Sting bolts and compatible micro shafts. It also lists 72 hours and on-release switching. The light is blue and it's 3 to a pack. A crossbow nock is shaped for a crossbow string and sized for the bolt, so it isn't a stand-in for an arrow nock.
TenPoint has two crossbow nocks here, both 3 to a pack. Both listings give 24 hours of battery life and say the light switches on automatically on release. That puts them between the Ballista pair at 72 hours and the arrow nocks at 20.
The difference between them is small and mostly about what the listings leave out. The ACU-X Snap-On is green, per its listing, and its model name says it snaps on. The Alpha-Blaze HPX listing doesn't state a light color. Neither listing states a fit size, so the size column shows a dash for both. The trade-off is that you have to confirm fit yourself: check the bolt maker's spec, or the crossbow manual, before you order. A nock that almost fits isn't a crossbow nock you want behind a string.
The Nockturnal X-Nock fits arrow shafts with a .204 inside diameter, which Feradyne's chart calls the X size. That's the smaller of the two arrow fits here. The maker says it switches on when the bowstring pushes it on release, with no wires or connections, and lists it at about 20 grains. The Amazon listing gives 20 hours of battery life, and Feradyne's product page says 20-plus hours from a lithium battery. It's green on this listing, one of two green nocks here with the TenPoint ACU-X, and 3 to a pack. The trade-off is in the number: 20 hours is the shortest stated battery life on this page, tied with the GT-Nock.
The GT-Nock fits a .246 inside diameter, the GT size on Feradyne's chart. That's the largest arrow fit here. Like the X-Nock, the maker states on-release switching, and the listing gives 20 hours of battery life. This one is red and 3 to a pack. Feradyne's chart lists some shafts under both GT and S, so if your arrow appears twice, measure the inside diameter or ask the maker before ordering a pack you can't use.
Here's what actually changes from one pack to the next. The rule's two fields come first.
Battery life is how long the light runs once it's on, in hours, as the maker or listing states it. On this list it's 72 hours, 24 or 20.
Quick math: 20 hours is a lot of tracking. It's also only 20 practice sessions of an hour each if you forget to switch the nock off. So the number that matters is how much of that time you burn by accident. Bowhunter notes that Nockturnal batteries aren't replaceable, while Lumenoks have a replaceable battery that adds a few grains. A sealed battery means the nock is done when the battery is.
My one opinion on this page: put lighted nocks on the arrows you hunt with, and do most of your summer practice with plain nocks. A battery you use up at the range in August isn't there for you in November. The checkable reason is the hour count on the box, which doesn't refill.
Every nock on this list is stated to switch on automatically when you shoot. Feradyne describes its X-Nock switch as a push-on switch moved by the bowstring. Bowhunting.com's overview of lighted nock designs describes several others: some light when the launch pushes the nock forward to close a circuit, some light past a set amount of force, and some light when the nock compresses.
Switching off differs by design. Bowhunting.com lists methods such as backing the nock out of the shaft, pulling it straight back until it clicks, or tapping the nock end on a hard surface. Feradyne's X-Nock page says it switches off easily but doesn't spell out the steps on that page. Read the instructions in the pack before your first shot, not at the target with a glowing arrow and no idea how to stop it. (I have stood at a target bale doing exactly that. The arrow won.)
Lighted nocks fit by the shaft's inside diameter, or for some crossbow nocks by the bolt's stated size. Feradyne's Nockturnal chart lists five arrow sizes: G at .165, X at .204, H at .233, S at .244 and GT at .246. Two of those are on this list right now.
Archery 360's nock guide gives the fit test. A good nock clicks onto the string and comes off with a light tap. Too tight, and it may not release cleanly. Too loose, and it can fall off during the draw, which isn't safe. That test still applies to a lighted nock.
Four of the six nocks on this list are for crossbow bolts. TenPoint's article on crossbow nocks explains why the shape matters: on today's narrow crossbows, a nock shape that doesn't hold the string can let it ride over or under the nock. TenPoint calls that a simulated dry-fire, and says it can happen even on crossbows with a dry-fire inhibitor. Use the nock your bolt or crossbow maker specifies. Bolts themselves are on the crossbow bolts page.
Lighted nocks weigh more than plain ones. Bowhunter puts the difference at 8 to 15 grains depending on brand, and says that can lower FOC (front of center, how far forward the balance point sits) by slightly more than 1%. If you use brass or stainless inserts to add weight up front, Bowhunter calls the effect negligible.
A grain is a small unit of weight, 437.5 to the ounce. Fifteen grains is nothing in your hand. On an arrow, it's at the very end of a lever. Shoot your hunting arrows with lighted nocks installed before the season and check that they group with your field points.
As listed, two nocks here are red, one is blue and two are green, and the TenPoint Alpha-Blaze HPX listing doesn't give a color. None of the makers or listings here state a brightness figure, so color is the only light spec to compare. The right color is the one your eyes pick out against the woods where you hunt. (My spreadsheet has a column for nock color. It has never once changed a decision. It stays.)
Bowhunter's Curt Wells puts shot placement first: a lit nock shows you exactly where the arrow hit, which tells you how to read the blood and when to start tracking. If the arrow stays in the deer, you may see which way it went. If it passes through, the glowing arrow is easier to find on the ground.
He adds two smaller uses. Stick a lit arrow in the ground to mark last blood, and you can find the spot again after dark. And at the range, a lit nock in flight shows any wobble, which is your bow telling you it needs tuning. That one is cheaper than a paper-tuning frame and less fun than it sounds.
Lighted nock rules vary by state. Deer and Deer Hunting reported in 2017 that Montana ended its ban, following Oregon and Washington. For record books, Grand View Outdoors reported in 2014 that Pope and Young changed its by-laws to accept animals taken with lighted nocks. Check your state wildlife agency for the current rule before the season.
A cracked nock can break on the shot and act like a dry-fire. Archery 360's inspection guide says to check nocks for cracks, holding clear ones up to a light, and replace damaged ones before you shoot. Lighted nocks count.
If your state doesn't allow lighted nocks for the season you're hunting, skip it until the rules say otherwise. If you shoot an arrow whose inside diameter isn't .204 or .246, neither arrow nock here fits, and the lighted nocks page covers the wider range. For bolts, the two Ballista nocks state their sizes and the two TenPoint listings don't, so check your bolt maker's spec before ordering any of the four.
And if you only shoot targets in the backyard, plain nocks do the job. The nocks page covers those, and they don't need charging, switching or remembering.
The rule is in the box above: lighted nocks whose maker or Amazon listing states battery life and how the light switches on, longest battery life first. A nock with no stated battery life isn't left off because it runs short. It's left off because nobody wrote the number down.
Each value comes from the maker's page where one exists. For the Nockturnal nocks, fit, type and activation come from the maker. Where the maker is silent, the value comes from the Amazon listing, and the table marks it; the battery hours here all come from listings. A missing value shows as a dash. Nobody at Hemlock Run shot these nocks for this page.
The list is re-checked every week. Nocks that meet the rule can be added and others can drop off, so the picks can change.
Switch it off before you put the arrow back in the quiver. Your future self, standing at a dark tree line, needs those hours more than the target bale does.
Bowhunter magazine's Curt Wells says yes, and his main reason is seeing exactly where the arrow hit. That helps you read the shot and start tracking from the right spot. A lit arrow stuck in the ground can also mark last blood. Lighted nocks don't make you more accurate; they help you see what happened.
They add weight to the back of the arrow. Bowhunter puts it at 8 to 15 grains more than a standard nock, depending on brand, which can lower front-of-center balance by slightly more than 1%. Feradyne lists its X-Nock at about 20 grains. Shoot your hunting arrows with the lighted nocks installed before the season.
In most deer states, yes, but not everywhere and not always. Deer and Deer Hunting reported in 2017 that Montana ended its ban, after Oregon and Washington allowed them. Rules change, so check your state wildlife agency's current regulations before the season.
Go by your shaft's inside diameter and the nock maker's chart. Feradyne's Nockturnal chart lists G for a .165 inside diameter, X for .204, H for .233, S for .244 and GT for .246, and some shafts appear under two sizes. Crossbow nocks are sized for bolts, so match those to your bolt maker's spec.
Use nocks made for your bolts. TenPoint explains that nock shape affects how the string meets the bolt, and that a mismatched nock on a narrow crossbow can let the string ride over or under it, which it calls a simulated dry-fire. The Ballista nocks on this list state their bolt sizes; the TenPoint listings don't, so check those against your bolt maker's spec.
