Montana hunters can now legally use lighted nocks during the archery-only hunting season.
An issue you may not have even known existed unless you hunt in Montana. Lighted nocks, up until this year, we're banned from use in the state of Montana. Many hunters throughout the country, including myself, were unaware of this. As for those who bow hunt in Montana, most were well aware.
Several Facebook groups and pages had spent years working to educate and share information regarding the lighted nocks issue in Montana. The state of Montana had recently been against making this transformation as they believe that the use of lighted nocks is too modernized for the traditional sport of archery. For that reason alone, we can't say as we disagree, but there are many benefits to lighted nocks as well.
The Helena Independent Record first broke the story of the FWP allowing lighted nocks. "The lighted nock has always made a lot of sense to me," FWP Commissioner Matt Tourtlotte told Independent Record. "I would hate for it to be a gateway for this other technology to come tumbling into a sport that has its roots in a primitive core. But I advocated for it in the past, and I support it now."
Many hunters are on the fence in an attempt to preserve the traditional and primitive lifestyle that archery hunting arose from. Other hunters are sharing their experience and knowledge on how helpful lighted nocks are for the hunter and the animal.
The question as to exactly how they are beneficial can be answered in many ways. The main reason, as explain by other hunters, is it's help in game recovery. How may you ask? When you shoot a deer with an arrow, the lighted nock can help you better see the location of impact. This is important to decide what your next steps are. A complete pass through with a lighted nock can also give you a good starting point to being looking for blood. It also will make finding your arrow much easier, especially in low light conditions.
Finding your arrow can also help identify the location of the shot as well. Dark blood, green, or bright red with bubbles, every little bit of information can help the hunter decide on their next move and if the shot will be fatal. A lighted nock can only help the hunter in gathering more information of the shot to determine what's next.
What are your feelings on this? Is technology in archery losing sight of the traditional sport and becoming too modernized? Are lighted nocks helping or hurting the archery hunter?
Like what you see here? You can read more articles by Dustin Prievo here. Follow him and his hunting team, Top Pin Outdoors, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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