You’re standing in the backyard, or maybe a dark cornfield, and that little LED is glowing like a miniature sun. It’s a beautiful sight when it’s flying through the air. It’s less beautiful when you’re five minutes into trying to kill the power and your thumb is starting to throb. Learning how to turn Nockturnal nocks off is one of those things that seems like it should be intuitive, yet every year, thousands of bowhunters find themselves poking at their arrows with pocket knives and sticks.
It’s a simple mechanism. Really. But the Nockturnal brand, owned by Feradyne Outdoors, uses a patented "piston-driven" contact switch. When the string hits the nock, the force pushes a tiny internal plunger down, completing the circuit. To break that circuit, you have to pull that plunger back up.
If you try to use your fingernails, you’re going to have a bad time. Most people do. They end up with a cracked nail or a nock that stays lit until the battery dies three days later.
The Hole in the Side Is the Secret
Look at the side of the nock. You’ll see a tiny, tiny little port or a slit. This is the "reset" hole.
To shut the light off, you need something small enough to fit in that hole and strong enough to slide the interior switch back toward the "top" of the nock (the part that clips onto the string). It’s a physical slide. You aren’t pushing into the nock; you are hooking the switch and sliding it upward.
Honestly, the best tool for this is the Nockturnal tool that they sell for a few bucks, but let’s be real: nobody actually has that on them when they need it. Most of us use a field point. Just take another arrow, use the tip of the field point to catch that little ledge inside the hole, and slide it up.
Click. The light goes out.
If you are using small-diameter nocks, like the G-series or those meant for micro-diameter shafts, that hole is incredibly small. A standard field point might be too fat. In those cases, a safety pin, a toothpick, or even a small fishing hook works. I’ve seen guys use the tip of a pocket knife, but be careful with that. If you nick the plastic or the wiring inside, you’ve just turned a $12 nock into a piece of translucent trash.
Why Some Nocks Just Won't Turn Off
Sometimes you slide the switch and nothing happens. Or it flickers. Or it goes out for a second and then pops back on like a ghost is haunting your quiver.
Blood is usually the culprit.
If you’ve actually put that arrow through a deer, blood gets into the nock housing. It’s sticky. It dries fast. If that blood gets into the slide mechanism, it can gum up the works so badly that the piston won't move, or it gets stuck in the "on" position. If this happens, don't just keep stabbing at it. You’ll break the internal components.
Take the nock out of the arrow. Soak it in a little bit of warm water or use a Q-tip with some rubbing alcohol to clean out the slit. Once the residue is gone, the switch usually moves freely again.
Another issue is the "dry fire" effect on the nock itself. If your bow is pushing serious poundage—think 70+ lbs with a high-performance cam—the force on that nock is insane. Occasionally, the plastic can slightly deform, pinching the switch. If you can't move it with a reasonable amount of force, the nock is likely compromised and should be tossed. Safety first. A cracked nock can lead to a dry fire, and a dry fire can lead to a shattered bow limb. Not worth it for a light.
What Most People Get Wrong About Nockturnal Maintenance
A lot of hunters think these things are indestructible because they’re made of polycarbonate. They aren't.
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One common mistake is using pliers to try and "pull" the nock off the string to reset it. The Nockturnal is designed to stay lit until you manually reset it. It does not reset by being pulled off the string. That’s the difference between a Nockturnal and a "pull-to-reset" style nock like the ones from Burt Coyote (Lumenok).
With a Lumenok, the connection is made between the nock and the carbon of the arrow shaft. To turn those off, you just wiggle them or pull them out slightly.
Nockturnals do not work that way. If you try to "wiggle" a Nockturnal to turn it off, all you’re doing is loosening the fit of the nock in your arrow. A loose nock is a dangerous nock. It needs to be seated firmly and fully against the shaft to transfer energy correctly. If you've been messing with it and it feels loose now, you might need to use the old "plastic bag trick" (placing a thin piece of plastic over the hole before inserting the nock) or just replace the nock entirely.
Keeping Your Nocks Functional in the Field
If you're hunting in freezing temperatures, the plastic becomes more brittle and the battery output can drop. This makes the "reset" process a bit more delicate. If you're struggling to turn it off in the cold, try warming it up in your pocket for a minute. The plastic will have a bit more give, and the internal switch will slide smoother.
Also, keep an eye on the "ears" of the nock. Because Nockturnals are made of a different material than your standard factory nocks, they can sometimes have a tighter or looser "snap" on the string. Check this periodically. If the nock doesn't "click" onto your center serving with a distinct sound and feel, it’s not gripping right.
Actionable Next Steps for Success:
- Carry a dedicated reset tool: Attach a small eyeglass screwdriver or a specialized nock tool to your range bag or bino harness. It saves your fingernails and prevents you from using a knife and potentially cutting yourself in the dark.
- Test before the season: Don't wait until you're in the stand to see if your nocks still work. Give them a quick "pop" by hand (pushing the plunger with a flat surface) to ensure the battery is still strong and the switch hasn't seized up from sitting in the closet all summer.
- Clean after the shot: If you harvest an animal, clean that nock immediately with water once you get back to camp. Organic material inside the nock is the number one cause of permanent failure.
- Inspect for stress marks: Look for "whitening" in the clear plastic. This indicates stress fractures. If you see them, retire that nock to the practice-only pile or the trash.
Learning how to turn Nockturnal nocks off effectively is really just about having the right tiny object and understanding that it's a sliding motion, not a pushing one. Once you get the muscle memory down, you can do it in total darkness in about two seconds.