Horn for nocks

[Dan Perry]

Hi folks,

I am looking for an afordable source of horn for nocks in the U.S.

Anyone have info?

Dan

[duffontap]

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,.......ha, ha, ha...ha. 

Sorry about that little outburst.  I haven't found any 'affordable' horn and I've spent so many hours looking and writing suppliers.     You can get decent 'longhorns' on ebay for about $20 per set.  Figure on paying $15 for shipping.  So for $35 you get enough horn for 2-4 horn tips (depending on the size of the horn and quality) and enough horn scrap for 2,000 tip overlays and arrow plates.  Buffalo horn costs less but isn't as strong and you only get one horn nock from each horn--regardless of size.  I use it sometimes because of the pure, black color but you end up paying more in the end. 

Raptor Archery sells pre-drilled horn nock sets if you're willing to deal with a forced 1/2" bow tip and 'assorted colors.'  They aren't that cheap either.

I hope that helps Dan.

          J. D. Duff

[Pat B]

Contact Justin Snyder and see what he has. Dan, Justin lives in SW Utah.   Pat

[John K]

WOW  I  new i should of been saving beef horns when i worked at the butcher shop

I might have to take a ride up there and see if they will save them for me

[sagitarius boemoru]

This is not only problem in States. Cattle is kept with horn cut short from young age, so there is not much horn on it. Black buff is availble easy, but it looks like black plastic when polished.
Best thing really is to find a butcher.

J.

[John K]

When you guys talk about using horn, do you uae just the tip or the whole horn and just cut pieces from it 

Also how big do they need to be, I could probably get a buch 8-10 inches 

[Justin Snyder]

Dan, I have some bison horn. They are rough, but you are going to shape and sand them anyway.  Send me a PM if you are interested.  Justin

[sagitarius boemoru]

Former butcher - with cattle you can use only tip which is solid. With black buff there is much more solid stuff on the horn, which I cut in pieces and use as if it was tips...

Jaro

[Justin Snyder]

Like Jaro said, the true buffalo have more solid horn.  American bison are not true buffalo. There horn is like cattle, the tip is all that can be used for tips. There is a lot of thick horn that can be used for tip overlays or arrow nocks. Justin

[cowboy]

I gather them up where I hunt. Old rancher de-horns every year or two, grabbed about twenty sets last time - will keep my eyes and ears open for the next batch. Maybe offer them up for trade or something.

[Dan Perry]

Thank you all for the input.

Dan

[duffontap]

Justin,

I bought a box of 18" Buffalo horns on Ebay and they were as hollow as can be.  What do I look for to find a more solid horn?

           J. D. Duff

[Justin Snyder]

Ill trade you for some with good tips on them.    Justin

[justice66]

Rudderbows sells a great set of waterbuffalo nocks at 27.00 a set ,I had to replace one on my longbow,predrilled polished very pleasing to look at and they are very nice people to talk with as well,I believe they are in washington, Terry J Ceres Calif

[toxophileken]

There is a fellow in the Phillipines that is trying to start selling premade horn nocks as well as horn for asiatic composite bows and self made bow nocks, etc.

I got two pair of his premade horn nocks for $10 a pair.  They are pretty good, but I think he has some fine tuning to do before they will be generally acceptable.  I hope Jaro or someone will work with him to refine his design.  His workmanship is good, but the string grooves aren't quite right in my opinion.  Easy enough to redo oneself.  If I were to order more, I would have him drill the taper and rough out the shape, but leave the rest for me to fine tune (no final shaping or string grooves).

He also has mother of pearl, ebony, and snakeskins. 

His name is Peter Cua.  Here is his email address:

kusangloob(at)yahoo(dot)com  [replace "at" with @ and "dot" with .]

Ken