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I know this will be something like a Ford, Chevy, Dodge question, BUT I'm definitely in the market for an ice auger shaft. I've been using my blue 8" Mora auger for over 30 years. It has cut thousands of holes. But my shoulders are telling me this won't be an option in the future. I've looked at countless videos on YouTube talking about all the pros/cons of the various auger shafts to use with a cordless drill. Now I'm asking for YOUR help to spend MY money! What auger shaft are you using? Why do you like it better than others? This is one requirement: I plan to drill overlapping holes and I definitely want an 8" size. Here are what I've looked at:
Kdrill
Strikemaster Lite Flite
Nils
Eskimo Pistol Bit
Jiffy Torch
THANKS in advance for your opinions!
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"I plan to drill overlapping holes..."
That rules out Nils augers.
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That is why I said that I'd need to drill overlapping holes. However, not necessarily. I tried my friend's 6" Nils out yesterday. You can drill overlapping holes with it, BUT you have to start the second hold very SLOWLY and perfectly vertical. Went through 7" of ice, overlapping with no problem, once I figured out how to start the second hole.
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Lite flite has been good to me. Meets all your criteria
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01-16-2022, 06:53 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-16-2022, 07:04 PM by BURLEY.)
I run a 6" Kdrill with no regrets. Lite weight, floats, overlapping holes. Lifetime sharping of blades.(haven't used yet) Shaft extension available, but I made my own. 8" auger will be harder on drill motor.
Good fishing to all. Hue
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(01-16-2022, 05:11 PM)BearLakeFishGuy Wrote: I know this will be something like a Ford, Chevy, Dodge question, BUT I'm definitely in the market for an ice auger shaft. I've been using my blue 8" Mora auger for over 30 years. It has cut thousands of holes. But my shoulders are telling me this won't be an option in the future. I've looked at countless videos on YouTube talking about all the pros/cons of the various auger shafts to use with a cordless drill. Now I'm asking for YOUR help to spend MY money! What auger shaft are you using? Why do you like it better than others? This is one requirement: I plan to drill overlapping holes and I definitely want an 8" size. Here are what I've looked at:
Kdrill
Strikemaster Lite Flite
Nils
Eskimo Pistol Bit
Jiffy Torch
THANKS in advance for your opinions!
Scott, once you switch over to a cordless drill and auger you will wonder why you did not do it sooner. If money is not a problem, I'd say go with the Kdrill and a Milwaukee fuel drill, at least that is what I hear from those that have them. Before I heard about them I bought a Nils and have been happy with mine, this is it's 5th season, I bought mine for $100 but it makes a big difference on the motor you buy to power the Nils. Ira and I both bought our Nils the same year, mine is a 6" his is a 8", he has had to replace three drill motors during that time but he did not buy a DeWALT. I'm still on my first motor, a DeWALT that I got for $100. IMO the drill motor has to work extra hard to drive a 8" auger vs a 6" auger but that is just my opinion. I have never had a problem getting a fish through a 6" hole but I can see that you might because you fish at BL and the Gorge. Hope this helps.
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I've got no complaints about my Milwaukee and K Drill set up.
To start with I made adapters for the augers that I had. They worked fine most of the time. When it was tough drilling I would peck at the hole with the auger to keep the motor from overheating.
Live to hunt----- Hunt to live.
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(01-16-2022, 07:42 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: I have never had a problem getting a fish through a 6" hole but I can see that you might because you fish at BL and the Gorge. Hope this helps.
I have owned and used 10", 8" and 6" augers. I've never had a problem getting any of my fish through any of those holes. Maybe I need to catch larger fish! I have noticed that the larger the ice hole the easier it is to get the fish's head pointed up the hole and as a result lose fewer fish just below the ice. When I fish for lake trout (and sturgeon once), and where allowed, I drill a triangle of holes and cut the ice bridges out with my ice saw.
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I've owned a SM Lazer for many years and had zero complaints. I tried out a K-Drill the other day powered by a Milwaukie and I wasn't overly impressed. A friend has the new SM Lite Flite and it's similar to mine in performance. In my opinion, I'd say the drill is probably more important than the bit when comparing Strikemaster, Nils, K-Drill, etc. Get a good 20v.
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(01-17-2022, 12:58 AM)fishnate Wrote: I've owned a SM Lazer for many years and had zero complaints. I tried out a K-Drill the other day powered by a Milwaukie and I wasn't overly impressed. A friend has the new SM Lite Flite and it's similar to mine in performance. In my opinion, I'd say the drill is probably more important than the bit when comparing Strikemaster, Nils, K-Drill, etc. Get a good 20v.
What kind of drill motor do you use Nate?
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I now own both a KDrill 7.5” and a Jiffy Torch 8”. Both are powered by a Milwaukee Fuel. I’ve only had the Torch out 4 times. But after using it, I can tell it puts less torque on the drill. I suspect it is because it only has one cutter instead of the 2 the KDrill has. I would think this would lead to longer battery life- but I haven’t confirmed that yet. I got 36 holes with the Torch in 7” of ice and still had 3 of 4 bars on the battery. The Torch throws ice chips more. As I have said before, I like chipper/ripper blades over shavers. Both of these models have a centering point, so reopening old holes and overlapping is a strong point. If I had to choose at this point, I’d probably go with the KDrill- merely for the fact 7.5” is big enough hole for me and I have 4 years with no complaints. The auger wars I read about are kind of stupid- it is just splitting hairs. Any way you go with a bit you will be fine. I’d stick to the proven and recommended drills. I can vouch for the Milwaukee Fuel. It’s a beast.
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I like my 8" K-Drill, I'm a fan of the chipper style blades too, the wind blowing on these high reservoirs makes for some dirty ice. Overlapping holes are no problem.
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I run the Milwaukee Fuel with a clam attachment and an 8” Eskimo, never been happier and can drill more holes than I’d ever need in a day. Considerably quieter than gas and less weight! Also will pull the drill off to put spikes in for my tent so it’s double useful
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I have been running a 8" strikemaster lazer on a clam plate with a milwaukee fuel for 4 years. I added the Clam gear reduction to the plate this year. Made a huge difference in battery life and seems to be a lot easier on the drill motor. Estimated 60 holes in 8-10" ice in 2 days last weekend at the berry. Still had 1 bar left on a 5 amp hour battery.
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I use and like my Nils 6”, but I’m dreaming of a pistol bit. I tried one and now I want one. I’ve used the kdrill as well and I like the pistol bit. I think I’m going to buy an ice saw like Kent and just use 6” holes and saw out the stuff in the middle. Later J
When things get stressful think I'll go fish'en and worry about it tomorrow!
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Milwaukee Fuel with Strike Master Lite Flite. My friend used mine at Strawberry on Saturday, he is using a blue auger with adapter. He said, “That is so smooth!”
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I now I'm late to this post but i use a 7" lazer auger bit on my drill. Cuts like butter. Has the weight i want for tough ice. Does not walk on you on glare ice because of blade angle and replacement blades are cheap. Price is right for $90
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Has anyone made their own adaptor to use a drill instead of the handle for an auger? I know I can buy the adaptor online, but wanted to see if I could make one cheaper than buying one. I have an 8" Eskimo Viper gas powered auger as well as a 6" Strike Master Mora. I was just thinking of making an adaptor to use my drill instead of the hand crank.
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I've made some for my augers and a couple for other people.
Live to hunt----- Hunt to live.
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If you can do it cheaper than, what are they $12-15, then go for it, but you'll want to make sure you make it out of strong enough stuff... I like the stainless steel option, the aluminum one twists over time... Good luck... Jeff
When things get stressful think I'll go fish'en and worry about it tomorrow!
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