so I think I'm going to throw a bit of tax money at an auger. just want to hear what you all use and some pros/cons/opinions on what to look for and/or buy. not planning on spending $500+ though. may wait till the off season to try and find some deals. thanks!!
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I use the 8" Eskimo stingray 33cc, it's great for $350, it's a little slow compared too most, but beats doing it by hand... Eventually I wanna get the 51cc I think, the shark is what it's called, the strike masters are great as well, there all pretty good these days, I would suggest an 8" or a NILS hand auger there the cats meow...
Matt
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yeah, I watched some review videos last night and it seems a lot of people are hooked on speed (not literally lol!!). I don't really care if one can out drill another by one hole. looking for reliability.
I did see a guy on strike a few weeks ago that was using a hand auger and drilling almost as fast as the guys with gas augers. it looked effortless too. we couldn't believe it!! pretty damn impressive. should have asked was kind it was.
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There are some good electric augers out there too. Look at the reviews before buying. Big plus is you don't have to worry about the alcohol in the fuel ruining the carb. Minus is you can only drill 30 or so eight inch holes. I have an Ice gator it works great, but the customer service wasn't so great, also I would suggest getting a good auger to go with it. I have a Nills eight inch and won't use the power head until the ice is over 12" thick. It is a really good auger. I wish I would have bought a good hand auger to begin with and then maybe the power auger wouldn't have been that big of deal.
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I've got an Eskimo Shark Z51 8" and could not be happier.
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that nils hand auger has me quite intrigued. haven't seen a bad review yet and the videos of it in action are quite impressive. plus, if a guy want the power head later on, he has that option. its expensive as hell, but again, didn't see any bad reviews of that tanaka motor. a seven year warranty makes it nice too. does anyone sell the nils locally (treasure valley)?
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cabelas does if they have them in stock i got one their a 6 inch but i ran it in to the dirt and ruined the head on it cabelas returned it but was sold out of nils so i had to go with a 7 inch strike master lazer it is nice and it cut fast but is not as easy as a nils but nils u have to be extra careful with replacement heads for a 6 inch are 69.99 so they are not cheap
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I purchased the SM Lazer Mag with the Solo motor at the beggining of last season. I mainly bought that brand based on the reviews I've read. After having it a while and having more exposure to other power augers, I wouldn't trade the one I have for any of the others I've been around even if you threw in $100 too. The Solo motor is a great runner and starts easy. The blades on the auger are almost 2 years old now, have never been sharpened, and still cut great. The SMLM costs a bit more than some of the others, but IMHO, it is worth it. I'd really like to see how the Honda motor that they put on the most expensive ones works, but then again, I'm a Honda guy.
did you get you lazer mag locally or did you have to order?
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Check out the ION. It will drill about thirty 8" holes in 12" of ice on a single charge. No gas mixing, no rope pulling. They're amazing. 500 bills, but worth it if you ice fish alot.
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decided to go with an 8" nils hand auger for now. picking it up tomorrow.
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[quote deepforks]did you get you lazer mag locally or did you have to order?[/quote]
Picked it up at Cabelas. Mostly paid for it with points. Also got it on sale.
[quote brookieguy1]Check out the ION. It will drill about thirty 8" holes in 12" of ice on a single charge. No gas mixing, no rope pulling. They're amazing. 500 bills, but worth it if you ice fish alot.[/quote]
30 holes on a charge is fairly impressive, but I sometimes drill close to 30 holes in one stop. Last time Matt and I went on the hunt for JUMBO's together, I'd bet we drilled well over 60 holes. I've had days where I've drilled over 100 holes. I guess it all depends on your fishing style. I've also had days where I've drilled at least 60 holes with a hand auger, which is one of the reasons I purchased a gas auger.[
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I too drill a lot of holes especially perch fishing. I drill and drill and drill and then let the water settle and go searching with the vex.
Windriver
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I thought about doing the same thing but I just couldn't stomach the cost of buying one so I made my own. I took an old eskimo barracuda hand auger and attached the motor from an earth auger onto it. I purchased the motor at harbor freight and took the top 5 inches of shaft from the earth bit that came with it and attached it to a stake which I drilled and pinned into place and then drilled more holes and screwed it right into the auger base. It worked fantastic on sunday at daniels when I went there and it is easy enough to change the head back off to the crank handle if I want a hand auger again for a back packing trip.
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[quote cdashby]I thought about doing the same thing but I just couldn't stomach the cost of buying one so I made my own. I took an old eskimo barracuda hand auger and attached the motor from an earth auger onto it. I purchased the motor at harbor freight and took the top 5 inches of shaft from the earth bit that came with it and attached it to a stake which I drilled and pinned into place and then drilled more holes and screwed it right into the auger base. It worked fantastic on sunday at daniels when I went there and it is easy enough to change the head back off to the crank handle if I want a hand auger again for a back packing trip.[/quote]You sound pretty handy, and hat's off. Just curious though, what does this contraption weigh in at?
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the nils...
we'll see if the hype is justified, this weekend. I sure hope so, cause these suckers aren't cheap!! lol!!
if you see a turquoise auger and a green Honda on cascade this weekend, stop by for a beer and say hello. staying at the cabin and gonna give her hell all weekend.
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I have not weighed it to be certain but I'm pretty sure it is in the 18-20 pound range fully set up. It has the same cc output as the 10" eskimo shark auger setup but for less than half the cost
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