• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Educate me on bolts

dixiehunter308

New Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2015
Messages
31
I've never tried bolts but I think I'd like to give it a go. I pretty much know nothing about them. I'd appreciate it if someone could take the time to help me figure out what to get and how it's done. Also pros and cons versus other methods? Thanks.
 
Treehopperllc.com
Products- mini Hand drill
Their bolts are awesome too.

Or purchase your own bolts (always Grade 8). 3/8” x 6”
You can pay $2.50 each down to free!:)

Some guys have tinkered with Extruded Carbon Fiber rods (cut to 6 or 6 1/2”) and some have also tinkered with Titanium bolts.
Most stick with Grade 8 yellow metal bolts.
Bulk order from China on Amazon or bulk order thru Treehopper (see above).

Most paint, bed-liner dip or shrink tubing their bolts (I paint mine).

Hope that helps. I love bolts and my hand drill.
 
Last edited:
I purchased my first bolts from local hardware store, but you’ll most likely pay a premium price. Sometimes you can run into a great deal.

I also purchased a Erwin 7/16” screw type drill bit for my cordless drill to test some trees to see if I liked the concept.

Then I purchased an E-Z Cut drill and did a DIY quieting job.
Treehopper took care of all that when they upped their game this year.

Did I mention Tree Hopper? :grinning:
 
Last edited:
I will be running bolts and treehopper this year on some properties. Like already mentioned, treehopper mini hand drill and 10-12 grade 8 3/8x6” bolts from hardware store and you are ready to go. They are not illegal on all state wma’s/gamelands. I read that Georgia allows it if you remove the bolts from tree every time. I believe NC allows it under the same conditions—no metal left in tree. Regulations on this matter are sometimes tricky, so if you have a question on interpretation, I’d advise you to call your game warden. That’s what I did in VA, and he was very responsive and honest.
 
1st, compare them to screw ins. Dont compare to other climbing methods...apples to oranges.

When comparing to screw ins, bolts are far lighter and more packable. Much more affordable, too. 100 bolts for $100... can't say that about screw in steps.

You have a choice of a hand drill or cordless drill.
Most guys using cordless are doing presets, although there are cordless guys that drill, hang and hunt. For presets, cordless is as sweet as it gets. I use 20v so I cant comment on using 12v or 14v. I have heard they lose charge fast. I realize there are a lot of variables to that.
I can cordless drill and climb super fast with little effort.

Treehopper hand drills are the Cadillac of hand drills. EZKut are junk but are priced the same as Treehopper. Why not buy the best? Plus Treehopper customer service is top notch. EZKut...is often crickets.

A hand drilled hole takes roughly 60-70 cranks. The drill does most of the work once started. Cranking is easy but it will take a half minute or more for each hole. Hand drilling is definitely a 2 hand operation so a linemans belt is mandatory. I can install screw ins with 1 hand. Yeah, I know...always climb with a LB. I assess my own risk factor.
Once drilled, there is no climbing method that is as fast (up, AND BACK DOWN) as bolts.

Lets compare to the Americrap type screw in steps. They pack terribly, are a bitch to install and remove, and cant always be fully screwed due to individual tree shape, bumps, etc.
EZ Climb screw ins are great, but they are expensive and still can be tough to screw on very hard trees. An osage, for example it difficult even for EZ Climbs but its a piece of cake for bolts. My Treehopper eats osage for lunch. There are a couple properties I hunt that the only decent trees, in the right spot, are osage. Bolts for all those.

Already mentioned...must be grade 8 for total safety. Carbon and titanium are used but they are not bomb proof.
For the price, more trees can be set and ready to hunt, for a lot less money than for screw in steps.
Preset bolts dont really need shrink tube or dip...just paint them.
Bolts that are carried daily should be heat shrink tubed. 3:1, marine grade tube with built in adhesive is fast to do and very durable. Dip is neither fast nor durable.
I gave away almost 100 Americrap screw ins to a friend because they absolutely sucked.
I kept 100 EZ Climb Deluxe because they really are great steps. But I have not used them since I learned about bolts last year.
I love bolts.
 
Last edited:
I put in a preset yesterday with some Ameristep fixed and cranford folding screw ins on local private land. I used them only because they have been laying around the storage building for years and decided they need to go up again. PITA, they are never coming back out and will use stick ladders or bolts for any other sets. I completely forgot how bad they are to install compared to other methods. Bolts with a cordless would have been done on that tree before even 3 of the 14 steps would have been done.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk
 
I’m pretty sure I have a books worth of stuff I’ve written about bolts over the years. The “treebolts revisited” thread is a wealth of info.

If legal, and you are prepping trees before season, there is ABSOLUTELY no better climbing method out there. I use the aforementioned carbon bolts, but after a lot of testing by guys on the forum, I can’t in good faith recommend them. Grade 8’s are what I would go with, hands down. They aren’t that heavy in the first place.

I used industrial strength shrink wrap to cover the part of the bolt that doesn’t go in the hole. This reduces glare on bare metal, and provides some traction.

Using a cordless drill is a breeze, and the Treehopper mini hand drill is by far better than the EZ-Kut. I used the EZ-Kut for 4 seasons and it completely wore out in that time. The bit is still nice and sharp (I sharpen by bits before each season) but the handle has completely worn out. I seriously doubt I could EVER wear out this treehopper version. I got the mini drill with the folding handle, and it is the bees knees. My wife’s baking scale puts the drill in at 8.22 ounces. A bit heavier than the EZ-Kut, but it is absolutely bomb proof.

30086001f81539f022d4ca9123e3e07b.jpg



................................................................................All climbing methods, platforms, saddle designs, and/or use of materials possibly mentioned in the post above are not peer reviewed for safety, and should only be used as an example of my own method. Do your own research and testing before becoming confident in any DIY solution to support your life.
-IkemanTx
 
Good info. Thanks guys. A couple of follow up questions...

I can see why adding the shrink tube would be helpful in cutting down noise. But aside from the noise factor, is there really any reason that the bare yellow bolts can't be used? I assume it is just a glare and visibility issue, and that is the reason that some people are just painting them?

I'm interested in learning more about the carbon fiber bolts. I want to consider safety first and foremost, so I doubt I would jump right in, but where are people buying them?

Thanks again.
 
Good info. Thanks guys. A couple of follow up questions...

I can see why adding the shrink tube would be helpful in cutting down noise. But aside from the noise factor, is there really any reason that the bare yellow bolts can't be used? I assume it is just a glare and visibility issue, and that is the reason that some people are just painting them?

I'm interested in learning more about the carbon fiber bolts. I want to consider safety first and foremost, so I doubt I would jump right in, but where are people buying them?

Thanks again.
I would not paint bolts this close to the season. I want them to air out for at least a couple months.
For climbing use, bolts don't need coated with ship or shrink tube. Coating is for silencing the steps during transport. But If I were going to use bolts for a ROS, I would want them shrink tubed. I actually think a double, or triple layer of tube might make a decent ROS but I've never tried applying multiple layers of shrink tube. I assume the type with built-in adhesive would work well.

As for shiny, bare metal bolts...If that's all I had, I would use them, but I would pull the bottom several bolts after each hunt. Shiny metal grabs my eye in the woods. I don't like advertising my location to other hunters.

I don't do carbon. It does interest me for back-up steps in my pack if I needed to make a quick change of trees. But they are too expensive to be a replacement for the few hundred grade 8s I've already invested in.
There has been several threads discussing carbon rods. Don't cut your own. Buy them already cut. I'm not sure where the current, best deal is. I believe they come in different grades so there could be some junk out there. Be careful.
 
I’m using grade 8’s for presets and titanium for mobile sets. The grade 8’s generally get painted in January or February then sat outside until I need them. I haven’t used heat shrink but did wrap my titanium bolts in vet wrap. I have the ez cut hand drill and power drill bit but honestly haven’t used the power drill. I rarely drill more than one or two trees per outing so it’s not that bad. I just started really post season scouting and pre setting trees the last couple years so maybe in the near future I’ll have enough spots on the same property to make carrying a drill worthwile.
 
Oooooh, look at these.
Not sure how many Mark made or if they will be sold, but you guys that like camo stuff should dig these babies.
99a619d253f245d0d5a3db596fbb554c.jpg


Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Hydrodipped, nice! I"m actually kind of happy I have an early, non-annodized one..If I drop it, I can find it!
 
Hydrodipped, nice! I"m actually kind of happy I have an early, non-annodized one..If I drop it, I can find it!
I don’t want anything camouflaged that belongs in a pocket or bag when actually hunting. I was crawling through thick brush and dropped a S&W model 60 in 357 one time hog hunting with dogs. That’s stainless steel finish and it took me a couple hours to find it. Probably never would have found it if it was hydrodipped.
 
Great info here, I would also second that the folding handle is the bees knees. Way more packable. I tested one out this year at a local game fair. A tip I found helpful was to put a slight angle on the bit while drilling. That way it's easier for the woodchips to work their way out of the hole. It seemed to work better than placing the bit directly perpendicular to the tree.
 
Back
Top