• 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

EZ Kut Tree Bolts

Awesome writeup Matty. Thanks for the detailed info!
 
Thanks Matt!

Those are all the things that become obvious with a lot of experience.
I'm setting up several more tomorrow morning...gonna use the Power Drill though :)
 
I like the whole concept. Just wondering if a lag bolt would grip better and be less likely to pop out on occasion.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Having the flat tip of the bolt as opposed to a pointed screw actually gives you more solid contact surface inside the tree.
The key to them staying in is that the hole is the same size as the bolt.
On my practice trees, I have used the bottom holes a LOT and they do loosen up a bit.
But the bolts show no sign of falling out.

Pull ropes are the main hazards to watch out for.
I've had them get tangled in the bolts before
 
So yesterday I went out to rig a couple of last minute trees.
I was about 3/4 mile back and a couple hundred feet up on a ridge after cutting a path with a Machete.
Found the last tree I wanted to do and my DRILL BATTERY DIED :)

I got out the manual drill....
I find that it is easier for me to start the Drill two handed drilling above my head.
About halfway through, I move up one step and finish drilling and remove the drill from chest level.
It was a tall tree too. I went about 25'.

Hope that one pays off. Overlooking a Ridgetop trail that had a really active line of Rubs last year.
 
It'll be sweet if he effort pays off. Good luck!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
justsomedude said:
So yesterday I went out to rig a couple of last minute trees.
I was about 3/4 mile back and a couple hundred feet up on a ridge after cutting a path with a Machete.
Found the last tree I wanted to do and my DRILL BATTERY DIED :)

I got out the manual drill....
I find that it is easier for me to start the Drill two handed drilling above my head.
About halfway through, I move up one step and finish drilling and remove the drill from chest level.
It was a tall tree too. I went about 25'.

Hope that one pays off. Overlooking a Ridgetop trail that had a really active line of Rubs last year.
Click to expand...


Glad you were able to figure out a way that works for you. I have bad shoulders from injuries, so working above my head like that is very hard on them, otherwise I could see how that would work well. 3/4 of a mile in on a ridgetop you had to machete your way to....Yeah, doubt you'll get much competition back there. lol Most guys roll out of their truck and walk 100 yards always staying near trails. Get in there when the conditions are right and lay down a slammer!

Good luck!
 
I have a source for bolts you guys might be able to use. In a previous life I was a lineman. the bolts most power companies are 5'8 x 10',12',or 14'. They are galvanized and do NOT bend. Around here,when they replace an old pole they don't reuse the old bolts. They get recycled or thrown away. They replace them w/ new. For our purposes there's nothing wrong with them, they are VERY strong, they work perfect. They are alittle long but takes minutes to cut to size. Anyway, if you know a lineman, sometimes you can get free bolts. I have some old buddies that I used to work with. They get me old bolts whenever I need them. They are rock solid to stand on!
 
I'll have to dig out the platform and take a pic for you guys. I really only use the platform for all day sits, which I usually only do during the rut, so it's still stored away with colder weather clothes and everything else rut related. lol

As for the 5/8" bolts, they would be great, except the only hand-drill that I know of on the market now is for 3/8" bolts. Now you could get a 5/8" "wood auger" drill bit and make a depth collar for it, and make a handle for it. Then you'd be in business with the beefier 5/8" bolts. I just take one set of bolts everywhere though, so I don't worry about having a lot of them, I never leave them in a tree. So the 20 I have will hopefully last me a lifetime.

As far as bending the bolts, I know a guy that has used the 3/8" bolts and he's about 6'6" tall and over 320 pounds... :shock:
If they don't bend for him, they shouldn't bend for the rest of us that are sized more like "kickers". lol

What they did do though was elongate the hole as he stepped on them. So he has to drill at a steeper angle so the bolts don't end up facing down when he steps on them. Some trees are hard enough for him to use bolts, some aren't. The wood tree gives before the bolt, so that's comforting to know.

There are softwood trees that do that under weights as low as 160ish#'s. The trick is the same, drill into the tree at a steeper angle.
 
I am 6' 1" 215lbs.

I have gotten into the habit of drilling at a slightly downward angle as well as paying attention to which way the tree is leaning and adjusting for that as well.
I've been using more challenging trees lately and really happy about the flexibility of the whole Bolts/Saddle setup.

I don't have to deal with Pine trees at least.
 
Matty said:
I'll have to dig out the platform and take a pic for you guys. I really only use the platform for all day sits, which I usually only do during the rut, so it's still stored away with colder weather clothes and everything else rut related. lol

As for the 5/8" bolts, they would be great, except the only hand-drill that I know of on the market now is for 3/8" bolts. Now you could get a 5/8" "wood auger" drill bit and make a depth collar for it, and make a handle for it. Then you'd be in business with the beefier 5/8" bolts. I just take one set of bolts everywhere though, so I don't worry about having a lot of them, I never leave them in a tree. So the 20 I have will hopefully last me a lifetime.

As far as bending the bolts, I know a guy that has used the 3/8" bolts and he's about 6'6" tall and over 320 pounds... :shock:
If they don't bend for him, they shouldn't bend for the rest of us that are sized more like "kickers". lol

What they did do though was elongate the hole as he stepped on them. So he has to drill at a steeper angle so the bolts don't end up facing down when he steps on them. Some trees are hard enough for him to use bolts, some aren't. The wood tree gives before the bolt, so that's comforting to know.

There are softwood trees that do that under weights as low as 160ish#'s. The trick is the same, drill into the tree at a steeper angle.
Click to expand...
I just happen to have some 5/8 auger bits. I also have the luxury of being able to leave my bolts in the trees. Owner doesn't mind. Your platform idea intrigues me though. I'm not paying $250 for half a treestand (LW Assassin). I'm guessing that's why it's not made anymore. No one else would pay that kind of money either.
 
Just want to confirm guys.. you need 3/8" 6" Grade 8 bolts to be used with the EZ kut cordless drill bit or hand drill right?
 
Yes that's right. Make sure they are grade 8. I have been buying them off of ebay for 22.00 for 30 bolts.


Proverbs 27:17
 
Red,

Just so you know, you can order a milwaukee 3/8 ship auger bit from home depot for like $12, and get a 3/8" collar for it to set the depth, which is 2-1/4" if memory serves.

That's if you're going to use a cordless drill. If you want a hand drill, which I definitely recommend to carry as a backup to the cordless, you can only get the EZkut one and it's not that cheap. You could make one too though.

The ebay bolt deals are great, I missed one a week or so ago that was so cheap for 50 bolts, it was like $18...I kicked myself. Not that I need 50 bolts, but....lol

If you don't want to wait, Home Depot has them for $1.67 each, check online for which stores have them in stock. Most stores don't carry many.

The only thing is, I can never find the internal hex socket cap screws (allen head) like what you get from Treehopper. The tree hopper ones are a little nicer on the feet because the end is rounded and they are just a smidge longer because of the head. I have about half treehopper bolts and half home depot bolts, so I always use the home depot bolts at the bottom of the tree so I don't have to stand on them as long (since most of the drilling is standing on the ground for the first 4-5 bolts or so).

The other thing I recently did was take some 3/8" rubber fuel line and slip it on four of my bolts for the top steps. Haven't had a chance to test it yet, but I think it will make standing on them for long periods of time a little more comfy. That could work with tree steps as well. Broadens what you stand on since the outside diameter is like 5/8", doesn't sound like much, but they already look more comfortable. lol

Not sure why it took me so long to think of that one. I was messing with wood blocks, bike pedals, etc...and finally thought why not just slip rubber hose over it. After I try this, I've also considered getting some 5/8 ID hose to slip over this hose. That would have an outside diameter of nearly an inch, so that would have to be comfortable.

Honestly I've yet to see a method better than bolts, I've started using the cordless for on the fly hunts. The beauty is nothing is left in the woods, once a spot is drilled, it's ready to go for the season, use it as many times as you want with virtually no effort. You do have to drill out spots each year though, but I find tree prep fun anyway and with a good cordless, you can fly up a tree in 5 minutes or less.

The ONLY drawback is you can't use them in places that don't allow you to screw/drill into trees. Then I could see using a rope climbing method, or sticks, aiders, etc....But aside from that, nothing beats bolts in my opinion. Tree steps are a close second, but cost of having enough for all your spots is the main deterrent for me, along with the fact that people can access your tree and also see where you're hunting. Bolt holes are very difficult to notice and leave people no way to climb up.

Honestly surprised it never caught on more than what it is...Part of me is glad though, otherwise everyone would carry bolts. lol
 
Matty,

I went ahead and bought the ez kut electric drill bit and the hand drill. I also picked up 35 bolts on ebay for like 28 bucks, so its a bit cheaper than the depot. You never know when you might need 50 bolts! Sometimes it might be handy to leave them in a tree from time to time. I will see how I feel standing on them. I can always carry a few cranford ez steps to put it for a platform if needed.

Let me know how your experiment with the fuel line goes, that sounds like a great idea.

What time of the year are you prepping your trees? If you prep in the spring would the hole grow over by fall?

The big reason I am looking at this is like you said the cost of setting up so many spots. I use between 20-25 tree steps per tree and it adds up with so many trees. ( I have short legs lol).

I love that most of our public land here we can use screw ins so we have lots of options open to us. The biggest limitation is the water gap, so I think I might focus on the SRT method for there.

The second big reason I'm going to do this now is for hunting in the park systems where you can only have 1 tree setup. Problem solves cause now I'll prep all my trees and I won't have to lug the sticks around all the time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top