• 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

Screw in Steps vs Hand Drill and Bolts

tyson12590

tyson12590

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2019
Messages
289
Location
Coldwater, Michigan
I am moving back to southern Michigan next year and I will be hunting mostly private property with permission. I am trying to decide between using screw in steps for my presets vs the treehopper bolt system. I have never used the hand drill system but I have used screw in steps for years. I am not too concerned about the cost as both systems will be pretty inexpensive (Since I already have some screw in steps). I plan to have about 20-25 preset spots for a 14-16ft hunting height. I also use climbing sticks if I'm only hunting a spot once. I will be using a predator platform at hunting height.

I know that with the screw in steps that I will have to pull them out every 3 to 5 years so they don't get grown into the tree. If I leave bolts in the tree over the winter will I be able to remove them later or are they stuck? Do you have to drill out your holes every season if you remove your bolts? Which system would you go with and why?
 
Bolts. Screw in steps are easier to remove a year or two later. Either way both are awesome for presets and both are quieter than any other preset options available. Even the best stick ladders have more noise potential.
 
kyler1945 said:
A cordless drill and 100 bolts sounds way better than screw in steps.

tons of information on pulling versus leaving.

I use screw in but the price of Cranford are getting old... where is the info of leaving bolts in?
Click to expand...
 
Bolts are much cheaper, but screw-in steps are a bit sturdier-feeling once installed. Install time will be similar if you’re using a power drill for presets. I love bolts and think you’d be happy using them, but if cost isn’t a big factor for you, I’d probably go with screw-in steps.
If you go with screw-in steps, get one of THESE tools—makes a big difference.
 
For the money, bolts win! For the ease of use bolts win!


https://www.amazon.com/Ameristep-Step-Up-Tree-Steps-Pack/dp/B01N3WBMAA/ref=sr_1_24?crid=3RCXNWYNGY124&dchild=1&keywords=screw+in+steps+for+tree+stand&qid=1605106406&sprefix=screw+in+steps+for+tree,aps,214&sr=8-24
Here you get only 5 steps for $32.37

or you can get 27 bolts for $28.62

Amazon.com: Hard-to-Find Fastener 014973252465 Grade 8 Coarse Hex Cap Screws, 3/8-16 x 6, Piece-27: Home Improvement

Amazon.com: Hard-to-Find Fastener 014973252465 Grade 8 Coarse Hex Cap Screws, 3/8-16 x 6, Piece-27: Home Improvement
www.amazon.com
 
Quick story on screw ins which makes me never want to use them again and especially for a semi-permanent stand. A friend and I were prepping an old stand site that we put screw in steps for the climbing method. The steps were 2 years old, not really grown into the tree and looked almost as new as the day they were put in besides faded paint. My friend climbed up to cut a few limbs and I stepped on the first step behind him to hand him the limb saw and the step sheared off! I gouged my chest open on the next step up when falling and vowed to never use those again. I'm assuming a good grade 8 bolt would last a little longer in these semi-permanent situations.
 
Bolts.
I used Cranford Deluxe for many years and I feel they are the best when you are strictly talking about screw in steps, but bolts have easily become my favorite.
I highly recommend carrying a pair of mini vice grips in your pack. Its the best way to remove a bolt. Bolts can get a little tight even after only a short time in the tree. Clamp the V grips on the bolt and give it a turn or 2 and the bolt pulls right out. The V grips give you a much better purchase on the bolt than trying to muscle it out with your fingers. It makes for a more sure and safer bolt removal.

6" grade 8 bolt, marine grade shrink tube, and mini vice grips...
27659be6ca3760a3010240a2703078c7.jpg
 
Anyone leave them in year round and just back them out every once in a while?
 
Cranford screw ins are the BEST when it comes to screw in steps. There aggressive tapered thread are great! Only screw in step I will use.

Treehopper Mini Hand drill and grade 8 bolts are nice too. I use these as well.

I never leave either in the tree longer than a season. Here are my install/removal times. As you can see.... both equal 45 seconds

Cranford steps.... 30 seconds to install. 15 seconds to remove. Total 45 seconds

Hand drill/bolts..... 40 seconds install. 5 second removal.
 
I think the only advantage a screw in step has is that it might be quicker.... only because it's less turns to screw it in versus the amount of turns the tree hopper drill takes to make the hole. My vote is for bolts.
 
I used screw-ins for years and bought Treehopper drill and bolts last year. So I use both. I left some bolts in for a few months last fall, and I had a hard time getting a few of them out. It was a pine tree and when I got bolts out they were covered in sticky pine sap. So imagine sticking a bolt in a hole filled with nature's epoxy glue! I can't imagine them being in a tree for a year and trying to get them out. I think they would be there permanently without a major, major effort. Since you don't have a handle to turn like on a screw-in, you will need a vice grips or wrench to pull and turn them when stuck. Even though the hole for bolts is a hair bigger than the bolts, and you are not screwing bolts in and out (instead you just push them in and pull them out), I do notice when they are sticking that if you turn them they do seem to back out a little and it helps to get them unstuck. However, the threads on bolts are much finer instead of aggressive like on a screw-in. Turn a screw-in one turn and it will back out a noticeable amount. Turn a bolt a full turn and it seems like it barely backs out. In summary, bolts in my opinion should only be used for that hunting season and then removed. And yes, you will need to redrill new holes the following year. The growth of the tree will fill in the hole enough so the bolt will not fit in the tree again. I have not tried it yet, but you may be able to redrill in the same hole and just clean it out, and if so, that would seem to go quicker since removing less wood. I guess you could just leave the bolts in and they would become permanent. Eventually of course the tree would grow enough such that not enough bolt left sticking out to step on. I still have some pre-sets with screw-ins from previous years, but now only use bolts for new pre-sets. I guess they are not really pre-sets. Instead I pre-drill a bunch of trees with battery drill, and then each time I go hunting I decide which tree to go to and then insert bolts for the hunt and remove when done that night. Sometimes if I know I am going to hunt that same tree the next day I leave them in. What I like about this system I can hunt an unlimited number of trees with jus a dozen bolts. One negative is finding those little holes in the dark, but you kind of learn the spacing and get a system down. Final comment is I will never buy another screw-in. I just like the bolts overall better than screw-ins.
 
I use both it just depends! If I am going deeper in the woods it is bolts all day and if run and gunning it is also bolts but if it is a stand by the house or close enough for evening hunts it is screw in steps that stay until the season is over!! And with bolts I always pull them after the hunt and I put little pieces of sticks in the holes so they are easy to find when I come back!! And on my screw in steps my bottom 3 are always the type that you screw a bolt into the tree and just slide your step on the bolt when you come back to hunt that way nobody can use your presets!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top